Great stuff, Blake. I also like reading deeply in certain countries. Were the minds that produced Ulysses and 2666 influenced by and inspire other great writers? Yes and yes!
For those trying to get into reading more poetry: the magazine section of Poetry Foundation’s website includes audio of the poets reading the majority of recent issues’ contents. Great for when your hands are full, you’re multitasking etc
Thanks for the article and the key points. I have been struggling with one of the points that you mentioned that it's ok to give up on a book. I feel bad because there was a little something that drew me to that book in the first place and which made me get the book. Its something that I still need to work on. You are spot on when you mentioned that the book just takes you so long to either finish and maybe it has a reverse effect on not letting you read more. I will remind myself to 'just let go'
Each bullet point is profound enough to be a stand-alone essay, and yet their deliberate compression into a single piece essay embodies your argument: there is power in breadth and accumulation. The form reinforces the function. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks so much for this post, Blake! The section that really resonated with was about feeling the need to "understand or have concrete takeaways" about a story/novel/poem before you've even read it. That kind of unconscious thought was really holding me back from finishing Deaf Republic by Ilya Kaminsky because I knew it was an *important* book and I couldn't just, you know, enjoy the poetry.
First time reader of your post but I found the topic so interesting I had to offer my thoughts. Another thing that helped me keep reading going as life transitions sledgehammer me in the face is being very flexible about what "reading" meant to me. That meant being willing to pick up things that earlier in life I would have felt were too "simple" or "not challenging" enough (e.g., english translations of japanese light novels with quirky titles like "I parry everything") and then thoroughly enjoying them. It also meant putting stuff down for the interim because they no longer press certain buttons: I used to be very fond of Murakami and the psychologist space I felt his writing offered, but now get totally put off by his way of writing women and sex.
Consuming across media also helps - the reason I love the japanese novel is because I usually catch an anime adaptation, so I can imagine the sights/sounds of characters and places, which then brings the novel to much greater life. So reading a book that you've watched a TV or movie adaptation of could really help.
Like Paul, I found this piece through The Browser. I've always had an allergy to poetry, but you offer an excellent and very pedistrian-in-a-good-way rationale for reading (more of) it. I skip it in the NYRB and Liberties. I shouldn't!
Found this post via The Browser newsletter which encourages discovery in precisely the way you're advocating. Thanks for making me conscious about wanting to up my reading game.
i owe thanks to my mom for encouraging me about the list since very young, both as a motivating factor and because she recognized the future value of it - i'm with you as otherwise i'd totally forget half of what got uploaded hahha
she did, she would also write out all the words she didn't know and look up their definitions and write them down. she also had a lifelong list of quotes she'd collected - passing the obsessive qualities right along haha
I read through and it got me thinking what made me to love reading.
Many people say their reading traits were cultivated by their parents, teachers, friends...
I had none of that. If anything. Those around me dissuaded me from reading too much. And they still do. My mother, unlike other mothers, thinks I am a failure because I read too much. She wants me to be like other people's sons. Perpetually chasing wealth. She says reading makes me look like a mad man. I converse with myself much to her consternation. It horrifies her when I buy another book with my meagre finances. She would be at ease if I bought clothes and shoes I don't need, like my brother.
My teachers. From primary school to high school. All of them wanted me to read. But ofcourse. Only what should help me pass those exit exams. Geography text book approved by KICD, thumbs up. Some obscure book I found at the library with details that can never be tested in exams, thumbs down. Setbook, thumbs up. James Joyce, wasting time.
I have been raised in an extremely anti-reading culture. In college, people think I am weird because I read. Like I just read a novel, and someone proudly says he read his last novel in form four. At home, friends use my insane reading habits as a precursor to a joke.
I have maintained this habit for two reasons. One, I write. And I love writing. If I never read, I can never expand my knowledge and my spring will dry up. Two, I don't like charismatic people and I am always skeptical about what popular people proclaim. Especially in my country Kenya where pseudo-intellectuals thrive. I have to read to understand where they are grifting us, and what lies they are fronting as immutable truths.
Love your advice to allow the words to wash over you. I used to feel guilty when I felt like I wasn’t grokking every sentence, but then I realized it’s the only way to get through Faulkner !
i love this one!! i used to not like audiobooks at all but i was putting them on while i was running and was surprised at how quickly i'd get through them and how, while running, was forced to listen bc i had no distractions to turn to!
" I also have a shelf in my office right beside my desk where I shelve the books I read throughout the year in order that I read them, so that I have them nearby and accessible if I want to refer back to something, or read over sections that linger with me."
I have officially found one other person I know who has done this exact thing, holy shit!
Great stuff, Blake. I also like reading deeply in certain countries. Were the minds that produced Ulysses and 2666 influenced by and inspire other great writers? Yes and yes!
amen!
For those trying to get into reading more poetry: the magazine section of Poetry Foundation’s website includes audio of the poets reading the majority of recent issues’ contents. Great for when your hands are full, you’re multitasking etc
great tip ty laura!
