— Mark Paxson
A sneak peek into our next video chat, which will be recorded this coming weekend …
One of the topics we’re going to discuss is “why do we read,” which I saw somebody ask on Twitter several months ago. Hell, it’s one of those questions I see people in the Twitter community ask at least once a week over on Twitter. But I thought it was an interesting question so I added it to our list for our conversations about writing.
Why?
Because, well, I guess if we don’t know why people read, how do we know what to write? And maybe even as important a question that grows out of that opening question of why we read is … why do we write?
So … in advance of our weekend chat, is there anybody out there who wants to share in the comments why they read? And for the writers out there, does that play at all into why or what they write?
Writers Supporting Writers 
That is a fundamental question for writers, Mark!.
I will re-post this on my blog. Hopefully we’ll get some responses.
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Before I tried my hand at writing, I read purely for the joy of stories. I tend to read fiction more often, but sometimes I read nonfiction because I’m interested in learning about a specific topic.
In the last few years, I read for different reasons. Since I want to write in the MG genre (the age I taught), I know the importance of staying up on what’s popular or current. I don’t follow the trends because I want to imitate others, but because I want to know that there’s a market for what I want to write—contemporary stories about kids dealing with real-life problems. Publishers and agents love current comp titles, and I think it’s essential for authors to be aware of this aspect of the business.
The way I read a book has dramatically changed since I started writing. I pay much more attention to the actual craft of the book than I ever did before. I tend to be more left-brained, but I love understanding and observing each author’s creative process.
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Pete — thank you for your response. I’ve always read for the escape and for the enjoyment of the story. I write in all sorts of different genres, so it would be difficult to read to “keep up” on what is going on in those different genres, but doing so makes sense if you’re focusing on a particular genre.
Once I started writing, I don’t know that how I read has changed because the reading to escape is so ingrained in me. Yes, I occasionally notice things in my editor brain as I read fiction, but for the most part … I still read to read.
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I enjoyed ‘reading” This
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Reading has been an integral part of my life for as long as I can remember. When I was very little, my parents read to me. Once I learned to read, it was just part of my everyday life, as a student, a teacher, and a writer. I grew up without a television, which made a difference as well. Now, most of my reading is done to support indie authors and broaden my genre horizons. I’ve learned a lot from it.
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I’m almost the same. While we had a TV, our ability to watch the “idiot box” as my dad called it was significantly limited. So … we played outside, played games with each other, and we read. A lot. It has always been the one place I can go to and quiet my mind and shut out the noise of the day.
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I read for entertainment and information.
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I seek out “comfort reads” for before sleep and “information reads” mainly for reading on my balcony:)
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Reading on a balcony … what a wonderful image.
I’ve never distinguished what I read by location and time though. What is a good example of a “comfort read” for you?
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I read genre stories for entertainment, an escape. That’s my big “why.” But I also read more difficult, literary stuff to learn (as well as be entertained, usually). The difficult stories raise life questions to ponder as a reader, but they also illustrate techniques I can learn from as a writer.
Also, I’ll often beta read when people ask me to, or I’ll read ARC’s for reviews. That helps out the authors, of course, but it helps me because I see how other writers approach genre plots or layer character/themes. In other words, they may not be stories I’d pick off the shelf, but I can still benefit from reading them.
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All of the above for me as well. Reading is an escape but I also want to feel and ponder and learn.
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I read to be carried away into another world. I want to be so invested in the characters that the real world drifts away. I want to feel – make me laugh, weep, growl, gasp, and care. I want to bathe in rich settings and succulent words. And I love books that linger. That’s why I read.
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Laugh, weep, growl, grasp, and care. Exactly. And that’s why I write … to try to produce that for my readers.
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Yes. 😀 😀 😀
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Reading opens my horizon to several worlds and times… and adventures I cannot live personally…
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Yes!
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Education/learning and entertainment/stories. I also like reading that entertains and educates at the same time. In recent years I’ve also become a big reader of essays/creative non-fiction and opinion pieces.
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I read for entertainment, for distraction, and to learn all sorts of things about our world and the lives of other people that I would otherwise not know.
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Learning … that’s a key, even when it’s fiction, I’m still learning. It’s one of the things I’ve tried to get my kids to understand … if you read, you’ll never stop learning and experiencing new things.
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As a child, I read to escape boredom, to find excitement and to learn about the world outside my small corner. As an adult, I read for much the same reasons. Perhaps we read to learn how to navigate life.
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Read to learn, read to entertain, read to distract, read to experience things we can’t experience personally.
Thank you for your comment.
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I was raised reading and books, newspapers, comic books, even the label on the bottle of catsup in front of me while eating French fries. I read and read and read, and because I read, I also write. They go together. I would go out of my mind if all I had was watching TV. Reading keeps me sane.
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Yes. No matter what, I always make sure I have reading material with me. To just sit would drive me crazy.
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I can’t imagine /not/ reading and get quite anxious when I don’t have anything to read. The why though…I make no distinction between fiction and non-fiction. Both connect me to new ideas, new puzzles, new worlds, new stories. I guess I read because I /need/ to.
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Completely agree. I can’t imagine a world without reading … the best way I know to expose myself to everything and nothing. New worlds, new knowledge, and sometimes just an escape.
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I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to be anywhere. Instead of suicide I read. I read to take me away from this mundane life. (That’s why I write as well.)
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I have this feeling that reading saves a lot of us from more severe mental health challenges.
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I have a feeling that your settings for this site are such that “likes” and “follows” from outside your group do not / cannot get registered. I’ve “like”d posts multiple times over the months and none of them ever “stick”. I’ve followed as well, and your site never becomes part of my following.
Wondering if you might review your participation restrictions…
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I’ve tried from two separate accounts, same behavior.
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We’ll see if we can get the Private label removed.
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Odd thing is that ever since I registered this site on WP, it shows up as “private” on my dashboard and also on the dashboards of the other contributors. None of us have been able to figure out what that means and how it impacts the blog. Now have we been able to figure out how to change it. And at least one of the other contributors is way more tech savvy than me.
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