For me, I have very little in my life, so it’s something of an escape into another world.
I like the physiological side effects of reading books and long form articles like being able to hold focus longer and easier, slowing down to consider things instead of jumping to reaction, exercise my imagination, etc. Also maintaining a habit of reading before bed to reduce screen time before and keep a somewhat consistent bed time. And lastly reading text books, fiction, comic books, etc a mix to get a mix of entertainment and education.
Enjoyment. What’s better than curling up with a good book?
I just want to gain more knowledge to help me better navigate the world and try to help the animals on the planet. Since there is global warming and microplastics and other things we need to help the animals with. But there’s also reading just for the joy of it
Something I’ve learned more about myself more recently going back and playing an old video game that wasn’t voiced over is that my imagination works better when reading. You can show me your world in photorealistic graphics, but it still won’t feel as real as what’s in my head when I read about it.
Books have always been like gateways to other worlds to me. Probably why my favorite book ever is Myst: The Book of Ti’ana. One of the central things in Myst as a whole is that a race of people who lived deep underground developed a technique of writing books that were literally other worlds they could physically enter and explore. That particular book in the series has most of the world building and history of the D’ni and their books.
It’s fun to learn about stuff, and there are books on any subject imaginable.
It satisfies my curiosity. I love stories in all their forms, but books feel like they’re inherently more satisfying. It might be because they require me to focus more, and not get distracted by visual cues. I also get more time to digest the information.
I like physical books, so I get the fun of hunting for books through the used bookstore, having them on my bookshelf, then I get to shame myself for my growing backlog of books. Once that’s done, I find reading to be very relaxing.
I’m like that with ebooks. I have like 40 ebooks on my kobo waiting to be read lol
Me personally, I just love stories. I like reading, listening to audiobooks, but I also enjoy storydriven games for example.
I’ve been on a kick about early christianity (atheist).
Just finished Bart Ehrman’s Forged: Writing in the Name of God–Why the Bible’s Authors Are Not Who We Think They Are.
Just started Robert Price’s The Amazing Colossal Apostle: The Search for the Historical Paul.
Price is a mythicist, a school of thought that I only first found last year. This is the third book I’m reading from an author who doesn’t believe their was a historical Jesus. Very interesting stuff. I read because I want to learn new things and to better understand topics. I especially love history.
I have a pretty hectic life. Two small kids, a job that involves an endless stream of meetings interspersed by screen work, hobbies that involve being outside for multiple hours at a time multiple times a week.
When the dust settles at the end of a day, the kids are in bed and the housework is done, I want my entertainment to be as low key as possible. Curling up on the sofa with a cup of tea and a good book is an excellent way to detox and reset; I’m just not in the market for any more stimulation than that!
As a fellow parent to two kids, how the hell do you find time to spend multiple hours outdoors, multiple times per week?
Very co-operative mother!
I’m a politics person, and knocking the doors is a significant part of the deal. 2 hours per door knock 2-3 times per week is not at all unusual. Also council meetings and various party meetings scattered amongst the evenings.
Nice! For me it’s limited to gym twice a week and then reading and stuff, maybe a night out with friends once in a while. Hopefully when the nights get better, we’ll have some more energy.
The biggest reason I started reading more (went from 2-3 books a year to 2 a month) is just to avoid using tech in my free time. I noticed I get way more relaxed in general and have a better attitude towards life if I’m reading more
I don’t want to become a waffle waitress.
Well, looks like we got ourselves a reader!
I basically read two types of books. One is lit-nerd stuff (Joyce, Pynchon…) where you can read and re-read and still find new things, find communities online of people discussing it, read it with a friend and share what you got out of each chapter, etc. The other type I do is more immersive sci-fi/fantasy (Rothfuss, Stephenson, etc.) which I read for totally different reasons… like you said, an escape into another world.
TV makes me feel like a spoonfed zombie. I’m trying to watch Severance, and it’s good, but I hate the feeling of being hooked, tied to it, and having to sit there and binge it. And they’re doing all the imaginating for me. I much prefer to spend that 50 hours with a good thick book. No judgment on how other people like to do it… I just prefer the quiet of paging through a book!
Ugh, Rothfuss is such a fantasy heartbreak for me. Name of the Wind was brilliant… But at this point, I can’t expect to ever see that story finished 😭
Wise Man’s Fear was pretty good too, but yeah it’s been like 10+ years since I’ve read it at this point and would need to start the series from the beginning if he were to ever release another.
I’m trying to watch Severance, and it’s good, but I hate the feeling of being hooked, tied to it, and having to sit there and binge it.
If you watch it as it’s released, this is literally impossible. Having to wait a week between episodes can be annoying, but it definitely helps spread out the enjoyment.
Regain focus after this social media stuff making me dizzy, I’ll go read now!
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