Blog Dis
You are worth the time
2024-02-20
He tells me, this man I know, that he has no time to read, that he has all of these "things" to take care of each day, which include children and animals and tractors and fences and practically everything else under the blazing hot sun, except maybe himself. "Take the time," I tell him, "because you're worth it." Take the time to read and watch what happens. When you read, your brain does this metamorphosis thing and it becomes a sponge, wanting more, becoming smarter, becoming something better and bigger.
How many times have I heard this answer, "I don't have time to read"? As a writer, I'm flabbergasted that people will spend meaningless hours of time on their clever phone gossiping about who did what to whom, how much and for how long. They'll spend umpteen hours in front of their computer zoning out inside some virtual spaces... oops, I shouldn't knock social networks... I mean they'll spend hours interacting with others. The time spent driving to work or sleeping or cleaning your house is gone forever. At least when you read, that part of your brain will absorb the words that your eyes have scanned over, even if you can't instantly recall every single word. Once your eyes read the text, a signal is sent to your brain and somewhere in the deep recesses of your mind, these words will be stored. Granted, and as you evolve, like all of us, you may not be able to recall every book you've read but I guarantee you that your brain will thank you.
I have a wise friend living in Montreal who completed her Master's thesis on the diagnostic methodologies of Alzheimer's Disease and through her research and studies, she agreed that reading has shown to help reverse some of the effects of Alzheimer's. Some people believe too that rote memorization, that is to say memorizing a piece of text like a long poem or a play or whatever, is good for your brain (which it is; think actors who memorize 120 pages of lines) but this isn't quite the same as the beneficial effect that reading has on the brain. Our minds are designed for creative thinking, ideally, but our minds are also desperate for stimulation. When we read, we excite the imagination in our inner child and also challenge the adult that is lord and master over this child. I also like to say, when it comes to reading, you're the tyrant who gets to decide whose books you feel are worthy of your time. Myself, I'm a tad schizophrenic. I read fiction, non-fiction, scientific books, poetry, books on writing and editing and also political books; this list also includes history and to this end my favourite author, Paul William Roberts (Canadian journalist, professor, author, d. 2019) wrote travelogues that are steeped in history, as much as they are witty.
I read everywhere and anywhere I can steal the time. I keep several books on the go, stacked in a pile on a small table next to my couch. I read when I watch TV to drown out the sound of commercials, and I love to read when I cycle indoors in winter, while listening to music videos. The time flies. Books rev me up, as much, if not more, than the actual exercise.
The first book that had captured my imagination, and I can still see myself, sitting in the living room, when I was eleven; was Jack London's Call of the Wild, a spectacular story about the life and adventures of a dog named Buck. I couldn't stop reading it. My mother was issuing her standard orders and I sat there like a statue, stuck in the chair, my eyes glued to the unraveling story of Buck as he clawed and fought his way to the top, surviving amongst a throng of Alpha wolves. What drama! What fun! What an amazing piece of fiction. The love of reading hasn't left me. I have traveled far and wide, to exotic places and some not so exotic. One trip in particular sticks out in my memory, when I traveled to Manzanillo, Mexico with a friend and I brought with me a copy of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. I savoured the book over the course of two weeks and had to stop myself from reading it too quickly. To be sure, the good stuff is hard to make last.
Reading is superb way to ignite that desire to read more. Libraries may at times feel like a relic from the past but they are a Godsend for those whose budgets don't allow them to acquire their own collections. Mostly, tho', reading is about you thinking of yourself, acting on your own behalf, and in a way encouraging your brain to improve, to remember, to challenge your preconceived notions and to broaden your horizons, and cultivate an interest in otherwise topics that your regular life may not necessarily expose you to, on a day-to-day basis.
And so here are the relevant statistics, at least to my mind, they are relevant, based on this post:
— 788 million copies of books were sold in 2022 in North America of which;
— Over 400 million were fiction
— 360 million were non-fiction
— Over 52% of all the books sold in the USA were in the fiction category.
— Revenue from eBooks reached $1.9 Billion, which is actually down 8.5% from the previous year in 2021.
