I'll be the first to admit that I am, ashamedly, not much of a reader. Oh believe me, I used to devour books like skittles: handfuls at a time. In high school, although I didn't do much recreational reading, I at least greatly enjoyed the assigned materials for my English class. But now I've hit college, and find my reading at a standstill. I've had a copy of Pride and Prejudice in my desk for about a month now (one of my favorite books), and I've only just passed Mr. Collins' proposal. One month and 81 pages? Definitely not the kind of reading I used to be able to accomplish.
This is especially pitiful when I'm standing here on my soapbox, talking about being a writer. Writers can't be good writers unless they read, and that's a fact.
Reading, friends, is a many-splendored thing.
I was just talking to a friend the other day about this. I love readers, and not just because I want them to read what I write (although that is a factor). I love readers because of their intelligence, their open-mindedness. I love how eloquently they can express themselves at times. I adore the fact that they are often more creative and imaginative than we writers are.
Readers just know more. About the world, about relationships, about themselves. They can learn from the experiences of others, even others who are simply print on a page. They see the world a little differently than the rest of us, because to them, there's always the magic of turning another page. They can see the sparkle of fiction even in reality. They aren't afraid to give themselves away to dreaming sometimes.
I love that. One of the greatest examples of a voracious reader in my life is my little sister. Maren turns 10 years old today, and what was a large portion of the gifts she received? Books. 5 books, to be exact.
I called to wish her a happy birthday today, and almost immediately she was telling me about The Red Pyramid (by Rick Riordan of Percy Jackson and the Olympians fame). She told me about The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale, and about another girl in her class that loved it just as much as she did. She already has a list of books she wants me to read when I go home in a week.
I am so happy that she reads. I'm so glad that, while she may not like writing as much as I do, we can have reading in common.
At least, we will have that in common when I start to read again.
I'm so excited to read the books that she's recommended to me, and I'm excited to talk about them with her. I feel like it will bring us so much closer, and I want to share that kind of experience with her. I want a little insight into her incredible, bright young mind, because it'll make me a little brighter and a little less cynical.
If you don't read, why not? I'm not gonna sit here and preach to you, because I've already admitted that I don't read half as much as I should. I'm so busy sometimes that it feels like my head is going to pop off, and one of the things that I let slip to the side is reading. Still, there's no better time to start than the present.
In fact, let's read together. I wish that there were more people I could reach with this blog, because the possibilities for an actual book group, and book group discussion, just warms the cockles of my ink-filled writer's heart.
But it's okay. We don't need to have an official organization to enjoy reading. Here's something I want you to do right now. Go to your bookshelf, your library, Amazon dot com. Pick out a book. Maybe it's something you've heard of, or something that's been sitting untouched on your shelf for years. Maybe it's the book with the prettiest cover at the library.
Whatever it is, I want you to read it. Set a goal right now to read it. Set a finishing date. You can take all summer, if you'd like, as long as you finish that book. Got your book? Got your goal? Now write it down. Get a post-it note, scribble the title of the book on there, and slap it in the middle of your mirror. That way, you won't be able to miss it.
It doesn't have to be long or educational or Dostoevsky or Hemingway. If you want, you can read a couple of kid books, like I am. Just be reading. Expand your mind. Slip into fantasy. Enjoy some quiet time with a good book and a cool drink. See what happens.
And, if you can, make it a shared experience. Find someone to read the book with. Pick up one of your sibling's books or your child's books and read it, then talk to them about it. Most people think that reading is an anti-social adventure, but I don't buy it. I think reading is just the opposite, if you'll let it be.
Readers at your ready? On your marks... Get set... READ!
0 comments:
Post a Comment