Reading with Mandy

In choosing a book to read the what to read can sometimes eat up time. Most people talk about having a TBR (to be read) pile so that they can finish one book and move straight to another. The problem with this is if you are a mood reader like me. I find that books can have a time they are supposed to be read that fluctuates between time of year (don’t really want to read a Christmas story when it’s not winter and fall is the best time to read a cozy murder mystery). This means that TBR piles can be a trap at times. TBR piles should be aspirational. They should be filled with books that you are in the mood to read or just that you want to read. If you are someone like me who has bookshelves full of books I prefer to display them all on the shelf and see which book specifically seems to be calling my name. I also make sure I don’t read just one book at a time. I have a currently reading pile that I sometimes will rotate books out of as needed. I finished the Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe (which was a hardcover of well over 500 pages) a couple of years ago after having started it a couple years prior. I also took well over a year to finish the Bible (for the purpose of being able to grasp Biblical Allusions in western literature and it does really add to the reading experience when you get the references) because that is not something to read all at once with no other books going at the same time. The requirement is there is always a minimum of two and one is nonfiction and the other is fiction. The thing is nonfiction is about facts and information. It allows me to learn which is a definite requirement for me. I get to explore and think about topics I maybe haven’t thought of before or get another author’s take. I’m reading Start with Why by Simon Sinek because I listened to Leaders Eat Last (which I highly recommend for anyone thinking about pursuing a career that requires leadership or entrepreneurship especially) and wanted to see what he had moved onto more recently. The fun part about having nonfiction authors you enjoy (Charles Duhigg and Malcolm Gladwell are other favorites) is that you have a guaranteed choice that you are going to enjoy and learn from and also relate to whatever they are currently questioning. It helps challenge my own thinking. I’m also reading The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker because I have it out of the library right now. What I love about reading more than one book is how they talk to each other. In The Art of Gathering the section I’m reading poses and answers the question about Why We Gather. This pairs beautifully with the Sinek book because it is emphasizing to start with why and to ask why questions. It is also the type of question I always pose the most. It’s also nice to know that I’m not the only one that thinks about why things are the way they are or why do we even insert activity do this? In a world that’s constantly trying to steal our attention, the way to combat that seems to be with intentionality and our choices. As an educator why spend time on fiction when there are so many nonfiction books to read and information to learn? Because while nonfiction gets at and answers the how of things, fiction answers the why questions. When I go to the library I usually just look for nonfiction options and leave the fiction to what I already have at home. Last week I tried something different. I looked in the new fiction section and found How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin. The title intrigued me and while I have a tendency to read mysteries in the fall I figured why not read it now. The other fiction title I’ve been dabbling in is The Kiss Curse by Erin Sterling. I have a tendency of reading romance a lot because it’s a fun way to explore romantic relationships. They also are easy to read and make up a significant chunk of the book market. Fiction allows us to step into someone else’s world. For fantasy novels especially the world building can make or break a book. It allows us to also explore difficult topics about being human. It’s also why books are starting to come with trigger warnings. As a reader sometimes I find that unnecessary but also think it’s very appropriate and typical of the reading community. There are rules with romance novels specifically that it ends happily. I like knowing how it’s going to end and enjoying the process of how we get there. On the other hand, sometimes I want to branch out and read something different based on my mood. The ability to pop into someone else’s life for a little while helps me figure out things in my own life. And sometimes I do want to read a book with a trigger warning to learn about someone else’s perspective in a safe space so that if I encounter people in real life who have gone through some of the events then I can have more empathy for them (and also you have to be in the right headspace to read a Fredrick Bachman or Jodi Picoult book) or really empathy in general for people who live different lives than ma. According to studies reading fiction naturally makes people more empathetic which is sadly needed in the world right now. So don’t be so quick to rush to think that reading is only about learning facts and nonfiction is more useful. Fiction should be included as well. Think of it as a substitution for watching TV which doesn’t give you anywhere near the same benefits as reading. Next week I’ll talk about why you should give audiobooks a shot and talk about some of my favorite series that I listen to and that are automatic buys for me. Until then: Happy Reading!