Last week I wrote a blog titled Why Do I Write? In that blog I explored the motivations for writing various types of materials. Early in my career, I wrote to inform and to make a living. Now, after a lifetime of practicing journalism, I find myself writing for an entirely different reason. While my earlier career was all meant to convey information, now my writing is meant to entertain. Both my readers and myself.

That brings me to the question of the day: Why should you read? Reading, I am afraid, is becoming a dying art. Just as the practice of cursive handwriting is being left behind by the proilferation of “smart” technologies, our skill at reading and comprehending the written word appears to be fading away as well. When was the last time you walked into a library to borrow a book? Yes, I know. Countless hand-wringing articles have been banged out in lament of the unstoppable march of technology. Often, these diatribes are written by scholarly old folk who begin their sentences with phrases like, “I remember back when…” That’s not my point. I welcome the addition of technology to our reading experience. Things like Kindle readers, and amazon.com have given many new opportunities to access the written word, for those who want to read. They have given authors like me a wider audience, a greater chance to get our works in front of the public. Technology is a wonderful friend for the written word.

Whether it is a hard cover, paperback, or e-book, I don’t care how you read, I just want you to do it. The exercise of reading is a tremendous pleasure that you should not deny yourself. When you read a book, it frees your mind to imagine the story. You use the guidance of the words the author has given you, and your own imagination makes the scene unfold in your mind’s eye. In that way, every book is a unique experience for every person who reads it.

Take, for example, this passage from the first chapter of my most recent book Murdered For Nothing:

The old wooden bar and the ancient varnish that covered it began to ignite as though the entire thing had been one giant match, just waiting to be struck. In less than a minute, thick smoke began to fill the bar. Coughing from the acrid smoke, Butch and Bobby rushed to the door. The fire had already been more successful than they expected, and they needed to get out of there. As they slammed the door behind them, they heard Whiskey continuing to issue his barks, warning that things were terribly wrong. Less than a minute later, Whiskey’s yelps would grow frantic, then weaker and, finally, silent.

What was the shape of that bar that caught fire? Describe Butch and Bobby. Aside from the bar itself, were other things already on fire? What kind of dog was Whiskey? What did his barks sound like? Were they big and bassy, or high-pitched yippy barks? As poor Whiskey took his last breaths, what did his weak barks sound like? Was his end tortured and traumatic, or did he simply drift out of consciousness?

The writer sets the scene for you. He tells you what is happening. He gives you clues about how it’s happening. But, in the end, most of the story is created by your own imagination. In that way, every book ever written is a personal experience for everyone who reads it.

If you saw this same scene in a movie, all of those decisions will already have been made for you. There is literally nothing to stimulate your imagination. You are watching someone else’s interpretation of the words that were used to tell the story. If you are one of us who reads a book before you see the movie, you often come out of the theater saying, “I liked the book better.” Of course you did! Your own imagination created the theater of the mind version of the story that’s more in line with the way you see the world. No movie can compete with your own interpretation of a story.

“Oh, I don’t have time to read a book,” is a common excuse. Sorry, my friend. That doesn’t hold water with me. If you have time to watch TV, you have time to read. I know some very busy people, but I don’t know anyone who can’t spend at least ten or fifteen minutes a day engrossed in a book to stimulate their own mind. Ever play solitaire on your computer or phone? Put it down and read a book instead.

So, do yourself a favor. Download or pick up a book and read it. Let your mind transport you to the place and time of the story. Give your imagination license to create a world in which the action is taking place. Make the hero of that book look like you. Make the villian look like, well, whoever you want him or her to look like. Go ahead. Enjoy the artistic license that reading a book gives to your imagination. Your brain will thank you for it.