Can't Be Replaced

I've been reading a lot of books lately since I hadn't been able to sit up and do my own writing until just recently after a couple of injuries. I love to read. It's a way of visiting foreign lands, new places, and even imaginary places without ever leaving home. I love to write and create those places, and enjoy reading others versions of their 'places'. I always have. It saddens me some that reading has become a less popular pastime. I know that the Internet, video games, and even movies have taken over the pleasure of reading, but in some ways it's kind of a cheat, even movies. I love movies, but you don't have to use your imagination to see the places or allow your imagination to take over, you only have to accept the version played out for you on the screen. Have you ever read a book and pictured the characters, only to see a movie version of the book later and it was nothing at all like what you imagined? It's because with a book, even if the description is very detailed you still have leaway for your mind to create its own images. That's part of the rare wonder of reading, something that can never be replaced by an image on a screen.