My Guilty Book Habits

 I bet each of us has a favorite story, whether it was a fairy tale, or one that was told to us. We tell each other stories of our personal history, the moments we remember for certain reasons and want to pass on to others.  Good storytelling makes us feel. We laugh, cry, sometimes even grieve through the stories we experience. The magic of storytelling helps us learn, grow, process life, and helps us see life through a different set of lenses than we usually do.  There's nothing quite as cool as stories that help us see our surroundings in whole new ways. A flower isn't just a flower, it's a possible source of life for someone like Thumbelina. There could be giants living in the mountains, and a fallen-over hollow log could be a portal to another dimension for small things to scurry through.  It's difficult to hold onto imagination as we grow older. The world grates it right off us, just scraping away the bits of childhood that got us where we are today. When we los...

  I love fiction, obviously, which is why I started this blog. I have to say, it pains me when I see attitudes practically condemning fiction as "entertainment", as if entertainment itself is a thing to scoff at and ridicule. It's even more telling that the same people who scoff at the mention of entertainment are also often people who themselves partake in entertainment. Everyone does. Some people read, watch TV, ride horses, have pets, or work on hobbies. What they're really saying is that only certain types of entertainment are acceptable: Non-fiction reading, golf, or other similar hobbies.  This kind of attitude is detrimental. There are plenty of people who don't really enjoy fiction that much, which is fine. To each their own, but judging an entire genre as inconsequential drivel is a little much. In my opinion, we all have things we can learn and gain from reading fiction, so I'm going to share a few reasons why I believe fiction is important.  1.  Fi...