”Inquiring minds want to know…” for no other reason than to satisfy their curiosity. The Information Age in which we live offers a vast array of resources for gathering and disseminating knowledge. Technical achievements in telecommunications have made it possible to experience literature in new and innovative ways involving the Internet and mobile devices.
The publishing industry, still rooted in sheets of paper bound between two covers, has grown to include desktop publishing, audio books, eBooks, databases, file sharing protocols and devices for wireless downloads. Whatever unforeseen shape books and publishing might take in the future, writing will remain the fundamental source of knowledge. Reading by whatever means or gadget is how we learn things. A ”book” is a body of knowledge with a beginning and end, and in the middle we are forced to think.
Why read? In a high-tech world of steaming video, mobile phones with full-length movies and rapid-fire gaming, who reads? The person who reads every day is the one who knows more, writes better, thinks more clearly, uses a better vocabulary, and is more successful than the non-reader at whatever they choose to do. It’s as simple as that. Anyone who wants their life to move from so-so and okay to ”the best ever” is advised to read as much as possible. Successful people are voracious readers, always in the middle of a book, sometimes in the middle of two or three books at the same time. These people, whether formally educated or not, understand the meaning of the quote:
“To know that we know what we know,
and to know that we do not know
what we do not know,
that is true knowledge.”
(Nicolas Copernicus, b.1473)
If you, like most people, haven’t read a book in the past year, now is an excellent time to start. If you read sporadically, try reading a book a month. The following suggestions are ways to enhance your reading program.
*Read non-fiction regularly. The possibilities are endless and the subjects are limitless. This field of literature ranges from history to space travel, biography, autobiography, how-to and self-improvement books, geography, science, health, religion, politics, cooking, technology, crime, quite literally whatever interests you. Pick a subject, any subject.
Choose a topic you’re not already pursuing. If your hobby is building model trains, you probably have a fine library on the subject. Another book on trains to further your knowledge would never be a bad idea. But try to find a book in a field about which you know little but it’s always intrigued you. Study something you really enjoy, something that makes you feel good all over like a wonderful body massage. History, biographies and autobiographies are excellent how-to-books, or how-not-to-books depending on the individual or historical period. Valuable lessons and life blueprints can be gleaned from reading about notable or successful persons and events.
• Routinely include fiction in your reading program
A collection of short stories are a good choice if your time is limited or your have a short attention span. Novels provide in-depth exposure to new worlds and social situations. They’re thorough studies of character and the circumstances of a character’s life. A good novel offers a vista possibly never before seen by the reader. The author draws readers into a special realm and allow them to experience that world on many levels where they gain new insight into the human condition. Plots weave and carry us along, allowing us to mingle with strangers who become our friends, and visit places we’ve never been but soon learn to call home. Transformative journeys can occur while reading a novel, shaping our thinking and permanently influencing our lives.
• Use new books
Newly written, recently published books are an excellent way to get in tune with current thinking. This isn’t to undermine or devalue the classics or books published prior to the present year. However, most recently published books tend to incorporate latest information, trends and newest ideas and insights, or they’ll reflect previous writing by the same author. If the aim is to move forward into a new year and make it better than the last, it helps to be up-to-date and aware of what is happening at the moment. Consult best-seller lists regularly for ideas on what to read next. Publishers, booksellers and newspapers regularly publish lists, particularly at the end of the year, with Top 10 Gift Selections or Top 100 Books of the Year. These are excellent guides to contemporary interests and what other people are reading.
• Finish a book from beginning to end, no matter how long it takes
Everyone has books they started and never finished. It’s happens even to ‘the best and the brightest.’ But if your bookshelves are crammed with half-read books and they outnumber the ones you’ve completed, you’ve got a chronic problem. Granted, some books are not worth finishing. It’s not unusual for a book to be come incredibly boring and repetitive by chapter 8 and you feel there’s little value in continuing. In these cases, it’s a good idea to skim to the end and make sure nothing worthwhile lies ahead, before abandoning this book for another.
• Read for an hour or two and write for an hour or two
This leads to a fuller understanding of what you’ve read, helps you assimilate new ideas and incorporate them into in your thinking. You could keep a special journal for this purpose, or create a file on your computer. Better yet, read a book and blog about it, or write a review. There’s no shortage today for blogging opportunities on news or social networking websites, electronic editions of magazines, as well as your own Internet URL. Internet maven Arianna Huffington’s latest book, “Blogging,” is a storehouse of everything you ever wanted or will need to know on the subject. Huffington is a good example of someone who has mastered the art of reading and then writing about it. Starting with an inquiring mind and armed with an arsenal of well-honed writing skills, typewriter, computer, laptop, mobile devices and endless notebooks and journals, Huffington has written more than a dozen books and founded The Huffington Post, a news website and bloggers’ paradise.
By incorporating reading, and writing, into your routine you’ll find you’re less bored, a better conversationalist, have new insight into yourself and the world, and generally have improved your life. Start small, think big, and books will lead you to discover innumerable ways to make your life in 2012 the best ever.
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