"Finishing two books in a day? That's crazy!"
"You've read how many this summer?"
"How do you manage? I could never do that, I'm always so busy!"
And thus goes the conversations related to my reading habits. But here, I will finally reveal my secret--I read so much because--
I like what I read.
Really, that's the secret to reading more. So many people who want to read more get tripped up in the initial stages because they pack their to-read lists full of bestsellers and classic novels. They go by what everyone else likes. And then they get a few pages in and remember something more important that they should be doing, and they set their book aside, or tell themselves that they'll read it on vacation, or when they have more time. Reading becomes a chore, an obligation--and don't even get me started on required reading in certain classes.
The problem is that when people say that they want to read more, what they really mean is that they want to read more of the good stuff. Fat, classic novels, the new popular books on amazon, the psychological thrillers everyone's talking about. They make lists of these books they feel like they should read, that they need to read, and they can't keep up because they simply aren't interested.
That's what it is. People don't have time to read because their book doesn't make time for them, it doesn't suck them in and make them stay up reading by a single wavering flashlight. It doesn't pull them into another world and make them forget about assignments and meetings and phone calls. It doesn't wrap them up in characters and sights and smells until they forget their own name.
If you want to read more, forget about having a mile-long list of classics under your belt. Don't worry about what the cute boy in the coffee shop will say when he sees the cover of what you're reading. Ignore the people telling you to read this and that and focus on what you like. Read your romance novels, your comic books, your children's stories. Stock up on poorly-written thrillers and cheap paperbacks. Consume your satires, relish in your historical fiction, get lost in teenage dramas. Maybe these aren't the books your English teachers want you to read, but if these are the books for you, read them. Love them. Fall asleep with them. Read millions of them, because if they're truly the books you love, you'll never want to stop.
At the end of the day, if the books you want to read can't transport you to a fantastic world or show you another side of yourself, if they don't pull you in and take up all of your thoughts and make you question your beliefs, if you don't enjoy them--are they really worth reading?
No comments:
Post a Comment