What is so great about reading?

          I keep asking this question to myself often. So what is so great about reading? Afterall, there are numerous Hollywood movies that are jampacked with action and stunt sequences. You have thousands of fantastic movies in almost every genre. So, why do people still turn to books when they can get everything they require in just two hours? I'm wondering myself!

          First of all, books are something personal. While watching a movie, you are actually viewing what the director wants you to view. You are only experiencing the director's creativity and imagination as to how the plot can be presented. But that is not the case with reading. You get to create your own characters, you get to imagine your own locations and you get to experience your own mind at work. In short, books take you to a new world and act as a portal between the real world and the virtual paradise in your head.

          Next comes the quality factor. Watching movies is like eating fast food - a short and quick experience that doesn't stay for long. You only get the taste of it for a short period of time and are more likely to forget it and move on to the next one. On the other hand, reading is like eating a full course of meals. You get the starter first, then followed by the main courses and finally the dessert. Books have the power to change a person's life completely and its effect lingers on even years after you finish reading. Books give you company, and the issue of whether they provide good or bad company lies entirely in your hands.

"A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. A man who never reads lives only one"
- George R.R Martin(A Dance with the Dragons)
          Its quotes like these that make you mad on books. yes, a reader lives a thousand lives. One day, you are a lonely sailor battling a raging sea risking your life and the next day you are an astronaut travelling to the Moon on a mission the save the earth. You get to sit in a silent cafe in Boston looking out at the moving traffic and the next instant you are in the 16th century watching raging battles between power-driven kings. Who said time travel did not exist? they do exist in the form of books. Only books can provide such diversity.

          Moreover, there are other merits: reading improves your vocabulary, enriches your creativity and relieves stress. They work as a miracle drug and keeps your mind free and receptive of new ideas. And yes, reading is a silent hobby. All you need is a book and some privacy to get lost in your own world. You don't have to disturb anyone. 'Reading is to mind what exercise is to the body'. I think this quote just hits the bull's eye.

          So, why are you waiting still? Forget it if you have not read a book so far. It is never too late. Go grab a book and start dreaming!