So many people don’t understand why I sometimes would prefer staying home with a book than go to the mall or out with my friends. They don’t get the draw to reading, or to fictional stories. They ask, “Why do you bother with reading? Just see the movie.”

Movies can’t always capture what the author is trying to say. An actor can’t describe the emotional depth of a character the way a writer can – they can only attempt to show it through facial expressions and body language. Books capture your attention and flood your mind, connecting you to the characters on a deep and personal level. Books make you think, make you dream – make you imagine. A movie director has a vision that is made a reality by hundreds of production workers. An author has only their imagination and a computer screen. So I reply, “The books are always better.”

Books are freeing, each a different world to visit. The best books make you cry. Tears are the ultimate sign of connection to a story – to its characters and what they’re experiencing.

Time flies when I read. My issues aren’t a problem. I’ve taken off to another planet, somewhere that is new and magical and wonderful. I won’t realize how hungry I am, or how late it is until I finish a book. Everything around me is blank. People will try to talk to me, but I won’t hear them.

Books are an escape, and that is why I read.