What makes someone a reader? I've been thinking about this for a while, and I haven't found the answer yet, so I thought I might as well write it down in order to organise my ideas and maybe discuss about this with other book lovers here.
I usually write in German, but it would probably take me hours and lots of brain power in order to express myself as authentically as I would like without overusing google translate, Chat GPT and such things.
I've always loved books and good stories, and I can't imagine my life without them. But reading and loving good stories are not the same process. I believe all humans love stories, it is almost like a protection mechanism in our bodies. When you are swept by a good story, be it a fairy tale or an adventure your friend is telling you about, the world around you seems not to matter anymore.
However, reading is different. Yes, human beings live and breathe stories, but we are not all readers. The art of reading is a learnt process, not a natural one like listening to stories. One other thing as well is that reading is mostly a solitary activity, while sharing stories is a collective one.
Reading is also a habbit that requires concentration and effort. I'm talking here about Literature, not other kinds of reading, such as consuming newspapers, for instance, but I guess both folow the same principles.
It is not a secret that, if we are exposed to books from an early age, we are more likely to become book lovers. However, the love for reading can also appear later in life. But why? Maybe because of school. An encouraging teacher, a good library, anything can awaken what will become, hopefully, that wonderful and uncontrolable hunger for words.
That's basically everything I had to say. If someone has other thoughts or ideas about this topic, I'd be glad to know!
If reading is solitary and listening isn't, I wonder what listening to audiobooks would qualify as.
That's an interesting observation. Well, I mean listening to a story when you are talking to someone, for example, or when parents tell childrren stories. In that case, I think an audiobook is solitary as well, because there is no living interaction between the listener and the narrator... Don't know if that makes sense.
And thank you very much for the writing feedback, @JG la Comunicadora
Thanks for the read. I enjoyed. Nice writing. For me, a good read carries me along. Conversely, bad writing makes me switch off and drop out. For many years, I read mostly non fiction, which is not that closely related to story telling. I enjoyed your distinction between reading (my tax returns, for example) and story telling. However, I wonder if ‘closure’ isn’t the real reason why stories appeal so much ? We simply want to know what happens next ? We anticipate the next twist in the narrative! This wanting to know what happens next is not something that happens when I read my tax returns.
I completely agree with you, @Adam123 . We are always anticipating what is going to happen next when we read a story. And thats also an opportunity for us to imagine what we might have done if we were in the same situation as the characters. Really enjoyed the example with the tax returns! You're not the only one that can't stand them! It's bad writing and uninteresting content all at once! Thank you for the writing feedback!