The Power of a Good Book

I am a self proclaimed book worm and proud of it. Growing up, I was the skinny, dorky kid with giant glasses and too many books, and I took a lot of crap for it. These days, I'm not so skinny, my glasses fit much better, but I'm still a big dork with a lot of books. (There is no such thing as too many.) The funny thing is, even as an adult, people still want to give me a hard time about reading. I just don't get it...
Books are amazing. They are an adventure, a mini vacation, a magical world and an escape from reality, all wrapped up in one small package that you can hold in your hands. How could you not love that?? When I open a book, I am transported to a different time or place. I meet fascinating people. I learn new things. My imagination gets to run wild, and I get to run away. When life gets stressful, or I get annoyed, my books are my refuge. When I want to be entertained or relaxed, or just for the hell of it, I read. I don't need a reason, I just do it. When people tell me "Oh, I'd love to be able to read, but I just don't have time." I laugh. Those same people spend hours a week in front of a TV and think nothing of it. I don't "make time" to read, I just pick up my book and read. At lunch, on breaks, in the evening, whenever. Yeah, sometimes life gets crazy, and you don't get to read as often as you might like to, but you just keep going. One page, one chapter, one BOOK at a time. I've never regretted reading a book. Even if I didn't like it, I am still glad I read it. Reading keeps the mind sharp, helps improve grammar and vocabulary skills, allows for great conversations and makes me a mean Words with Friends player.
Books are such an important part of my life, and have been for as far back as I can remember. My mother and siblings read to me as a child, and I still treasure those moments. When my son was little, I would spend hours reading to him, and as he got older, we would sit and read together and then talk about it. Even now, at 18, he is a big reader and he and I still share books and discuss them. I love this. I can still quote lines from books I memorized as a child, and sometimes I pull out an old book that I read over & over to my son and read it again and just smile at the memory of him sitting on my lap, begging me to read it again. I have had endless conversations with friends (and strangers) about books we have read, and how they effected us.
I guess some people just don't get it. They would rather see the movie than read the book. (Even though anyone who reads, knows the movie will never do justice to the book.) They would rather spend hours watching mindless television than discover a world they never knew existed. Well, I feel sorry for them. They will never know the joy that a good book can bring. They will never clutch a worn and used old paperback to their chests with tears in their eyes and wish for just one more chapter, or maybe a sequel. They will never start a conversation with a stranger about the book they are carrying and make a lifelong friend. They will never know the adventures, the characters, the stories that live in a world between the pages. Well I do. I know them and I love them, and I cannot imagine life without them.
So here's to a good book, and to all of us proud bookworms out there. Keep reading, my friends.