Why do we read?

Why do we read? A simple question at first glance but take a moment and delve a bit deeper. Really try and get to the core of it.

Initially, as a six year old child, my journey into the universe of reading started with two reasons: one, I am incredible curious and two, I used reading to fuel my imagination. There was just so much to know and learn and so many adventures waited to be experienced.

Now, as a man with a beard and silver temples, I realize that I still know nothing and there are still so many adventures to be experienced. Now I know that a reader lives a thousand lives before he dies and that a reader sees the universe filled with myriad wonders and marvels.

Why do we read?

We read to gain insight, knowledge and understanding. We read to explore distant countries; to visit the ancient past and to travel to the unknowable future.

We read to share in the plethora of human emotions as experienced by millions of people and recorded in biographies and memoirs.

We read to relive the wonder of love, to marvel anew at the wonder of life and to tread the paths of intricate stories.

We read to remember what it is to be human.