What is the point of light novels? Why do people read them?

Pretty much the title. I've been wondering this for a while. I've read a few manga, general comics, and obviously anime but I don't understand the point of light novels. I can't read Japanese so I have to rely on translation. I've read some at the general library but it's really hard to find a decent amount of them. I've read a few online but they don't seem very interesting to me. I read a lot but never got into light novels.