One statistic kind of leaves me scratching my head, but it's telling and it is this: on a global basis, Bible societies distributed 35+ million copies worldwide, and 20 million Bibles were sold in the USA in 2023. You see? Fiction is more popular than ever!
Happy reading, my X-friends. Take the time to spoil yourself.
How many times have I heard this answer, "I don't have time to read"? As a writer, I'm flabbergasted that people will spend meaningless hours of time on their clever phone gossiping about who did what to whom, how much and for how long. They'll spend umpteen hours in front of their computer zoning out inside some virtual spaces... oops, I shouldn't knock social networks... I mean they'll spend hours interacting with others. The time spent driving to work or sleeping or cleaning your house is gone forever. At least when you read, that part of your brain will absorb the words that your eyes have scanned over, even if you can't instantly recall every single word. Once your eyes read the text, a signal is sent to your brain and somewhere in the deep recesses of your mind, these words will be stored. Granted, and as you evolve, like all of us, you may not be able to recall every book you've read but I guarantee you that your brain will thank you.
I have a wise friend living in Montreal who completed her Master's thesis on the diagnostic methodologies of Alzheimer's Disease and through her research and studies, she agreed that reading has shown to help reverse some of the effects of Alzheimer's. Some people believe too that rote memorization, that is to say memorizing a piece of text like a long poem or a play or whatever, is good for your brain (which it is; think actors who memorize 120 pages of lines) but this isn't quite the same as the beneficial effect that reading has on the brain. Our minds are designed for creative thinking, ideally, but our minds are also desperate for stimulation. When we read, we excite the imagination in our inner child and also challenge the adult that is lord and master over this child. I also like to say, when it comes to reading, you're the tyrant who gets to decide whose books you feel are worthy of your time. Myself, I'm a tad schizophrenic. I read fiction, non-fiction, scientific books, poetry, books on writing and editing and also political books; this list also includes history and to this end my favourite author, Paul William Roberts (Canadian journalist, professor, author, d. 2019) wrote travelogues that are steeped in history, as much as they are witty.
I read everywhere and anywhere I can steal the time. I keep several books on the go, stacked in a pile on a small table next to my couch. I read when I watch TV to drown out the sound of commercials, and I love to read when I cycle indoors in winter, while listening to music videos. The time flies. Books rev me up, as much, if not more, than the actual exercise.
The first book that had captured my imagination, and I can still see myself, sitting in the living room, when I was eleven; was Jack London's Call of the Wild, a spectacular story about the life and adventures of a dog named Buck. I couldn't stop reading it. My mother was issuing her standard orders and I sat there like a statue, stuck in the chair, my eyes glued to the unraveling story of Buck as he clawed and fought his way to the top, surviving amongst a throng of Alpha wolves. What drama! What fun! What an amazing piece of fiction. The love of reading hasn't left me. I have traveled far and wide, to exotic places and some not so exotic. One trip in particular sticks out in my memory, when I traveled to Manzanillo, Mexico with a friend and I brought with me a copy of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. I savoured the book over the course of two weeks and had to stop myself from reading it too quickly. To be sure, the good stuff is hard to make last.
Reading is superb way to ignite that desire to read more. Libraries may at times feel like a relic from the past but they are a Godsend for those whose budgets don't allow them to acquire their own collections. Mostly, tho', reading is about you thinking of yourself, acting on your own behalf, and in a way encouraging your brain to improve, to remember, to challenge your preconceived notions and to broaden your horizons, and cultivate an interest in otherwise topics that your regular life may not necessarily expose you to, on a day-to-day basis.
And so here are the relevant statistics, at least to my mind, they are relevant, based on this post:
— 788 million copies of books were sold in 2022 in North America of which;
— Over 400 million were fiction
— 360 million were non-fiction
— Over 52% of all the books sold in the USA were in the fiction category.
— Revenue from eBooks reached $1.9 Billion, which is actually down 8.5% from the previous year in 2021.
One statistic kind of leaves me scratching my head, but it's telling and it is this: on a global basis, Bible societies distributed 35+ million copies worldwide, and 20 million Bibles were sold in the USA in 2023. You see? Fiction is more popular than ever!
Happy reading, my X-friends. Take the time to spoil yourself.
