Better read than dead.

So many books just waiting to be read...

I'm honestly a huge nerd when it comes to reading. I might be the busiest person in the world, flat out with work and no social life but somehow I'll manage to squeeze in some time into indulging in a great book.

There is a truth in the concept of books representing a means of escape from the harsher aspects of reality as we are willingly thrust into a protagonist's life, experiencing their daily misfortunes, wellbeing, context, social values and all. The number of times I wished to be a certain protagonist or hated a certain character never seems to surprise me. Why is that other people's dramatic lives always seem to outweigh our own? Especially in fiction. Do we really read to find our personal sanctuary and connection so that we can move on from reality and procrastinate in a fictional place far, far away?

Obviously, I don't know the real answer to all of these questions but it's always interesting to ponder. What's more, it's mind-boggling to think that by escaping reality through literature we have the opportunity to experience various walks of life in an completely unreal yet realistic feeling sense. One second we may dabble in the heels of a broke socialite (a'la Holly Golightly), the next we are single women searching for our purpose in life and before we know it, we've done a complete 360 degree turn and turn out to sympathise (rather than 'be') the 'other woman'. That's the true power of literature. The ability to find yourself possessed by the thoughts and imagination of a writer. Literature gives us the inane opportunity to be who we want, when we want without even needing to consider the various reasons as to why.

Funny how the question of 'how' is never really addressed. Our imagination does not seem to need to dwell on such abstraction. It's merely the fact we're here and now that ultimately matters. Although we tend to forget the biggest story of all: Reality. Every human being is the product of a story, at least ten. How we get to where we are, the characters that make up who we are, the values and ways of thinking we represent. If there aren't at least twenty stories in that, I guess I could truly understand why people would prefer to buy a book.

So the next time you face a situation in the book store looking for your next read, think about the intricacies of life and whether or not we truly need another fictional story to delve into especially when there are over ten million real stories just waiting to be told.

So many life stories just waiting to be told...

XO LC.