Falling in Love (With Reading)
By Emily Sayre and Selena Lopez
With the rise of social media, specifically online book spaces, it may seem like there are more people now than in previous years who are turning to reading. There are many avid readers who have said social media has helped them to not only rediscover their passion for reading, but also helped them actually read more books. Even with the online book space being such a huge influence, we are seeing a decline in readers. You can scroll through any social media platform and most likely find someone claiming they are in a “reading slump” and want to find the joy in reading again.
SO, we wanted to push the initiative to take the time to rekindle a love for reading, and find joy in the stories again. We asked our readers why they fell in love with reading, in hopes that it helps anyone struggling with a reading slump to relive their own experience of realizing they love reading.
** these are not all of the answers we received—we wanted to highlight those that are similar in nature to help others feel in community with their fellow readers, knowing that their love for reading matches that of someone else **
To Escape and Feel Safe
You can scroll through any book forum and find the question, “Why did you fall in love with reading?” answered with, “to escape.” It’s no surprise that many of our readers have similar answers to this question.
“To get away from my real life”—@andreeisreading
“[Reading] was an escape and has now become a comfort”—@1dstny
“It gave me a safe space in a not so safe environment growing up!”—@kelsie.reads
“[I was] young and queer—lonely in the real world, but always welcomed and safe in books”—@kindagayash
To Be Seen
Some of our readers also said that the reason they fell in love with reading was because it was a way to feel seen and understand their true self.
“It taught me to recognize my feelings, and let me escape a world where I felt powerless”—@Saschwartz17
“Reading was my very first friend, [very] much a friends-to-lover situation”—@readbyreilly
“As a sheltered queer kid, reading showed me how big and open the world could be”—@abbybuntinspace
“[To] meet new friends [and] feel like I belong. (I fell in love at 7)”—@from_letters_to_words
To Learn
Another common answer to “Why did you fall in love with reading?” was that members of our community used reading as a way to learn about the world and experiences of others!
“I had to read a book of choice for English, and [the] book I chose made me love reading!”—@cocoabean0179
“I [have] loved reading since I learned how to. I loved learning about other people’s lives & understanding their feelings. I wouldn’t be here w/o reading. It’s part of who I am.”—@divinebooklover
“[Reading] let me explore things that were out of my comfort zone as a kid but still feel safe.”—@saraholivia310
To Travel
For many of our readers, books have a transformative quality, allowing them to travel to new places and meet new people—real and make-believe!
“[Books are a] physical representation of the places my mind wanders to.”—@Ayjsnerdycorner
“I had a world of friends in my imagination when I felt lonely in life.”—@Marykateross11
“I loved getting lost in a story as a kid – and now i still do!!”—@Maddiepal
“Tbh i dont remember a time when i wasn’t reading. As a kid it gave me access to every world.”—@Dwizz88
To Bond
For an activity that many consider to be solitary and introverted, reading brings people together, from childhood to now.
“My dad and I spent his time off (once a week) reading together. It became out quality time <3”—@Onlinedfox
“It was something I could bond with my mom and sister over. Plus, I loved the escape of it all”—@alannabanana04
When in doubt…
Go back to where your love for reading started. The beauty of being a reader is that you’ll always be a reader, even when you’re in a slump or when you’re too busy to pick a book up. Find comfort in that a love for reading is one that never really goes away, but sometimes just needs rekindling. As autumn begins in just a few short weeks, light the candle, grab a book, and fall in love with reading once again.