Monday 1 August 2011

Lost in Fiction.

An ex boyfriend of mine once said that I read so many books because I was intelligent. At that moment when he said that, I just laughed, thinking nothing of it. He wasn't the type to read, unless it was a lads mag where, lets face it, ninety per cent of the pages are just breasts enlarged and plastered across glossy paper, and the only actual words to accompany this image are informing you that this months Best Breasted Babe is twenty three year old aspiring glamour model Gemma from Newcastle, who hopes for, "Free acrylic nails for the poor, and world peace." You know, the hardcore stuff . . . 

But looking back, I realise now how wrong he was. It's a common misconception by people who don't read that you have to be of some intellect to read. Being able to physically read helps, but whether you came top in your Maths, English, Science, or French class, or the bottom, its entirely irrelevant. It's not intelligence you have, its belief. Belief in what the writer is telling you, belief in the story, belief that these characters on the pages in front of you are real. You allow yourself to get lost in their world, their thoughts, and their actions. And then you're not only reading a book, but you're living somebody else s life with them.

So it doesn't come down to intelligence. You don't have to be intelligent to read.
You just need to believe in what you're reading . . . 





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