I was fascinated by George Orwell’s Why I Write. As a writer, I was inspired by his purpose to spread messages that meant a lot to him and his drive to use his craft for impact. 1984 is a hard book to get out of your head (as are Fahrenheit 451 and Anthem, in that same dystopian vein).
This pushed me to deconstruct not only why I write but why I read.
As I grew up Dad always encouraged me to buy and read and fill my living spaces with books. He sure did. And I am my father’s son.
In a world of scrolling and tapping and video snacking I do believe that picking up a book (yes, a physical book; not a digital one and not even an audiobook much as I adore that format) has become more essential as a lifetime habit than ever before, and just maybe a brilliant act of daily rebellion.
It’ll deepen your thinking, upgrade your brain, improve your character, fuel your creativity and shorten the timeline between you and your most precious ambitions.
Some of the reasons I read include:
1. Reading a book is spending time with the author.
Often, a writer has distilled 20 or 30 years of their wisdom and expertise and experiences in a single volume (that you can read in a few good evenings or a series of early mornings). Associating with someone who is living the life you want or someone who has skills you wish for or someone who has the interior qualities you hope to embody leaves you richer than when you picked up the book. Sometimes, a single conversation with the right person alters the unfolding of your life. Same for the right book.
2. Reading slows me down.
Social media and digital communication is fast, short and changes the structure of the human brain. Unmanaged, your focus will weaken and your ability to think hard and long to get to great decisions and solutions becomes reduced (all great geniuses have one thing in common: long periods in solitude working on their masterwork). Reading pushes you to think slowly and process information intelligently and become the heavyweight we both know you are meant to be.
3. Reading helps me sit comfortably with ambiguity.
I’ve shared in recent messages that I’ve begun a love affair with literary fiction (after a lifetime of non-fiction reading). So many of the books I’ve read lately (Growth of the Soil, Train Dreams, Gilead, Stoner, The Road and A River Runs Through It) have parts left unsaid, requiring me to step into the scenes and discover my own meaning. Non-fiction is far more linear, and clear. Consuming literary fiction is helping me be okay with not having to know all the answers and learn each piece of the puzzle. This way of thinking helps me navigate life more elegantly, as well.
4. Reading upgrades my serenity.
In research findings published in the Journal of College Teaching and Learning (Rizzolo) it was reported that just one thirty minute session of reading was found to significantly reduce acute stress. I adore evenings at the farmhouse, as the sun is setting and the nearby village has gone quiet, with a beautifully written book. The practice just makes me feel happier, healthier and more peaceful. [I actually turn off my phone early most evenings and put it into a drawer so I can’t see it and reach for it and check it].
5. Reading amplifies my artistry.
If you follow me on social media you know I now paint a lot and draw a lot. Yes, this is my art but so is the writing of the books I write for you. Reading the works of Hemingway and Steinbeck and Tolstoy shows me what mastery looks like. These maestros push me to push my craft and elevate my game. Being around excellence subtly and wonderfully reprograms you toward higher performance. We always play better when we play with better players, right:
Note: I’m so very excited for you to have my new book The Robot and the Gardener: Being Fully Human in an Artificial World in your hands! It’s so VERY different from anything I’ve ever written. It’s a parable and it’s unique and it’ll be available worldwide in February. To be among the first to hear more and to get a sneak peek at the cover art before anyone else, sign up for the waitlist here.
6. Reading teaches me wisdom.
Oh yes, for decades I mostly read books that gave me predictable rewards: non-fiction works of philosophy, biology, psychology, productivity, history and spirituality. Now, I’m learning that literary fiction can often contain even more wisdom. It’s not overt, it’s more subtle. The wisdom and philosophy come through the behavior or speech of the characters or from the plot of the novel. I understood more about the dignity of labor and the value of endurance and the magic of quiet victory from The Old Man and the Sea than I have from reading a hundred personal growth books.
I could go on but I need to get out of this hyperbaric chamber I’m in as I write this to you and get on with my day.
All I’m saying and encouraging and suggesting and validating is that reading books changes a person. And makes us more fully human.
Love + respect,
Robin
