Reading is a refuge. It stops you from multitasking and lets you become absorbed into another world.
-David Mikics, a professor of English at the University of Houston and author of ‘Slow Reading in a Hurried Age’
I can’t begin to tell you where I took note of this quote (I think it was from a recent issue of Real Simple), but I absolutely love it and it truly hits home for me! I’ve loved reading since as long as I can remember. When other children used to beg for toys and games, I was the quiet child that asked for books. When holidays rolled around, I usually had quite a few books on my wish list and you always knew what to buy me for my birthday. I remember going in to Borders with my mom and gleefully and carefully selecting a few books to purchase and take home with me to devour the stories and add to my ever growing collection.
One of my favorite early memories is when I was in second grade when I could read novels better than many of the children that came to read to us from the neighboring fifth grade class. (And mind you, they brought the books over to read to us, not the other way around. I think the intent was to show younger children that reading was ‘cool’ and motivate us to want to read.) Reading can be an escape to places you’ve never been. Books can not only educate you, but excite and inspire you.
I could write all day about the wonders of reading, though I think I’ll simply say that being a good reader and enjoying books from an early age has stayed with me and it has grown into a life-long love affair. To this day, my favorite presents are books; mainly at this point I enjoy getting coffee table type fashion books, though I never turn down a romantic comedy novel and the list of my go-to authors is forever growing.
If you aren’t already aware by now, I recently began reading and reviewing books on this blog. I will be forever grateful to two of my fellow bloggers (Paris Baker and Stories Unfolded) for introducing me to NetGalley. So far I’ve been approved for 14 novels, written 2 reviews and been auto-approved by a publisher (Bookouture), and I only joined NetGalley 10 days ago! Through my book reviews I hope to inspire you to purchase your own copy of the novels and get lost in the wonderful stories that have been written for us to enjoy.
Image found on booksforwallsproject.org
What a lovely post! I completely share your view on the wonder of reading, I was that kind of young girl too! NetGalley is fantastic, isn’t it? And Bookouture are simply the best, I love them! Well done on the auto-approval 🙂 xx
I love reading too. And you’re Audrey Hepburn photo is the photo i used in my very first blog post called fairy tales! <3
What a great post. 🙂 I’m seriously addicted to Net Galley. I have to keep myself from requesting more books until I can actually finish some and provide a review.