Have you ever wondered what the #1 hobby in the world is? No? Well I have, and from a little searching around I do believe I have figured it out. So without further ado,
THE WORLDS #1 HOBBY IS……. Reading!
You heard me, reading. Whether it’s reading books, the morning newspaper, magazines, comic books, etc, it seems that more people would rather sit down and read than plant a garden, scrapbook, or even collect stuff (hard to believe?). Since it’s so popular, let’s take a few minutes to take a little more in depth look at this wonderful hobby of reading.
Now when I refer to reading as a hobby, I’m not talking about reading road signs, instruction manual, or the typical things most people don’t enjoy. I’m talking about reading things for enjoyment. Among the items we may read for enjoyment, there are Books (which is a large category in itself), Magazines, Newspapers, and even Blogs (like this one!). These materials can be physically printed on paper or many other material, or they can be digital. It doesn’t matter what format you read in, it just matters that you enjoy it, and it’s easy for you to get.
Reading is not a hobby that requires a lot of preparation (other than actually knowing how to read). It’s as simple as finding an author, series of books, magazine, etc that interests you, and then read it, and continue to read it. If reading is for you, then you’ll find yourself not wanting to quit, or not being able to put that book down until you finish it. It’s a relaxing hobby that can lead you off into different worlds and let you imagination wonder. Best of all, there are many many sources of reading material out there for you, and many of them are free!
If you like books, you don’t always have to buy them. You can check the local libraries, or even get on the internet and look for books in the public domain that you can download for free. There are many great classic books that you can find in just a few minutes by doing a quick google search. If you like to read newspapers, you can also check out news websites. You can read the same things you would in the paper, but most of the time you can read it a lot sooner. Even with magazines, you can sometimes get the same articles online as you would on paper, and get it a lot sooner (although with online magazines, you may still have to subscribe).
But of course don’t forget blogs. There are so many blogs out there that can provide you with loads of reading material. Check out your favorite author’s website and see if they have a blog, or even go back to that wonderful website called google, and search for bloggers who write on topics you enjoy. There’s a chance you might have even found this blog that way. All together, blogs are a wonderful source of reading material, and with the great new devices out today that basically put the internet in your pocket, blogs are almost easier to get access to than books!
With all that in mind, if you are already a fan of reading, maybe you now know that there are other options out there that you may not have considered before. Get online and check out some different things if you haven’t already, and if you are one of those people who enjoys reading instruction manuals, you can find tons of those online now too (and for free of course!). So what’s holding you back from either starting to read, or increasing your “to read” list?
Now for the fun part. Use the comment section below to let me know what you like or dislike about reading. Maybe even suggest a book, magazine or blog for the rest of us to check out. What do you get from this you ask? Well, other than the obvious joy of spreading reading love to at least three or four other people, one random person will get a copy of my book “The Traveler.” I know it’s not much, but I bet it’s something you haven’t read yet, and if the winner wants, I’ll even write my name in it. It will be the only one like that in existence! So start commenting and next Friday we’ll have us a winner!
Althougth I don’t do as much ‘hobby reading’ as I used to, the thing I like the most is that with the right book I am drawn into another world…a place that doesn’t have any of today’s problems with it. It may only be a few minutes but it’s a great stress reliever for me. Aside from Jesus Christ, of course, I believe one of our greatest blessing is the opportunity to learn to read. It saddens me that so many people even today will never be able to ‘get away from it all’ just by picking up a book for a few minutes and reading.
I like reading photoblogs, among a lot of other things, because they inspire me in my photography hobby. And I like continuing my education at my own pace without having to be in school. One of my favorite photoblogs is by Audrey Woulard out of Chicago. She does great children’s portraits: http://audreywoulardblog.com/.