About Readin' Good
Post 21:
Usually I steer clear of straightforward advice, but it’s probably as good a time as any to break the seal and be “that guy.” Here it is: People need to read more.
Thanks. The end.
Eh. Not so fast. Come on, I wouldn’t do that to you. I have my usual non-empirical, completely anecdotal observations to run past. Here’s the deal; I’m always hearing that folks don’t read as much anymore. As compared to when? The 1950’s? Maybe not, but so what? Like that’s an argument. Put it in the context of the whole of history. It wasn’t until after the industrial revolution and really not until modern times that most people could read in the first place. Think the prehistoric folks were killing it with the written word? More the painting types. Just look at their walls. OK. What about now? The literacy rate for adults in the US is something like 86% today. This is a frigging tragedy, but once again, context. I’d wager that 100 years ago it was way less, 100 years before that, twenty dudes could read, 100 before that… you see what I’m saying. Maybe it’s a post-Enlightenment thing. I just don’t get the feeling that most cats in the middle ages were rocking a copy of “Beowulf” in their back pockets. Not even sure if they had back pockets. Another tragedy.
Okay, so in my usually circuitous way, I’m saying that we (most of us) are blessed to even have the ability. So that’s the first argument. Second, I think people read just as much now as ever. They’re just tricked into it. Forms you sign, mail, blurbs on the TV, a snippet from the newspaper, but mostly, all the social media and stuff on the internet you read, thinking all the while you’re not reading at all.
So we’re still reading. My call is to do it with more purpose. Everybody is always hunting down how to make themselves more energetic, be it a dietary fad, the latest fill-in-the-blank. Reading makes your brain sharper. I think it’s a fact, and I have a consensus of one to back up that claim. Not saying my brain is sharp—just saying without a healthy chunk of book-time, I’d be even worse. Can you imagine?
I’m not sounding the horn to abandon TV and other forms of media. Not at all. That would make me an idiot. Those things are for the most part pure entertainments. Pure entertainment is necessary so we don’t get too stressed out. This is “an ever-changing world in which we live in… ” Paul McCartney said that. It’s true, even though it’s a line from a theme song to a really cheesy Bond flick. With all that’s in flux, it’s important to make the transitions in wise increments. I like reading/writing fiction especially because it allows you to stay in a place while your mind expands itself into a new world. It’s been said before, but the brain using words on a page to form a whole other universe is pretty cool. If you disagree, you’re a douche.
Just kidding. No, you’re a douche. Because real life is so perfect.
I get that there will always be the contingent out there that say reading stories is a waste of time, to live in the actual world. Fine. It’s only a suggestion. I’m not the government—it’s not like I’m forcing anyone. They do that anyway. They call them public schools. Force doesn't have the most sterling reputation. Let’s just say I recommend picking up a novel. You might pick up another. It's about empathy. You learn to empathize with the people in a story, and you just might start to empathize with another real person with another real story. Alright, enough already. And to the guy/gal telling me I'm stupid, enjoy the next season of Game of Thrones or The Leftovers. And thank God that somebody wrote the books and adapted them so you wouldn’t have to read them. Okay, that was a bad zinger. Those shows might be better than the books. Take back. Read on readers. See you after.
