I'm obsessed with reading. I can swallow a book up in a few hours if I had the chance. I do however go through phases, where I just can't seem to get in to a book or feel like I can take another story in. But when I find a book I've enjoyed.. Oh dear..
I read fiction - and health related books every so often. But the fiction I read are generally by a few authors I love. One in particular is Nicholas Sparks. Yes, him. The guy who made me believe that love like Noah and Allie's is possible, or of course Landon and Jamie's as well (I could honestly go on and on with name-throwing, because I have read that many stories written by him!).
Now don't get me wrong. I am not under any false belief that fairytales exist (unfortunately). I think that people read (romantic) stories because they give them that few moments of escapism in to a world that they could possibly float to - to read about characters that are so deeply in love, and so affectionate and passionate for another. You see, these days - people don't have passion. They lack in the area so much. And I don't necessarily mean passion for love or for physical affection - but I mean in general. When you read stories with lead characters that are so utterly spontaneous and adventurous and most of all, so hopeful and fearless about what they want, you somewhat get this similar burst of excitement and energy to do something similar to them; be it leaving your day job to go travelling the world, or something simple like noting down one happy thought a day to reinforce the positivity in your life. Whatever it may be, it gives you something that you may not feel so often. But when you look in to the reality of it, you know you'll never do it. You'll never take the leap, like your favourite character from a book you once read did. And those characters are just a figment of someone else's imagination - perhaps a part of them that desired a life like the one their characters end up leading? The point is though, we're passionless people. We go through phases where we feel like we can achieve anything we set out to do - until we get tired of trying, and just settling for whatever comes our way. Ugh, settling. Something I can't stand doing, yet I've done in parts of my life (yes, career - I'm looking at you. I could have been an Awesome Person (ltd) by profession and you made me in to a groan-grumpy drone. I've got my eye on you though.).
I was talking to a friend the other day and we agreed that when we were younger (in our teenage years to be more precise) we had tonnes of opinions, thoughts and feelings we were so utterly passionate about. Topics like love and relationships and so forth, that we thought we knew the ins and outs of (hahahahahaha) at the time. It was silly, and when I read back to some of the things I've said, I can't help but groan with redness in my cheeks because of how embarrassed I feel. But at least we had something to be passionate about. Nowdays, it seems the easier option to give in, agree and to settle.
Going back to my original sentiment about reading.. It's such an easy activity. It can teach you new words, give you ideas about what to do next in your life (like me, I'm going to visit all those small towns in North Carolina that Nicholas Sparks has made me fall in love with), it can teach you something new about a culture, language or make you feel so hopelessly connected with a character that is not real. But all these emotions are an experience nevertheless.
The thing with reading is that, it's something that isn't actually a hobby that sits with people often, I've found (at least amongst other Asians). I've found that when I'm on a train, I'm generally around people who are catching up on their TV shows or playing games on their iGadget. There are the odd moments in the year where you find people holding the SAME book due to it being the "new thing to do" due to the explosive reviews in the media. Case in point, books like the Hunger Games, so forth (I was going to say Fifty Shades of Grey, as I remember seeing pretty much every other woman and some men read that when it came out, not knowing what it was about at the time). When someone tells me that they enjoy reading - I'm instantly interested in speaking with them further and find it a novelty.
I
love words. I love reading things written by people who respect and
appreciate these words and use them in such a way that shows their
emotions so clearly. It's wonderful. In this awful day and age where
people can barely go an hour without using social media to express their
feelings through badly written sentences and using text language, it's
always such a great reminder that there are authors out there who still
keep written English alive.
It's time guys.. It's time I join a reading club and meet people who enjoy delving in to a book so much that they've analysed every part of the story (although I hope it doesn't become as intense as my A-Level Literature classes.. We beat most of Shakespeare's works to death by that point).
It's also time to go out and read some sappy books because it's officially winter. And if you know me at all, you know that I am a sucker for winter.. Only because I think it's the most romantic and cosy season ever. It's the best time to fall in love. And of course eat mince pies and drink lots of tea and .. Wear fuzzy socks and red pyjamas.
Here is the perfect song
PS. I make myself sick with my sappyness as well. It's not just you, don't worry.
