To Read or Not To Read?

I had a very interesting question asked to me the other day by a good friend….and for the life of me I couldn’t answer the question.

Why do I read?

And my first response was, “I don’t know, I just enjoy it”.

The next question that was asked of me was, “Are you into E Books?”  To which I responded without a second thought, “Noooooo!!!!”.

I guess there are many reasons why people sit down with a book .  Some people sit down with self-help in mind, hoping to get the right answers about their life so that they find a direction and don’t make any silly mistakes.  Some people may read books to get inspired or they read books about other people doing things that they wish that they could do. Some people read books to beam themselves off into another universe and far away from reality.

I know that Evan rarely reads – he has a book that he takes with him to pass the time of day when he is travelling by plane.  He is still reading this same book: it went to Adelaide in February, to hospital in June and back again to Adelaide in August.  It is currently sitting in his carry on luggage waiting for the next trip.  Ask him and he'll tell you that the reason he hasnt finished the book is because it's crap...

But why do I read?  The chance to disappear into a novel with flamboyant and outrageous characters into exotic locations doing something other than office work is one of my most favourite things to do – not that there is anything wrong with office work (lol) and this has been the same since I was a little girl.  I have spent many, many hours held up on the lounge, or on the back step, or sitting on the side of the large dam way down the back paddock  spellbound by the latest instalment of The Camel Club (David Baldacci), or the latest Kay Scarpetta (Patricia Cornwell) instalment .   I can even be found on the front veranda surrounded by the Massie Lodge canines with the latest Dianne Blacklock novel.  I just love it.

Every night before I go to bed I get out my latest book and try and read a few paragraphs before my eyes close and refuse to re-open until morning.  More often than not my eyes close while I am still trying to read the same sentence for the 3^rd time and  wake up with the light on and the book still open and hour later.  Am I hopeless or what?  But its part of the magic of reading a paperback book!

And what of Book Shops?  I cant tell you how many hours I have spent in my life just browsing through book shops - not always to buy - but just to get up close and personal with all the books, be they new or used.  It would have to be one of my most  favourite things to do.  There is something very cold and calculated about dialling into the World Wide Web to find a book to buy - don't you think?

So why the negativity of E Books? As with buying a book online,  its hardly the same ambience sitting down the back paddock under a big umbrella  staring at an IPad screen scrolling through an electronic book.   I spend too much time as it is staring at my laptop screen when I am working – why should I have to  then do the same to read my beloved books?

To me, there is something very romantic about holding  a book of 900 dog-eared  pages,with the smell of prime paper in your hand with the anticipation of  turning the next page to find out what is going to happen next with the characters who have  become part of your world for the duration.  It’s like you step into the Wardrobe and walk into Narnia – you become part of the story.  Can you do that with an E Book?  I dont this so.  I mean what happens when you get to the important part and you have to recharge???

Its the having the book in your hands, the turning of the pages, its the smell of the paper, its  the fact that sometimes you have to sticky tape the pages back into the binding ...

Ok, I know that for writers E Books are another market to sell their books... but its just not the same is it?  Maybe I'm just an old romantic?

Simply put, I believe its having the book in your hand, being able to fall asleep at night with it after reading a most compelling chapter, its about being able to disappear into a book with the characters - isnt that the magic of books?

Somewhere in the back of my brain there is the thought that I would like to write a book – who knows - hold that thought!