Hi friends! Today I’m coming at you all with a little something different. I wanted to discuss the kinds of things you choose to read and why. So let’s just jump straight into it!
This pandemic has me thinking about literature as either an escape or a reflection of real life. Some people in this time are choosing to read books and consume stories that mirror our current situation, or that revolve around the same themes. It may feel like a way of finding solidarity in what we are feeling and going through. On the other hand, others want only to experience stories that bring them joy and serve as a tool for escapism from real world troubles and predicaments.
I think this trend is true of any circumstances that we go through in life, not just our current one. Some people read more for escapism, while others like to read about situations similar to their own. I generally fall into the former. I love reading about situations and worlds that I have never experienced. It helps me see the world through a different lens, and experience things I would never be able to in real life. Don’t get me wrong, I read plenty of realistic fiction too, but I don’t usually look for books that so clearly relate to my own life.
So what about you? Do you read as a form of escapism, or as a reflection of your real life?
I would love to discuss this question in the comments! I think it is really interesting to think about why we do the things we do. So let’s chat!
Happy reading and writing friends!
Background photo taken by me
Comments (17)
I love sitting on my butt worned couch most of the day with a book, cups of unfinished or even touched tea or coffee as piled up on a near by cofee table as i read a page turning series or just a single book, I am currently of the second book of the Pegasus series by Kate O'Hearn. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: :blue_heart:
I think I read for a number of reasons, one of the biggest being escapism, not just from negative things around me but also to escape to worlds where things are less complicated and complex?? I think as well I like reading books to experience new things -- new worlds, become different people or have different jobs for a short period of time, or even in more contemporary settings, different experiences I've never had before. Reading books is both an escapism method and a way I can live a hundred lives or be many different people at the same time
Here's the thing for me- I read as an escape. I am not the biggest fan if Fantasty or Scifi, but I do read those from time to time. I read to forget about the real world. I also read to see myself in characters if the book is contemporary.
If you'd asked me this question a few years ago I would have 100% said I read to escape. I loved a lot of fantasy, and I still do, but now I find myself seeking books that don't necessarily relate to my life but inform it in some way. I love it when a book teaches me something new, whether it be based on some part of history, culture or a topic I didn't know much about.
Great question! I love these discussion-type blogs!
I read to forget the real world and have what I don't have. That's why romances are my favorites