“You’ll never be much good unless you go without dinners to buy books.”
― William Kirkpatrick (C.S. Lewis’ mentor)
Dear Posterity,
In an era of instant gratification via action-packed movies, dazzling special effects, entertaining social media snippets, and alluring music, why would anyone choose such a tedious and dull activity as reading? In light of such glamorous alternatives, perhaps the more concerning issue facing us today is not rising illiteracy (the inability to read) but rather aliteracy (the unwillingness to read)…a very real and present danger. Why should anyone bother if we can simply play the audiobook?
To me, books have always been an old friend, ready to comfort, exhort, challenge, inspire, or repudiate at the flick of a page. Wholly unselfish, they relentlessly give their all to the bashful and bold alike. They also have a funny way of always leaving me better off than when I found them, cultivating a sort of permanent indebtedness.
Please don’t misunderstand: I’m not advocating reading merely for the sake of utility (how to be a better leader, entrepreneur, chef, more well-rounded, etc.) but also for the sake of sheer pleasure. I’m convinced it’s the preeminent activity to be done without some specific purpose in mind.
It’s to this end I’m making the case for why one should strive to read at all costs, no matter the inconvenience or even banality.
15 Reasons to Read
1. It’s essential to all other academic disciplines (science, math, philosophy, government, etc.).
2. It removes all other distractions (t.v., music, movies, social networking) that prevent one from thinking about oneself and place in the world.
3. It equips one to wrestle with big/complex ideas.
4. Reading aloud to your kids acts as a super multivitamin (increases vocabulary/literacy; instills moral lessons/values; facilitates important conversations; improves test scores; builds empathy; instills a lifelong love for reading, etc.).
5. It’s a mental exercise (teaches attention to detail, etc.)
6. It trains one to give your sustained attention to an argument…and then to sift through the evidence to judge what is true and reject what is not.
7. It cultivates the imagination.
8. It is a source of enjoyment/pleasure. My old high school English teach, Jim Wendel, writes, “The first and most important test of a story, poem, or play is, ‘Does it bring enjoyment?’ If it doesn’t, we want no more of it. But we must also ask, ‘Enjoyment to whom?’ The best story in the world will bring no enjoyment to a person who doesn’t know how to read it (i.e. the Bible, Shakespeare, etc.). Many excellent stories bring no enjoyment to us because we haven’t experienced enough, or we are lacking in imagination, sympathy, or compassion—because we’re simply not human enough. Thus, not only do we judge literature, but good literature judges us. We say to a story or poem, ‘Are you enjoyable? If not, go away.’ But a great story or poem says to us, ‘Can you enjoy me? If not, go away, perfect yourself, then come back and try again.’”
9. It is through literature that students form character.
10. It gives the opportunity to travel to other times/places, asking questions that go beyond personal experience.
11. Stories convey truth about the world and help one order experiences. The paradox of imaginative literature is that, though it deals with imaginary events and imaginary people, it can communicate real truth—not just facts, but essential truths about living, delivered whole to our senses, our emotions, our imaginations, and our minds.
12. It helps guide one into wisdom and maturity (ex: Secret Garden – taking responsibility for oneself).
13. It inspires good men to good actions like no other medium.
14. It investigates experiences common to all mankind + allows readers to consider answers to our deepest questions.
15. It makes one more fully human. We know more after reading a good book, about the world in which we live, about our fellow human beings, about ourselves. Thus, it is both a means and an end in education, for though we read imaginative literature for enjoyment, we also read it to make ourselves more fully human.
The snobbery of modernity will persist I’m afraid, but one lifetime of experience is not enough to equip ourselves, or our children to answer life’s tough questions and to become good leaders. Thus, we must vicariously experience the struggles and joys of other lifetimes through the glorious haven of books.
With every esteem and respect,
