The Literary Blog Hop is a monthly discussion hosted by The Blue Bookcase, wherein folks talk about literaSHUR-n-shiiiiiit. This month's questions are:
How do you find time to read, what's your reading style and where do you think reading literature should rank in society's priorities?
THAT IS MORE THAN ONE QUESTION, LADIES. I'm fine with it.
Ok, so. How do I find time to read? That one takes some juggling- I have one year old twins, a part-time job at a bookstore outside the home, and a part-time job as a freelance writer that I do FROM home. I (for serious) have to sometimes schedule time to read. Like, "I will read for one hour on Tuesday, when the boys are napping/trapped in the pack 'n play and I have caught up on all my deadlines." On slower weeks when I don't have much freelance work to do, I just read whenever I'm home and the boys aren't demanding my attention. I'm not a hover parent- I'm fine with letting them crawl around on the floor and play with each other without my interference. I don't know Twinspeak, anyway.
What's my reading style- uh...I read with my eyes? From left to right? I'm a marginalia-writer, so I generally have a pen in hand so I can write things like "this author is full of it" and whatnot. I also have a weird bookmark thing- I prefer mine pretty and with tassles.
Where should literature rank in society's priorities...hmm..I'm thinking somewhere below feeding starving children and somewhere above, say, obsession with Snooki's hair bump (or television in general). I can say PERSONALLY that reading literature has made me a more compassionate and, by extension, politically aware person. It's also made me more accepting of other-than-me, and changed the path of my faith toward social justice. For people like me, those who were raised in the middle class and don't have much to bitch about and tend to be snarky and judgmental, reading is essential to thawing our frozen, frozen hearts. I sincerely believe, with no sarcasm, that reading can make you a better, more loving person who is more actively engaged in society (despite the stereotypical image of readers as socially awkward people- maybe we're awkward at parties, but we Give A Damn About All the Things).
In a perfect version of Western civilization, people would read before they made the decision to watch The Bachelor (a show I find infinitely creepy), but that's not going to happen, so. I'm just going to keep evangelizing for books I love and keep contributing to literary culture through my work (most of my freelancing is literary-based) and hope that others join us. There are plenty of people out there who think reading is important- we just can't hear them over the sound of reality television.
TELL ME YOUR THINGS.
He, he, I read whenever I find the time and I do my best to finish everything as quickly as possible in order to have that time. :)
ReplyDeleteSo, I basically do everything I need in the most efficient manner so I'd have time to read. And as reading is also my favourite and fool-proof way of relaxing, if I don't get enought of it, I tend to be very stressed and not easy to be around.
Btw, I have to say you make me feel more at ease with the fact that children don't use all your time so there is none left for reading (that was one big reason why I was never in a hurry to have any even though I love children - especially since they're not mine). :)
To answer the rest of the question(s) - I have no reading style, whatever sounds interesting, sometimes (at the moment) 3 books at the same time as all 3 won't let me choose which one I like best to finish, so I alternate.
And I agree that reading makes you a better person - one additional benefit, I seem to learn so many things from the books I read on a huge array of topics I never knew much (sometimes anything) about.
With the exception of the parts about being a mom, I could adopt your entire post as my own thoughts for this month's question. Brava!
ReplyDeleteGuess I'd better go write up somethin' before I read anybody else's so I don't start inadvertently plagiarizing somebody.
"reading literature has made me a more compassionate and, by extension, politically aware person. It's also made me more accepting of other-than-me, and changed the path of my faith toward social justice."
ReplyDeleteBetween that and the infinite creepiness of The Bachelor (or -ette for that matter), you are singing my song in a big way. In fact, I just wrote something up for work that drew my thick, fat, connecting lines between lit and social justice. I'm not sure it will help me keep my job another year, but it sure speaks truth to me.
Love this post and the Literary Blog Hop! I read whenever/ wherever I can... sort of like an addict. I have a Kindle reader on my phone and I"m usually reading more than one book at a time, so if I find myself caught waiting anywhere I can use the time for reading.
