Question of the Day: On Reading
In celebration of R.E.A.D. in America Day, tell us about what you're reading. How is reading important to you? What would you recommend to others?
Right now, I'm really not reading anything mind-blowing. I'm just rereading some old favorites that I checked out from the public library recently -- Tanith Lee's Paradys series, and Stephen King's Different Seasons, to be specific. (I'd forgotten how much fun the library can be.) However, I'm also always reading other things in addition to what my current cover-to-cover books are as well, like magazines, articles, informative stuff I dig up on the web, and other people's short stories or poetry.
As far as how important to me reading is? I don't just consider it important. I consider it essential -- especially if you happen to consider yourself to be a writer. You really need to be a regular reader of the type of material you enjoy writing. Reading other blogs is an important part of being a good blogger yourself. Absorbing a lot of the fantasy fiction that's already out there is important if you like to write fantasy fiction yourself. You get the picture. Reading a lot not only builds your vocabulary and grammatical awareness, but it helps writing your own material become second nature to you. The more you read, the easier writing will eventually become to you.
Plus, reading is honestly a lot of fun, and I'm not just saying that because I'm a proud, self-proclaimed nerd. It allows you to absorb a good story in a way that movies and television, great as they are, just can't. It's also like a work-out for your mind. Use it or lose it, as they say. I also find that reading makes for excellent stress relief at the end of the day as well, or sometimes even at the beginning of the day if I have time. It occupies the mind more thoroughly than a lot of activities do, allowing you to unwind more completely.
What would I recommend to others? I honestly think that there are at least some books out there that everyone ought to at least try to tackle during the course of their lifetime. The classics, for example. You know -- Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, Dante's Divine Comedy, and others along those lines. I think it's important for book lovers to at least have an opinion about as many of the so-called "important books" as possible, even if that opinion is "God did that ever suck".
However, I also think it's important to read plenty of whatever floats your boat. If that's Shakespeare and Hemmingway, then great. If not? I find works by "popular" authors like Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Anne Rice, Danielle Steel, and J.K. Rowling all to be great reads as well. I have just as many books by authors like them on my shelf as I do classics, history books, or other things that are probably considered more intellectual. I don't believe in limiting myself in regards to my reading material in any way, and I don't think others should either. Read whatever moves you. It's all good, in my opinion.
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