In a society so controlled by technology, reading is making a steady decline. This is honestly sad, but how can we expect less when we only need to wait a few months for the next film adaptation to hit the big screen?
Thankfully, us readers still exist. We pride ourselves on our patience to sit and finish a 500 page novel, and find ourselves sitting for hours at the midnight release to get one of the first copies of a new book. Instead of asking people what the best movie is or where to eat, we ask for book recommendations and directions to the nearest bookstore. We may even spend extra money just to get a signed copy of a book, whereas New Orleans Saints' fans would get a jersey signed by Drew Brees.
Some of us always new we enjoyed reading, but for others, it was an acquired taste. We had a parent who read us stories, a sibling that we idolized who loved Harry Potter, or that one teacher in school that tried their very hardest to find a book for their students. Some of us even had all three.
From all of this, a lot was gained; new vocabulary words flowed from us like water flows from the Nile and sentence structures became a vital part of our life scaffolding.
Readers internationally have gotten the chance to play with peculiar children, sit in on Professor McGonagall's Transfigurations class, walk among hobbits, fall in love a thousand times, and solve mysteries a thousand more. We live as many lives as books we read, and every novel adds a little more magic to our muggle-filled world.
We spend hours upon hours reading, even staying up late just to finish or chapter. Some of us won't even sleep at all if we're at a climatic point in the novel. What is sleep for, anyway? It just takes away reading time!
As silly as this all may sound, don't be embarrassed by it. Use your love of reading to your advantage, for in the words of the wise Tyrion Lannister, "A mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone if it is to keep its edge." (A Game of Thrones)
