Inspire Reading on National Book Lovers Day

In June, I suggested five new books to read this summer. I hope you appreciated the list and began reading (or even finished) some of the books. If you have recently taken a break from reading, I challenge you to go to your bookshelf and pick up a new book. But, why am I writing about this today?

(photo/Pinterest.com) 

Today is National Book Lovers Day. I grew up reading. I'm the "nerd" who used to bring a book with me everywhere I went in case I was bored. Sound familiar? Rory Gilmore did the same thing. If Rory Gilmore can do it, then I can do it.

The purpose of this blog post is to inspire you to pick up a new book and begin reading. If you're a book lover, I don't need to tell you twice. If you're an occasional reader, then I challenge you to begin adding reading to your bucket list. Open a new book and begin reading. Like I have said before, you never know if you'll like it until you try it.

I'm going to reference Rory Gilmore again in this post. Can you tell I'm a fan of Gilmore Girls? When Rory graduates from high school, she delivers a beautiful valedictorian speech--probably one that has inspired many real-life speeches.

Rory Gilmore (photo/Odyssey Online)

She says, "I live in two worlds. One is a world of books. I've been a resident of Faulkner's Yoknapatawpha County, hunted the white whale aboard the Pequod, fought alongside Napoleon, sailed a raft with Huck and Jim, committed absurdities with Ignatius J. Reilly, rode a sad train with Anna Karenina and strolled down Swann's way. It's a rewarding world."

I have always admired this speech because it is so accurate and realistic to a book lover, like myself. We live in reality with actual characters, but the second world--the imaginary one--is an amazing escape. You can go anywhere and become anyone in the world of books. Do you want to travel to Paris but can't afford it? Read a book set in Paris and you'll travel to the setting in your mind. Do you want to be a princess or life-saving surgeon? In the world of books, you can do the things you always wanted.

My bookcase (photo/Kasy Long)

The same thing is applied to writing. As writers, we create these worlds readers will escape to as they read our works. These worlds are born out of our imagination and that's the beauty of writing. That's the beauty of reading. Escape into a new world and have fun.

So, go to your bookshelf right now. Close your eyes and pick a random book. Open it today, on National Book Lovers Day, and begin reading. Escape into the new world and then inspire your friends to read the book, as well.

Inspire reading.

-KJL-