Reading: why do it?

I sing of my reasons to read.

1. Tales and legends entertain me.  They provide joy in my life, because I can learn bits of trivia, read epic adventures, laugh at amusing events, or be surprised by plot twists.  I need to read like the average person needs to breathe.  Without books, I would become a shadow of myself, and wither like a dead mouse by the highway, though with less parasites eating the remains of my flesh.

2. Reading stories gives me ideas for my own writing.  I am a writer; it's in my blood and sinews that I must write to survive.  Even though I have plenty of my own ideas, reading the work of others sometimes inspires me about characters, or plot points (though I try not to plagiarize).

3. I read to learn.  Often this is because someone else, such as a teacher, wants me to, but I also sometimes do it because I want to learn something.  Books are great sources of information, not all of it beneficial.  Regardless, reading will teach you, if you allow it.

In Canto V of Dante's Inferno, Paolo and Francesca were reading the story of Lancelot to pass the time.  Unfortunately, as they read they were suddenly overtaken by passion, and began having an affair, because Francesca was already married, to Paolo's brother, no less.  It makes sense to me that the material they'd been reading would affect them this way, if the Lancelot to whom they refer is the same as the one I know of.

The Lancelot I know is part of the adventures of King Arthur.  Lancelot fell in love with Guinevere, the queen of England (and Arthur's wife), and she returned his affections.  Their love led to loss of control, and their affair led to the downfall of Arthur, and destruction of the dream he'd been trying so hard to accomplish.

The two lovers Dante meets may have only been reading to pass the time, but what they were reading affected how they passed the rest of their time.  What we read affects what we get out of it, because authors have the ability to manipulate us.  Their language and words affect our feelings toward certain characters, and make us react towards events differently.  Sometimes we can start out feeling one way during the book, but by the end, we might feel something completely different.  How we feel at the beginning is not always set in stone, because what we get out of the reading may change as time goes by.

The ideas about reasons for reading are quite relative.  I don't think there's any really correct motive for reading, but there are some incorrect ones.  Reading to be spiteful, or because you want to plan revenge on someone and are seeing how best to go about it, would not be a good reason.  On the other hand, my three reasons for reading are probably quite appropriate (and not the only available reasons).

This wasn't exactly a song; it was more of a lecture.  If I invoked any muse, it was far different than the usual.  Maybe it was Calliope, or Klio.