Thanks for the article and the key points. I have been struggling with one of the points that you mentioned that it's ok to give up on a book. I feel bad because there was a little something that drew me to that book in the first place and which made me get the book. Its something that I still need to work on. You are spot on when you mentioned that the book just takes you so long to either finish and maybe it has a reverse effect on not letting you read more. I will remind myself to 'just let go'
Each bullet point is profound enough to be a stand-alone essay, and yet their deliberate compression into a single piece essay embodies your argument: there is power in breadth and accumulation. The form reinforces the function. Thank you for sharing.
i like this insight, thank you!
Thanks so much for this post, Blake! The section that really resonated with was about feeling the need to "understand or have concrete takeaways" about a story/novel/poem before you've even read it. That kind of unconscious thought was really holding me back from finishing Deaf Republic by Ilya Kaminsky because I knew it was an *important* book and I couldn't just, you know, enjoy the poetry.
Looking forward to your post on writing!
it's funny how trying harder to understand sometimes gets in the way, kind of like trying to fall asleep haha. thanks for reading Jonathan
First time reader of your post but I found the topic so interesting I had to offer my thoughts. Another thing that helped me keep reading going as life transitions sledgehammer me in the face is being very flexible about what "reading" meant to me. That meant being willing to pick up things that earlier in life I would have felt were too "simple" or "not challenging" enough (e.g., english translations of japanese light novels with quirky titles like "I parry everything") and then thoroughly enjoying them. It also meant putting stuff down for the interim because they no longer press certain buttons: I used to be very fond of Murakami and the psychologist space I felt his writing offered, but now get totally put off by his way of writing women and sex.
Consuming across media also helps - the reason I love the japanese novel is because I usually catch an anime adaptation, so I can imagine the sights/sounds of characters and places, which then brings the novel to much greater life. So reading a book that you've watched a TV or movie adaptation of could really help.
great point about cross-media, it really does enrich both sides when they're each their own thing
Like Paul, I found this piece through The Browser. I've always had an allergy to poetry, but you offer an excellent and very pedistrian-in-a-good-way rationale for reading (more of) it. I skip it in the NYRB and Liberties. I shouldn't!
yeah always good to mix it in, goes fast and packs a punch when you find the right stuff - thanks for reading!
Found this post via The Browser newsletter which encourages discovery in precisely the way you're advocating. Thanks for making me conscious about wanting to up my reading game.
so glad to hear it Paul, thanks for reading
I am so jealous that you have a list you’ve been keeping for so long. I hate knowing there are so many books I don’t remember reading.
This is fab advice. I’ve relegated reading to nighttime of late, which makes it feel less like part of being a writer, an afterthought. So thanks!
i owe thanks to my mom for encouraging me about the list since very young, both as a motivating factor and because she recognized the future value of it - i'm with you as otherwise i'd totally forget half of what got uploaded hahha
nighttime reading is the best! <3 <3
Oh good on Mom. Did she keep lists of any sort for herself?
Nighttime reading would be great if I didn't fall asleep 10 minutes after starting. 🩵🩵
she did, she would also write out all the words she didn't know and look up their definitions and write them down. she also had a lifelong list of quotes she'd collected - passing the obsessive qualities right along haha
i feel you on that haha it's a good nightcap tho
What a gift. I’m not sure my mom has ever written anything down 😂. I have a partial diary from my grandma and I cherish that thing.
Good read.
I read through and it got me thinking what made me to love reading.
Many people say their reading traits were cultivated by their parents, teachers, friends...
I had none of that. If anything. Those around me dissuaded me from reading too much. And they still do. My mother, unlike other mothers, thinks I am a failure because I read too much. She wants me to be like other people's sons. Perpetually chasing wealth. She says reading makes me look like a mad man. I converse with myself much to her consternation. It horrifies her when I buy another book with my meagre finances. She would be at ease if I bought clothes and shoes I don't need, like my brother.
My teachers. From primary school to high school. All of them wanted me to read. But ofcourse. Only what should help me pass those exit exams. Geography text book approved by KICD, thumbs up. Some obscure book I found at the library with details that can never be tested in exams, thumbs down. Setbook, thumbs up. James Joyce, wasting time.
I have been raised in an extremely anti-reading culture. In college, people think I am weird because I read. Like I just read a novel, and someone proudly says he read his last novel in form four. At home, friends use my insane reading habits as a precursor to a joke.
I have maintained this habit for two reasons. One, I write. And I love writing. If I never read, I can never expand my knowledge and my spring will dry up. Two, I don't like charismatic people and I am always skeptical about what popular people proclaim. Especially in my country Kenya where pseudo-intellectuals thrive. I have to read to understand where they are grifting us, and what lies they are fronting as immutable truths.
Love your advice to allow the words to wash over you. I used to feel guilty when I felt like I wasn’t grokking every sentence, but then I realized it’s the only way to get through Faulkner !
i love this one!! i used to not like audiobooks at all but i was putting them on while i was running and was surprised at how quickly i'd get through them and how, while running, was forced to listen bc i had no distractions to turn to!
" I also have a shelf in my office right beside my desk where I shelve the books I read throughout the year in order that I read them, so that I have them nearby and accessible if I want to refer back to something, or read over sections that linger with me."
I have officially found one other person I know who has done this exact thing, holy shit!
Fantastic piece here. Fuckin' gold.