The Reading Life #1

More Than You Can Handle

As we approach the end of the year, many folks will post about the books they read in 2022. I think that’s both weird and great. For one, reading is not a competition and the number of books doesn’t matter as much as the nature of the book. For instance, someone could read multiple 150 page books while another person reads a 500 page book. At the same time, I’m all for reading, and readers earn very few bragging rights outside of having read, so post the numbers, I say.

All the same, most people I know want to read and want to read more. So, following my The Writing Life series earlier this year, I want to spend some time writing about the reading life. I don’t believe my reading is extraordinary, but people often tell me differently. There is a belief that I read more than the average person, so I want to share a little about my reading life.

Let me start with a not so secret secret. Reading well begins with, well, books.

You have to have books, and you have to have a lot of books - ebooks, hardbacks, paperbacks, audiobooks, etc…. I use them all and consider them all good. The key is to have books and books and books. In fact, the success of children in faith, volunteerism, their careers, and health is linked, not just to reading books, but being raised in a home with lots of books. In addition, research has shown that books and reading are linked with greater understanding of others and empathy.

Here’s the twist: You should OWN more books than you can handle. And while your local library is a great resource — particularly for those living in under resourced communities — there is value in owning more books than you can read. In fact, my children’s life experience and faith, I believe, have been bolstered by the ability to simply pick a book off the shelf or from my office and read it. Having lots of books allows us to chase our interest, no matter how fleeting, and learn to follow the threads of an argument. What’s more, rather than handing children a screen, a book broadens their imagination, deepens their capacity to sit, and gives kids a window into other aspects of the world. Mario Kart simply can’t do that.

Books mean never being bored. Heck, even a boring books holds within it the potential for a nap.

Here’s your assignment: Go buy 5 books that you’ve been interested in reading. Just buy them. You don’t have to have a plan to read them. You don’t have time set aside. Just having them around will lead you into greater reading.