For as long as I can remember, I’ve called myself an avid reader.
Quite a few of my earliest childhood memories involve either a book, or a library. When I close my eyes and try to picture the schools I used to attend, I can vaguely remember classrooms, but not who my teachers were. I don’t remember anyone I went to school with, except for the couple of kids who lived on my street – and the schoolyard bullies. Yet, I can remember my elementary school librarian – sitting at her desk with her glasses pulled down to the tip of her nose.
I remember at recess, I would take a book onto the playground with me and read while the girls skipped rope or played with their dolls, and the boys were out in the field playing sportsball.
When I got a little older, I remember my grandmother taking me to the library once a week, where I would stay until she was done with her obligations, rarely more than an hour. I probably could have stayed longer, but … with a single digit age, it wasn’t like I could drive myself.
I have heard from a lot of people who had a similar childhood than I did talk about reading to escape – about how they would get lost in a fantasy world, like Narnia or Tolkien’s Middle Earth. Or maybe they would pretend to live in some other story-world, a coping mechanism, a way to escape the pains or horrors of modern life.
That wasn’t me.
Reading was an escape – just not in that way. Instead, it gave me something to do when I’d rather not be doing other things. (Like, sportsball.)
Why I Read Today
Today, I still read. A lot. Why? Well … a few things come to mind.
For example, I do a lot of reading while driving or doing mundane things that don’t require a lot of thought. Now, by reading while driving, I mean that rather than turning on a radio and listening to music, I put on an audiobook. And by mundane tasks, I mean things like folding laundry or cleaning cat puke from behind the sofa. You know, basic daily chores.
I first got into audiobooks at a time when I used to take long bike rides. I would put a cassette in my Walkman (a lot of people called them Books on Tape back then) and head out for a day of exploring the city on two wheels. (Note: I went most places via bike paths, which was fine. If I was biking on the streets or sidewalks, or in otherwise populated areas, the audiobook would be shut off.)
When I moved to Chicago, I discovered that listening to audiobooks helped pass the time during an hour-long commute on the bus or train. Or, while during the forty-five minute wait for a bus that is supposed to run every fifteen to twenty minutes. It wasn’t until I moved out of the big city and started driving everywhere that audiobooks became a common feature of my drives.
The Side Effects of Reading
While a large part of my reading is purely for entertainment purposes, there is another reason I like to read so much. At some point in the 1990s, I decided something – I was going to read as much non-fiction as I did fiction. This, I must have read somewhere, was a great way to keep learning, expand my horizons (so to speak), and maybe make myself a better person in the process.
The problem with this is that I enjoyed fiction a lot more than I did non-fiction, and quite a bit of the non-fiction I was reading was deep and all but required serious study to fully comprehend what was going on. Not to mention, that by the time I finished something, I had forgotten parts of what I had “learned” earlier in the book. Frustrating, for sure.
How I solved this problem was by relaxing what I meant when I said I wanted to read as much fiction as non – in such a way that it would be acceptable to be in the process of reading one type of each book at any given time.
In other words, if you ask me what books I am reading right now – I’ll be able to give you at least two titles – one a work of fiction, one some kind of nonfiction – and at least in my mind that satisfies my promise to myself. In a months’ time, I might read six fictional works but only two works of nonfiction and … honestly, that is okay with me. (Some months, I’ll read six non-fiction works and only two fictional books. I know it doesn’t even itself out, but … that’s okay.)
There is another reason I read so much – and that’s all about psychology, sociology, and maybe a few neurosciences thrown in as well.
I’ve read somewhere that reading has a positive impact on not just your brain, but also your physical and mental well-being. Some studies have suggested that people who read on a regular basis show more empathy to others, have better interpersonal relationships, and may indeed be smarter (or at least have larger vocabularies.)
Other studies have tried to suggest that frequently reading may even slow the progression of things like Alzheimer’s, so it is starting to seem like the benefits of reading are pretty substantial.
What Do I Enjoy Reading
For the most part, I try not to limit the kinds of things I read.
When it comes to nonfiction, I (sometimes) like to read about history, sometimes true crime, maybe an occasional memoir or some kind of biographical work. From time to time I enjoy something with a more philosophical or psychological bent, although I’ve also been known to read a technical manual or two.
My taste in fiction is likewise eclectic. Quite a few of the books I read could be classified as mysteries, from a small-town cozy to classic Christie – perhaps a good thriller or suspense book. I would say that I tend to stay away from some genres, like Science Fiction and Fantasy (although some of my favorite books fit into those categories) or Westerns. Thanks to the book club I currently love, I’ve recently developed a renewed fascination in historical dramas or romances, although that often depends on the subject at hand.
I used to joke that I’d read anything, he said, hoping you wouldn’t notice he was just reading the ingredients printed on the box of Cheerios.
The one thing I can say here is that I am not limited in any way to any genre. All too often, I hear something like, “Oh, you liked this book… therefore, you’d probably enjoy this other book as well” only to find that other book as entertaining as snail racing. Fine, I’ve never watched snails race, so I’m assuming such a thing wouldn’t rank very high on the entertainment scale.
In my experience, these suggestions are often based on some vague idea or overgeneralization. Just because two books are mysteries doesn’t mean they have anything else in common. Or, if you read this, then you must enjoy reading books where the main character has this certain trait – except, no – that’s not why I read the book and I’m not sure why you think that’s why I did.
I suppose, all things considered, they’re not as bad as those “We Think You Might Like” suggestions on Amazon … which occasionally recommends things to me like … tampons and bras, as if all the guys are now wearing the over the shoulder boulder holders.
Now, I’m not going to be the kind of guy who complains about not enjoying a book that someone recommended. Any time a friend likes a book that I didn’t enjoy – that just means that we’re two different people and honestly that’s okay. Everyone has different tastes.
