I read a kind of sad, if not surprising, article this morning which described the decline of literacy and reading for enjoyment among children and teenagers.  I would venture to speculate that the decline probably spans all age groups, actually — we just study the reading habits of adults with less interest.  A counterpoint in the article hinted that while the decline of actual book reading may be true, these age groups might be reading more online content instead.  As though that were of the same benefit to mental development.

As a pre-teen and teenager, I was a voracious reader.  Absolutely insatiable. I dreamed of one day living close enough to the library that I could walk, and finishing all my books on a Sunday (when said library was closed) was one of my biggest fears.  When I could, I bought books too.  Though that was much less often, and even I recognized it as a poor investment given the rate I plowed through them.  If I’d had access to instant Kindle downloads in those days, I probably wouldn’t have had any friends at all.

While on the one hand that sounds kind of sad, especially if you were a social butterfly, in hindsight I have no regrets about how that time was spent.  Part of me wishes I had participated in some kind of team sport or club, as there were probably equal amounts of other things to learn about life that I neglected.  But the other part of me is pretty confident I’ve filled in those gaps in the years that followed.

The time I spent reading was an investment, even if I didn’t see it as such at the time, and it has paid off a hundredfold already.  So in response to the article’s cavalier tone about books, online content, and the next generation, I give to you this short ode to reading and all that I gained from it.

Reading gave me an appreciation for the power of precise language. I read something once that said “never underestimate the seductive power of a decent vocabulary.”  That pretty much sums it up for me. Being able to convey exactly what you’re thinking, exactly what you mean, through written or spoken word is an awesome superpower to have. Eliciting emotion or prompting deep thought from someone you may never have even met is an art and a skill, and so few people take the time to nurture it.  I think the tendency towards this kind of intelligence is something you might be born with, but activities like reading are absolutely essential to its mastery. Exposure to words — their nuances and color – is something for which there is no shortcut.

Reading strengthened my ability to visualize.  I have a very healthy and active imagination, and whole scenes can unfold in my head at a moment’s notice.  When I dream, it’s like watching a movie.  This, too, is the result of hours and hours tuning the skill.  Words have a picture, and I am the artist.  And while this is vastly entertaining, it’s also incredibly useful.  Visualizing the ways a conversation might play out, or how a presentation might go, or how I will confront a situation is a key contributor to my success as a professional.  And also to my success with my fitness journey, actually.  I can see the result I want and put myself in that scene.  Taste it. Feel it. Want it.  Clarity of what, exactly, I’m trying to achieve and what it will be like when I finally get there helps me to stay on the right path.

Reading gave me a voice.  I’ll never forget the first time I read Jane Eyre.  I couldn’t put it down — not because the story was so compelling (it’s actually a bit dark), but because of her voice.  Her style.  Charlotte Bronte is cited as being the “first historian of the private consciousness,”  and I can totally see that.  It was then, at about fourteen years old, that I first wanted to write something.  That I first understood it could come from me and what was inside me.  It was also the first time I recognized that, if you do it right, you can break the rules of grammar and structure to make a point.  If you’ve never read it, what I’m referring to here is her sporadic break of the fourth wall to address the reader directly.  You’re reading along, feeling like you’re right there with her… and then Bam! she calls you out. As if to say “I know you’re there. Watching. Just so we both know I know.”  It’s totally cool.  And, for me, totally unexpected. It completely changed how I thought about writing and story telling in general.

I could probably go on and on all day about the benefits of reading and my love affair with books.  Maybe over tea sometime we can share our favorite stories and what was so awesome about them.  For now, I will stop here, leaving you with this one final thought:

It will be a heartbreaking loss if we stop reading books, and I hope I can pass to my children my own personal addiction to reading.  They will be richer for it.