Read Into This What You Will

Give yourself unto reading. The man who never reads will never be read; he who never quotes will never be quoted. He who will not use the thoughts of other men’s brains, proves that he has no brains of his own. You need to read.

English pastor and author, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, often referred to as the “Prince of Preachers” was born on this day in 1834 (died 1892).

Sometimes I feel silly saying that I need to read more.

I mean, I read all the time.

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I read emails.

I read Facebook posts.

I read news articles…sometimes I even click on the link and read the whole article if it’s not sequestered away behind some paywall.

Note to newspapers, even local ones, I stopped buying your print version because it wasn’t worth the price of the subscription. I will not be paying to read your “news” online.

I digress.

But is any of this really serious reading?

Don’t get me wrong. I currently am in the middle of at least two books, maybe more by the time this is actually published.

And, I’m trying to read through The Bard and the Bible, as well as selected scriptures. Currently I’m spending time in the Psalms.

And yet, I still feel like I need to read more.

Sometimes I feel like I spent some time in, mostly my thirties and forties, when I didn’t take reading very seriously.

Okay, so maybe I wasn’t serious in high school or college either, but who can remember back that far?

I wrote yesterday about making adjustments. It’s currently hard for me to make adjustments to find more reading time.

No, it’s not impossible. Just difficult.

I have one book that I keep in the…um…library…and currently I have one book on tape. But finding time to read at other times during the day? It’s a challenge.

I don’t watch TV unless I’ve got a show on in the background while I’m writing or designing. So, it’s not like I can turn the television off to find more time to read.

I’ve tried reading in bed. I can generally get through two, maybe four pages, before my eyelids won’t stay up anymore.

So, it’s not easy. But I keep trying.

See, the older I get, the more I realize how much I really don’t know.

I mean, not necessarily about life in general, but about history, and people, and art, and literature, and music, and religion…and…well…lots of stuff.

I try to read. I try to learn as much as I can.

I know that, as a writer, reading is as important as anything else that I do. Maybe more important.

So, in addition to everything else I cram into my messenger bag, iPad, the Moleskine, the script(s), the writing project notebook, the sketch pad, the markers, assorted chargers, and yes, even a toothbrush, I try to find space to include a book.

Choices are difficult. It needs to be small enough to fit in what’s not a whole lot of room left in the messenger bag. And it needs to be something I can read a few pages at a time. That means that it’s difficult to carry a library book because of that pesky “due by” date.

But, I’ll keep reading. I set my reading goal on Goodreads to read at least fifty books this year. I’m a little more than halfway there.

Surely you’ve been around here long enough to know the types of things I like to read. Give me some reading suggestions in the comments.

In other news, American bluegrass singer-songwriter, guitarist, and mandolin player, Lester Flatt, was born on this day in 1914 (died 1979).



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