I’ve been read to since I was a little kid. And when I wasn’t being read to, I was being read stories. Reading and writing are two of my favorite things in the world. I love escaping into a world that feels like it was created just for me. I love creating worlds and people that are there just for me. There isn’t a better feeling than the ones that reading and writing give me. I crave the words’ companionship. I love the way that worlds curl around your fingers or tongue. I love the friends that you discover between the pages of a book or in a manuscript meticulously written.
The value of reading for me is comfort. It’s the little satisfactions as the plot twists and turns. The value of reading is another world that has been created that I get to reside in for a few hours. It’s the value of feeling like the hero for a while and coming away changed. The value of reading for me is becoming a better person. The value of writing for me is creating a place where I am in control, where I get to plan the twists and turns and stay up too late writing a new villain or obstacle.
The most frustrating part of falling in love with a language, is that you’re always the one that has to do the talking. The words can’t give you feedback, just an outlet, an escape. While that’s great, it’s also the reason that writers are depicted as hermits in TV and movies. Language is a one-sided relationship. No one reads the words you write in quite the same way you meant them to be read.
My favorite kind of reading is a story that makes me believe that I’m there. The kind of reading that lets you touch and taste and see the stone on the wall, or the Butterbeer at Hogsmeade, or feel the heat press down on you.
My favorite kind of writing is the kind that sits you down and lets you pour out your soul onto a keyboard. The kind of writing that takes a piece of you and weaves it into a new character or a new setting. It takes your breath away and when you look up, it’s been eight hours. That kind of writing is irreplaceable. It’s hard to find and beautiful.
I totally agree with what you value about reading! I am the same way, reading is rewarding in so many ways!!