On reading
“You sure you can finish reading all these books?” my wife asks as I stuff the thirteenth library book into my bag.
I shrug my shoulders.
“Can’t help it,” I reply. I’ve got a library loan quota of 24 books. I’ll be damned if I don’t make good use of it.
But here’s another thing: the idea isn’t to finish the books.
Because I won’t; and in all likelihood I couldn’t even if I tried.
The idea’s to take a varied collection of books that look interesting and bring them home; read a chapter or two.
If they’re interesting, carry on. If they’re not, don’t.
What’s there to lose?
In fact, I’d say that being less selective in reading has tons of benefits, as per the concept of having ‘range’ for success.
We often don’t know what we like, even if we think we do.
Unless we’re actually experiencing different things, it’s hard to predict what will appeal to us in the end.
At the library, I’m proud to say that I’ve actually chosen books based on:
- Their covers
- Their publishers (Penguin, especially)
- Their newness
- Their placement (proximity to other books I’ve enjoyed)
and found them thoroughly enjoyable, and in my cases enlightening.
Some of the more “random” stuff I’ve read about:
- Endangered bird species in Southern America;
- Conspiracy theories in the US elections (an oldie: Bush vs. Gore);
- Quantum physics and the role of randomness in a supposedly deterministic world; and perhaps most importantly
- How pie charts suck (Stephen Few opened my eyes).
I didn’t set out to “go read” any of the books above. They were more or less books that I took a chance on and loved, opening my eyes to new genres and topics I never knew existed much less enjoy.
Addendum: My reading habits were shaped strongly by something the VP (vice-principal) of my secondary school said. Though it’s been almost two decades hence, I remember it clearly: when you borrow a book from the library, don’t worry too much about reading it cover-to-cover. Treat is like a magazine. Dip in and out. Read the chapters, or pages even, that interest you. Forget about the rest.
That little piece of advice shaped how I viewed reading. Where previously it was a marathon, only to be undertaken when one is fully committed, it was now possible to see reading as fartlek: playful, fun, somewhat random, and yet with plenty of benefits.