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We've talked about what we are reading and how we are keeping track of what we read but I didn't see a post asking why we read what we do. I think we read for a multitude of reasons. I read because I want to be transported, entertained, educated and enthralled. Is there more to choosing a book or an author than that? If so what is it?

"Do we define ourselves by what we enjoy reading? Is it part of the validation we crave for thoughts and feelings that we can’t quite articulate, but recognize when a writer magically projects an image on a page?" I did not write this but it really got me thinking the "why" of it.

When I was a child, I read for pleasure and to escape to a magical world, travel to a distant place, or experience a different time. As an adult I read for all of those reasons and even more but I'm not so sure I can articulate it. Can anyone? Can you?

flag	asked Mar 7 at 1:05 Georgeanne 1,735●1●10

	I was curious about how others would answer this. It does seem as if we read for ourselves, for an inner thirst of knowledge or dreams or hopes, on a quest of adventure, of learning or discovery. As adults we are lucky we are the lucky ones. We know and acknowledge the joyfulness of reading. I can only hope that the students I work with will also love to read. – Georgeanne Mar 13 at 14:58
	“It’s living that makes me want to write, not reading – although it’s reading that makes me love writing.” Eudora Welty – Georgeanne Mar 18 at 19:38

aslum · Accepted Answer · 2010-03-07 04:01:50Z UTC

80% for my own reasons, 20% so I can give better reader advisories (EG anything outside my favorite genres).

Alternatively 66% pleasure, 33% learning (eg work related).

Having worked in a library for approaching 15 years, these days I keep a list of things to read. The contents of it vary amongst:

Classics that I just haven't gotten around to,
Recommendations from patrons that are outside my prefered genres, but they were so excited.
Non-Fiction on anything that looks interesting or edifying,
The newest D&D book,
Any books for which I've seen the movie, and the movie was better then decent,
Science Fiction, humor or Fantasy that:
- Has a cool cover/title,
- New by an author I like,
- Been recommended by anybody,
- Pretty much any other reason no matter how flimsy.

The list grows FAR faster then I have time to reduce it. Especially when I start in on a humongous epic series (EG Otherland, Wheel of time, or whatever).

Bill Barnes · Answer 2 · 2010-03-07 03:08:47Z UTC

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Most of my reading these days is to endeavor to understand the world (and myself) better. Often that's through nonfiction, but I love how often I truly learn something new through fiction.

answered Mar 7 at 3:08

Bill Barnes♦♦
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GrammyL · Answer 3 · 2010-03-11 15:58:30Z UTC

For me, reading has always been a wonderful escape from the world as well as a means of trying to make sense of the world. My stack of books to be read grows ever higher. My reading choices are determined by the following:

Having long been enamored with history, historical fiction is hands down my favorite genre. I can't get enough of it.
I read books recommended by friends and coworkers. This is how I found some of my favorite authors of light fiction - Emilie Richards, Joanne Fluke, etc.
I read books by favorite authors, whether they write for adults or children.
Being a children's librarian, I read a lot of juvenile and YA books, mainly for the purpose of reader's advisory but also because some of the reviews entice me.
Again, because I am a children's librarian, I read each year's award winners if I have not already read them.
Like another respondant, classics that for whatever reason I never read before. Just a couple of years ago I read To Kill a Mockingbird and was blown away! I can't believe it took so long for me to read this wonderful book!
Nonfiction that interests me or that I have a need for. Cookbooks are a particular favorite, not just for the recipes. Some cookbooks provide interesting commentary or background on geographic areas, time periods, etc.
Memoirs because I enjoy the insight into people's lives and the events that influenced their decisions.

Gee, I guess I do a lot of reading! Just don't ask me about television shows. I wouldn't be able to tell you much!

Stephan · Answer 4 · 2010-03-11 20:06:19Z UTC

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Sometimes because we paraphrase Sir Edmund Hillary, "We read because it is there !"

answered Mar 11 at 20:06

Stephan
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I think that's as good a reason as any. – Georgeanne Mar 13 at 14:48

kitukwfyer · Answer 5 · 2010-03-12 01:38:42Z UTC

I tend to want to escape reality sometimes, too. I also fail miserably at articulating things that I understand so implicitly that I take them for granted. My thought processes, my emotions...I live with myself, I'm used to myself, I don't really think about how I work anymore, I just sort of, well...work. It's the same thing with what I read to a large extent, but I can say this at least.

A decent portion of what I read, I refer to as "brain cleaner." These are books I don't need to think about. I open it up and I'm instantly just along for the ride. Until 3 in the morning. Four hundred pages later. After such a treatment, the jaw should be relatively slack and the thoughts sluggish for several minutes before clearing. I actually tend to think of these as the memory wipes droids in Star Wars need to keep functioning properly, only different.

Some of what I read is for school. I read them because I have to.

Just about everything else I read is for fun, though, for obvious reasons. My idea of fun is being able to think, and to be rewarded for it without being graded. I'll read just about anything, as long as there's a hero. Life's depressing enough without immersing myself in imaginary misery.

Finny · Answer 6 · 2010-03-12 01:22:55Z UTC

I am obsessed with learning everything I can, about everything I can, and thus I tend to read pretty much everything (that is in English and isn't an obvious romance novel). I can't not read (which is why I love audio books and am attempting to teach myself braille, in case my vision decreases further). Why I read, though...to learn, and to escape, and to discover, and to voyage to worlds (fictional or non) where I may do all that and more. And I'd best stop before I get all poetic!

Why do we read what we read?

6 Answers