To Read Or Not to Read Is Not A Question

Ok, it is. You're a free agent.

Then again.

The written word penetrates. Either we invite or we find the lock broken and back door ajar. One way or another, one word or another creeps in. Even the "I hate reading" folks---a group of which I was an unfortunate member in my high school days---must admit: you read. There's not much way around it for modern man.

So to read or not to read is not really a question. Rather:

“It is what you read when you don't have to that determines what you will be when you can't help it.”

~ Oscar Wilde

Maybe you were there too, lounging in the armchairs of the I Hate Reading Club as far away from the library as possible. [You know they'd have those little canvas "I Heart Reading" totes, strike-through on the heart of course]. Maybe you were (or are) beat down by "required reading." Not the most legitimate reason I suppose, but that was certainly mine. I liked books. But I was, at best, a one to three chapters gal, and at worst a skimmer.

If you're still in the club, my challenge to you is to finish one book. Not skim. Not half-way through before flipping to the end. All the way. [Unless it turns into a truly terrible book, in which case you have my permission to return it to the library post-haste.] Even one book will give you a sense of accomplishment. Download Goodreads if you want a way to track progress and find new books. [Shout out to a former co-worker who got me hooked.]

All that to say, it's incredible what fantastic paper-bound worlds open up to you when you read when you don't have to. Reading what you need to has its place. But so does breaking free of mandatory and picking up a copy of Winnie the Pooh, because why should you be embarrassed to read something so witty? Or adding 1984 to your Amazon shopping cart simply because you never read it in high school. Or nabbing an autobiography of someone you've admired.

Since I left the club, I haven't read extensively. I've always been a slower reader (although my thirty titles this year is a record for me!). And I've realized that's ok. I try to choose titles carefully and get as much out of each as possible. Beginning of last year, I resolved not to finish any book without recording at least one quote or concept that stood out to me (which may or may not have looked like pulling up my notes app every few minutes for the really good literature, lol).

It's been rewarding. But I'll be honest. Reflection is not my strong suit. Well...that might be a fib. What I mean to say is, reflecting on the right things does not come naturally. There's much to inspire in the pages of books. And like watching a poignant film, tuning in to an interesting podcast, closing your eyes to absorb an emotional ballad, or even listening to a convicting sermon, I'm prone to forget everything quick as a flicker extinguished. How can those words determine what I'll be when I can't help it---what I'll do in the best and worst of times---if they don't swirl in my brain long enough to stick?

Cause' the written word penetrates. Either we invite or we find the lock broken and back door ajar. Unfortunately, Good must be invited because he'd never break in. Bad can arrive at either entrance.

Words---so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them.

~ Nathaniel Hawthorne

If you've visited this site at all, you know that updates falls squarely into that "not my strong suit" category. And probably will remain so. But since we've been discussing books, I thought I'd do my best to share a few quotes or takeaways from several of this years' faves. Stay tuned if that sounds mildly intriguing [it doesn't, but if for some reason you want to stay tuned, feel free]. Recommendations are also more than welcome!

So what will you read this week? More "fake news?" A Twitter post? The cereal box at breakfast? A real, live, pen and ink [or nuts and bolts; I'm not anti-tech] book? The Bible [man, I need to work on this one]?

Spurgeon may be a little strong in his wording, but the man has a point:

“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."

~ Charles Spurgeon