I love reading. I could happily live without most things, but I couldn't bear to give up books. I've devoured them since I was a small child, and I'm eternally grateful to my mother for passing on her passion for the written word. She read to me constantly, took me to the library every week, and gave me boxes of books for Christmas.
I've tried to do the same for my two boys, and I'm thrilled that, despite the distractions of electronic entertainment, they both read widely and often. I still read to my 14 year old at night, though his recent decision to sleep in the top berth of his bunk bed has added a degree of difficulty.
It's hard to imagine anything more rewarding than reading to children. Sitting close, sharing a story, talking about it and watching their imaginations at work and their understanding grow is simply joyous. I'll always treasure the memories of time spent together cuddled up with my sons and a good book. I can't wait for them to have children of their own, so I can enjoy the experience all over again.
Reading stimulates my brain. When I watch a screen, I'm passively observing. But when I read, I'm actively participating. As I absorb the words, my mind conjures up pictures. I'm being the characters, I'm visiting the locations. My own experiences and perceptions colour the writer's words in a way that is unique and personal.
We've all seen screen adaptations of books we've read, and they're nearly always disappointing. It's someone else's version, not yours, and sometimes the very things that resonated for you in the story are missing altogether. Nor can you enjoy the book in quite the same way again, because the visual images from the film have replaced your own.
Sometimes it's better to be satisfied with what you've got {another thing my mother passed on to me}, and hang on to your own interpretation.
In this increasingly frantic world, reading provides peace, freedom and privacy. What other pastime allows you to go at your own pace, revisit whenever you choose, and make of it what you will, without fear of contradiction? And what better way to learn about life - as it was, is and could be?
Eating alone, going to the movies or anywhere else alone, can make you feel lonely. You can never be lonely when you read a book. The only bad thing is coming to the end of the story and having to say goodbye to that world you've been inhabiting. But there's always the delicious anticipation of choosing the next book, and discovering a new world full of fascinating characters.
In the company of great writers, we have all we need - for they help us to live our lives. This is what books do - they make experience survive. They make life itself survivable and most beautiful. They remind us that we are not alone. Books are not a lifestyle - they are life.