I've been pondering something that is very sacred to me for the past couple of weeks, and though the subject matter is dear to my heart, I realized that I hadn't thought too much about it before this semester at university.

The question is this: why do I read? But really, why?

Sure, in school I have to read certain books to understand material that I will be tested on/ need to write about and I'm motivated to get good grades, but what I'm really talking about here is why do I read when it's just for me? 

 

As reading moves into the digital age and devices like the Kindle and platforms like Goodreads and Amazon are becoming ever-more prevalent and their presence ever-more felt, this is an extremely important question. It's important because when your reading life moves to social media, what does "just for me" mean? It isn't just for you anymore- you're sharing it with the world. You're sharing it with the world before you even begin to read a certain book! What motivates us to read now and what will in the future, when Goodreads and Kindle usage are undoubtedly the norm? How do we balance our social media sharing and interaction with our own genuine relationship with a text?