As I write this, there is a retired couple sitting in the coffee shop across from me reading books together. I can only hope to one day be doing the same!
Reading together and conversing about those ideas is still possible. It is an act of depth of relationship to discuss our reading and deepest thoughts, perhaps couples who read together, stick together.
I have always considered myself a fairly committed reader. Generally, I am good for about 25 books a year - but recently, I’ve felt that I am reading less than previously. Perhaps it’s just the anhedonia that is caused by too much social media use or watching video, but I disliked it, and opted to make a change.
Reading is a habit built over time and compounds upon itself, similar to writing, programming, and the skills which really matter in life. So I wanted to course correct at first opportunity and bring reading back to my daily regimen, to the point which I am digesting books - not just “reading” but truly processing, keeping notes, making connections, and building upon a knowledge base that grows over the years.
On habit forming#
While habits get the limelight in our culture, I am a proponent of systems: I simply want to reduce the friction of good habits, greasing the “wheel” and making it easy (with hopes of effortlessness in time) to do that which is beneficial.
Subsequently, we increase the friction of bad habits: we don’t permit or make it very difficult to “slip up”, to go back to doing that which feels good in the short term but is actually detrimental in the longrun.
In this case, we are wanting to read more. So - we install KoReader on our phone and put it on the homescreen, we delete all social media (or only install it to post, then delete it), delete the youtube app - or move it to a hidden place in the devices which is hard to get to.
Whenever we get the “urge” to mindlessly scroll, we pull out our phone, and there is nothing to scroll! So, instead, we read.
How much should I read?#
Many people don’t even read a single book a year - this begs the question why I would then choose to write a book and on this blog - but I am more interested in the people that value depth, therefore, I write for you, dear reader!
So, how much should we be reading? I don’t think there’s a quantifiable “number of pages”, or “books per year” (especially if you are reading dense stuff) - but just to make it a daily system. You go to bed, and you read before turning in. You read when you are on transit, or you listen to audiobooks in the car.
Reading even 10 pages a day will translate to perhaps 10-20 books a year, depending on length. It is a marathon, not a sprint.
On note taking#
I will expand on this more in the future, but when I read today, I have my Supernote next to me, taking notes and jotting down conversation points. In KoReader, one can simply hilight passages that will then be in an exportable text file whe you have finished a book. This can then be uploaded to your org-mode (roam) system or a note taking method of your choice.
“But I don’t like reading!”#
I’ve heard this more often than you’d think. But I don’t think that most people dislike reading itself - they dislike things that they think they’re supposed to like. I have fallen into this in the past, where reading was like a list I was checking off. Dostoyevsky, Shakespeare, Dante, I wasn’t “strong enough” for those books yet, and it was a slog.
The issue is that “reading” has become performance art, of which I have been guilty in the past - updating my Goodreads to reflect that which I have read. It is far better to read one book deeply than 10 that you skim. Don’t build a “reading list” - build a conversation list with authors that have touched on some of life’s greatest questions.
The best advice I have heard about this is to read the things you do enjoy, and then, in the long run, you fall in love with the process of reading - you start to read for reading’s sake and start to tackle more complicated works. I don’t think I would have read Aristotle or Aquinas 10 years ago, there is a process of working up our “reading muscle” to eventually get there and realize that you are conversing with the greatest minds to ever live - you are applying that which is being spoken about and working it into your life.
Aquinas is the perfect example of someone that had read everything - seeking truth in all - for all truth is God’s Truth.
As Ecclesiastes 1<9> says, “There is nothing new under the sun.” When you read, you rediscover the questions that have eternally been asked: how human beings before you grappled with the very same phenomena. You find that you’re not alone, you get to participate in a millennia-long dialogue.
Reading as Joy#
I read because it brings me joy to have those conversations. It is a meditative act for me, one in which I find clarity where I am permitted to reflect on some of those “life’s biggest questions”.
The process of reading and learning is something I have fallen deeply in love with in my adult life, and I do hope to instill it into my children as they grow up - not that “you should read because it is good for you” - but the enjoyment of reading for its own sake.
Reading becomes a way to time travel, to find mentorship which would be impossible to find in the real world.
The thing I live for is the break-through, the revelation that comes when you connect the dots. Often, I find myself reading one thing, only to find that idea expressed right where I am in life, almost as if it is intended to come together just so.
I believe these moments of recognition are Providence - that God speaks through the ordinary rhythms of reading when we’re attentive to Him.
Start Today#
Start with a page now. Go pick up a book that’s been collecting dust. Build a system that makes reading easier and remove the distractions that make it an afterthought.
Read that which excites you, and you start to find that you are getting excited about reading itself.
A few pages, reading before going to sleep - it adds up over time. One day you find that you weren’t just reading books, you were building an intentional life.
As always, God bless, and until next time.
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