ReplyDeleteI would like to go on the record as being ANTI-the disintegration of society.
ReplyDeleteWith scheduling reading time, do you find that you take more care in choosing which books you read?
I swear I didn't copy your left-to-right answer for the second question. I was just as confused by it as you.
ReplyDeleteLove your answer. Sorry "reading style" was confusing. Just meant if you read lots of books at once or just one at a time or whatever...
ReplyDelete"I can say PERSONALLY that reading literature has made me a more compassionate and, by extension, politically aware person." I definitely agree that it's made me more compassionate, but not more political. Oh man I hate politics
I died reading this post, but esp. at "I'm thinking somewhere below feeding starving children and somewhere above, say, obsession with Snooki's hair bump (or television in general)..." Brava!
ReplyDeleteHi there,
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this - I'm just starting out in the world of book blogging, so I hadn't heard of the Blue Bookcase; always happy to have another bookish blog to follow.
Cheers,
Alyson
You said it! I heartily agree. One can hardly hear a thing over the sound of reality television. However, I just keep reading. (a few moments at a time). My two kids are now 5 1/2 and 4 yrs old, and with them plus a full-time job it is challenging to find time to read. But SO fun to see them start to learn to read and get so excited about it!
ReplyDeleteI love the book evangelizing at the end. I too think that reading makes people better thinkers and communicators. Although I do like making people read classics, because I get to do that, it also makes me happy when I hear that someone found a book that they love and that makes reading something that they might love, no matter what that book is.
ReplyDeleteWhen I saw the question about reading as a social priority I thought about life in the ten million plus Asian city in which I reside. We have some of the biggest swankiest malls in the world, the well off live behind ten foot walls with cut class in them, and guards with sawed off shot guns, have helpers just for their pets (called a dog or cat Yaya) but we have no public libraries. Millions of kids grow up never having their own books. Once my wife and I went to an outreach at a local orphans home. We gave each of the fifty kids a book our daughters had out grown. It was almost heartbreaking to see the children hug the books.
ReplyDeleteAmen. Unfortunately some people think that Snookie's baby bump is more important than reading a book and if they do read a book, they will probably read a book on Snookie.
ReplyDeleteI have found, at least with myself, that I have used books to learn about peoples behaviours because I sometimes don't get other people and makes me more aware of the world around me.
Great post! Sounds like reading is high on your agenda, as you try to fit it in whenever possible - same here.
ReplyDeleteAt first I thought, no, reading has NOT made me a more compassionate person, or a better person in my society, but when I thought about it... I often seem to see things from more than one point of view. So, if someone does something nasty, I try to think why they might have done that, rather than condemn them for being a "bad person" straight away. Whether that's because of my reading, I don't know, but it's possible, of course.
I read left to right, like you. Seriously, the knowledge in books is the basis for society- and the ability to read is a critical skill to both building it and thriving in it.
ReplyDeleteLoved this "I sincerely believe, with no sarcasm, that reading can make you a better, more loving person who is more actively engaged in society."
ReplyDeleteSo true! It gives you an intimate look into lives that otherwise you would know (next to) nothing about, which teaches you humility and compassion OBV
:)
Ugh. I love you.
ReplyDeleteShoot. So much for my hopes of learning Twinspeak through you.
ReplyDeleteOh well, leaving my crushed hopes aside, I completely agree with you. Literature is far too underrated right now, especially when everybody's free time (sometimes including mine, I'm ashamed to admit) goes to watching TV. I've grown as a person thanks to literature too, especially since I started reading the classics.
And The Bachelor is infinitely creepy.
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ReplyDeleteI don't know if reading makes one a better person, but it does a heckuva lot in terms of awareness of reality. (Which, ironically enough, reality TV lacks in. :P)
ReplyDeleteIn my perfect world, people would read something before watching many, many TV shows, but especially before watching the local news. In fact, I do believe that if people read much, they might never watch the local news again.
ReplyDeleteMy thinking appears to be very similar to yours, particularly in light of 'social justice'. I also have young children, so I totally get where you're coming from with regard to time. :)
ReplyDelete