All the worlds you'll never know

'I haven't read a book in...ages'. You must have heard someone saying that. Think carefully. The tone of the voice – how did it sound? A bit amused, mildly apologetic, like sharing a shameful little secret – only, it's not really shameful. After all, we're adults, we know reading is supposed to be good, but really who has time for that?
A friend of mine told me the exact same words a couple of days ago and, for once, I didn't feel judgmental. I felt sorry. Sad.

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Later that night I happened to finish the book I was reading – Margaret Atwood's 'Oryx and Crake' – and felt disappointed I won't get to know more about that world. Turned out that it was just the first novel of a trilogy, wow, so I immediately started the second part.
That's the beauty of reading to me – exploring a new universe, meeting new people. As I read mostly fantasy and sci-fi, I get to travel a lot, both in time and space, from distant galaxies to alternate realities. To the outside observer it might seem that I lead a pretty ordinary life and spend a lot of time at home, but my mind travels a lot. If you think about it, the memory of a really good book is every bit as powerful as what you remember from a trip abroad. Just as I have digital memories of last year's holiday at the beach, my brain stores images of the shore where Atwood's Crakes live or the beach in the Galapagos where Vonnegut's fur-covered mutants spend their eternity in the sun. Eternity – because they're always going to be there. I can visit them whenever I want.

I've traveled the galaxy with Douglas Adams – such an exhausting trip, almost too much to take in. Just like Asimov's empire. One of the perks of traveling is meeting new people and making new friends. Like Ender with whom I've been all over the universe created by Orson Scott Card. What do you call someone you've known for all his life? Ender doesn't know me, but I've known him since he was a kid. I've cared for him so he's a friend. (I'd like to go back to that world, but Card gave up on the final book in the saga he'd promised many years ago.)

As any traveler, I have my favorite place which I like to go back from time to time and that's the Discworld. If there is reincarnation, I hope I get sent to live in Terry Pratchett's world. I've seen the Eiffel Tower, but I would much rather see the Tower of the Unseen University, catch a glimpse of the Patrician, have a recycled beer at The Mended Drum.

It's not only fantasy worlds – books often offer you a more thorough experience of life in a different culture. I've never been to South America, but I've read so many books about that part of the world I feel I know about life in Argentina or Peru.
Likewise, I've never been to Barcelona physically – yet - but I know the city well, I know how it feels like because Zafon took me there. When I do get there I'll be torn between visiting the main tourist attraction and looking for the streets I've walked with Zafon's characters. If I never get there, I guess that's OK, I've already been there.
That's what happened with Paris – been there, done that – but it wasn't my Paris – I've spent part of my teenage years in Balzac's 18th century Paris. I knew everybody worth knowing there, lived with the best families in town. Small parts of me still live in the books I've loved, just as the books live on in my mind.

I'm happy with my life, my family, my house – but I could not live without books. It's not escaping from reality, it's about going places, making memories, meeting interesting people. No matter how good it is, everyday life has its limitations – how many exciting things happen in a normal day? Not that many...
Why limit yourself to one time and one place when you can open a book and experience something new? You can spend a 20 minutes bus ride staring out the window or meeting the natives on a distant planet. Boredom or adventure, what would you choose?

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Thanks for reading