On Reading

If you think writing is hard, try reading some time.

I recently got back into reading after a six-month hiatus. You’d think it wouldn’t be such a struggle to pick up an old, beloved hobby.

But it was.

Reading is a skill like any other. When I say skill, please don’t think of vocabulary or grammar mechanics. The skill in question is the ability to set everything else aside, to extinguish the ego, to empty the mind so others may live between one’s ears briefly.  

It’s not always possible. Sometimes, I don’t want to let a sad person inside when I already feel that way. Sometimes, I don’t want to read a tense story when what’s on CNN is nothing but. And, sometimes, there is no reason at all, at least one I can describe in words.

However, it’s becoming more and more apparent that picking up a book for 30 minutes a day is just as important for health as physical exercise. A mental vacation, no matter what the printed page brings, is refreshing. And, yes, reading does bring perspective. Like a beach covered in footprints at the end of a long day, every character (real or imagined) leaves an impression.

And my bookshelf gets a little more stuffed as a result. :)

Anyway, the value of reading, at least for me, is much more than psychological. If I’m going to call myself a writer, I have to be a reader. It’s a rule Stephen King taught me in On Writing. The other thing that stuck with me from that book was, “If the money you make from writing keeps the lights on, you can call yourself a writer.” Thanks, Stephen. Writing powers my energy-efficient bulbs.  

What about reading just for pleasure? Well, I’ll be honest. It’s been a while since I’ve felt that way about a book. That’s not to speak badly of what I do read, but nothing really matches the Saturday evening I sat down with Andy Weir’s The Martian (i.e., after a full day of lesson planning, laundry, and other chores) and didn’t put it down until 2 A.M. Sunday.

Now, THAT was some pleasurable reading.

And, let’s not forget that reading is one of the few non-paranormal ways you can converse with the dead. I know that statement is a cliché/trope/etc., but it’s still 100% true. Every human being that ever wrote something down gained a measure of immortality. And, just by flipping a page or two, you can get to know them. “If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is,” as Kurt Vonnegut would say.

So, I encourage you to pick up just about any book out there and settle in. No matter what, you won’t be wasting your time.