“Reading widely opens the door to an empathetic and deep understanding of lives, people, traditions, experiences, and histories that aren’t your own.”
Payton Cosell Turner
by Mauve Maude
December 27, 2020
I’m writing from a room filled wall-to-wall with books. They’re not my collection. They and the shelves in other rooms throughout the house have taken most of my lifetime to collect. Mine I’m still working on: the book collection and the lifetime. But I’ve already spent most of it swimming in words.
At home, at school, and in libraries, I was raised a reader. And when my interests turned to writing I was encouraged from day one, though the importance of reading was always reinforced. When I asked my high school journalism teacher what I should do to become a great writer, she told me simply, “Read.” So I did, though I’ll never think I did enough, and I’m fine with that.
I went on to study journalism, literature, and creative writing in college, reading much along the way. And when I had children of my own, I read to them from the very beginning, and carried them to bookstores and libraries, and my eldest read before she went to preschool.
I have that. But even I, like many Americans, lost track of my own reading and writing habits before graduation, after graduation, and definitely after kids. After years of encouraging it in my children, now it’s something I’m trying to get back for myself.
Whether individuals lost it or never had it, I think reading habits are something we collectively need to regain.
To be fair, I can’t say it’s been lost entirely. I stopped paying for cable television many years ago, and I’ve never wanted it back. So I’ve long been a reader of news instead of a watcher. I’ve also consumed far fewer films than I used to, and I’m not usually the person to talk to about even the best streaming series either. But these days the new books and magazines that come to my hands are rarely finished, I’ve spent far too many hours scrolling through social media, and my library accounts have lapsed more than once. I’m more behind on contemporary American literature than I want to admit. I’ve certainly lived a significant number of years without what I used to have. And living without what we used to have has certainly been the theme of this one, hasn’t it?
So what about the next one?
Perhaps this should be us. I don’t mean just women, and definitely not just people who can afford Gucci outfits; I mean all of America. Maybe America needs to rethink our relationships with books and with knowledge, and strive to be(come) well read. I think we’ve lost a great deal simply by not reading–inquiry, imagination, perspective, and empathy–the ability to learn from each other more and fear each other less. When we skip out on that–or choose to forgo the expertise of people who’ve studied their field, their discipline, their craft, or lived a certain experience–we miss out on that opportunity to learn. And we’ve seen how much that hurts us. So whether individuals lost it or never had it, I think reading habits are something we collectively need to regain. We need to take in and value and encourage learning, especially about each other.
I can’t see anything better or more important to do, than to instill strength in the ones who will live after.
All my latest reading has been in preparation for my future, which includes teaching children to read, and so to learn. A former minister of mine used to urge us to find what fills our heart, and what breaks it. And I’ve finally figured out that the joy I pull most out of life is in seeing other people learn. Lately I’ve seen my faith in people’s ability to do so pulled as thin as chewing gum, because what breaks my heart is ignorance. But that faith is still there. And from where I stand I can’t see anything better or more important to do, than to instill strength in the ones who will live after me.
How do I do that?
I do that by first instilling it in myself–which, like many women, I’ve hardly made a deliberate attempt to do, until this year. So I’d like to realize that goal in the next one. Do I wish I’d learned it better, or sooner? Absolutely. That’s kind of the point. Fortunately though, I have everything I need right here. And so do you.
So, what else are you reading? And why not?