My everyday life is the antithesis of adventure. I get up, go to work, cook dinner. But when I read a well written scene I experience being on a spaceship, or risking my life to save those I love. I give my brain a rest from the plodding cares that numb me, and get to live someone else’s life for an hour or two.
And when I close the book on some terror the main character is facing, I find that my life doesn’t look so bad after all.