Why I Like Books But Don’t Read Them

By: Gabrielle Omega

As we grow older, we pick up new interests and new hobbies, and we become indulged in the internet and social media. We get caught up in school, caught up in random things that take away from precious time. When I was younger, whenever I’d get asked: “What do you like to do?” or “What’s a hobby of yours?” I’d always answer that I liked to read, or that I liked books. It sounds lame. It was true, but sometimes it was a lie. Back then I did read books, and I loved them, but if I was to answer the same thing now it would probably be a lie. Being honest, I haven’t read a book for “fun” in a year, and I’ve read some books recently but they were for school.

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Books have been a large part of my childhood. Since we were all young, books have been there to increase our knowledge, and bring us joy. Especially those picture books. And as we grew older, this same joy of books has likely decreased as the pictures vanished, the text got smaller, and the book width increased. The whole concept of books seemed boring. That wasn’t me though, for the majority of my tween years as I went from elementary to middle school, I LOVED books. I was a shy kid, and I primarily am one now. Unfortunately. But that seems very cliche. A shy girl (WITH GLASSES) who doesn’t talk to anyone and reads books all day. The whole concept, the whole idea of a shy, bookworm girl was me. I remember at summer camp, I would read a book instead of going outside to play with the other kids, and even if I had already read the book, I would re-read it over and over again.

Adopting new books from the library was a favorite task of mine, I would go there almost every week and scan the aisles for something that looked interesting. The Barnes and Noble Kids Corner was so fun to hang out in. At Costco, when my parents were about to park in line to pay I would rush to the book section to see what new books were in stock. This was where I got all my “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” and “Dork Diaries” books. I love those. I was obsessed with the “Harry Potter” books, and I say that I still am, but I think that might be a lie. Point is, books were so fun to read when I was younger.

Meg on Twitter

Why were books so fun to read? We all loved picture books. They helped to give us a greater understanding of the story. Most of the picture books had fun rhymes, exciting stories, and colorful pictures. That was what was lacking when it came to books without them. But not in my opinion. Books without pictures, or “real books” as some people would say, allow us to increase our mind, our imagination, and create our own idea of the story in our head. THAT is what I love about books. It’s what I miss about books actually. Of course,To be it depends on the book, and it depends on how your mind works. And everyone thinks differently, which is absolutely okay. Not everyone likes books, and some people would rather never read one ever again. That’s completely understandable. So this isn’t bashing anyone who doesn’t like books. And this isn’t a letter to the world telling you to read books.

Although I haven’t gotten a book to read for entertainment in a while, I still say I like books. Even if I don’t read them normally. I blame a whole load of excuses for that. But I do like books. I love how it allows me to use my imagination, I love the incredible range of stories that exist. Romance, Adventure, Fantasy, and more. The feeling once you reach the end that you NEED more. Books are complicated, sometimes annoying, but somehow, they can be so fun to read. So yeah I like books. I don’t really read them now, but I’d love to. I still get caught up in mindless things on the internet, and I still have a hard time managing time, but I’ll make plans to do read in the summertime. Crazy how that rhymes.

In conclusion, I like books. That sounds really lame, but I like them. And I’ll definitely read one soon.