Trying to read a book for the first time was one of the toughest situations I’ve had in my life. Back in 2021, I made a resolution to start the habit of reading. As a result of that, I bought the first book that came to my mind; a famous novel from the 1800’s, Oliver Twist. I mean this with no disrespect to the writer, but I had a hard time reading that book and I was forcing myself to open it everyday just for the sake of my resolution. I’ve never picked up a book in my life before that, and I didn’t want to quit the habit easily. That was the only thing that kept me going. The first problem I had with the book was the style of English used in it(my English is pretty good as well but the early 1800s style was too much for me). The second thing I figured out is that fiction was not my thing. It took me months to understand the importance of choosing the right book to read.
After failing at the first attempt of this new habit, I thought that reading was never going to be a part of my life. It was a frustrating moment for me because after hearing a number of successful people talk about the impact of reading, I desperately wanted to be a reader as well. At that moment I didn’t realize where I was going wrong. It took me a few months to understand the importance of reading what you want and what you like.
A few months later I decided to restart my reading habit and I started with the book ‘Relentless’ by Tim Grover. This time around, I loved picking up the book everyday. I’ve read some of the chapters over and over again and I spent hours on that book. Crazy how my love for books changed within a few months time, right? But here’s the thing, the only difference between the first book and this one was the fact that I chose this based on what I liked at the moment. I didn’t choose a random book and decide to read it, I didn’t choose the most popular book in the market; and I didn’t choose a book that my friend was reading. I was able to find a big difference in my reading routine when I made this small change. That is why I wanted to write this post today. I want to share my thoughts on treating reading as a habit and as an experience.
- Reading as a habit wont take a lot of time, but when you consider it as an experience it will :
During the early days of starting my reading habit, I used to spend only a handful of minutes everyday and I used to struggle to finish every single chapter. I wanted to pick that book up everyday just for the sake of my new year’s resolution. I was trying to create a habit rather than focusing on the experience. When you treat it as an experience, you will look forward to gain something from the book every time you open it, it might be learning, stress relief, the adrenaline rush of a mystery thriller etc. These are the elements that make you fall in love with the book and make you come back to it every time. But when you treat it as a habit, you will treat reading as something you do for passing your time.
“The man who does not read good books is no better than the man who can’t.”
Mark Twain
2. If you treat it as a habit, reading will be a part of you life. But if you look at it as an experience, it will change your life :
You might have heard this line from many others, but I will tell this to you again, and trust me, I’m not exaggerating this, reading has the power to change your life completely. Reading is a way through which you can view the world through another person’s eyes. The more books we read, the more perspectives we get and the more perspectives we get, the more knowledge we gain. And the best part of this experience is we will be able to view the ins and outs of the topic from the perspective of an expert. How cool is that !
“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies . . . The man who never reads lives only one.”
– George R.R. Martin
3. Reading as an experience is possible only when you read what you need/like at the moment :
If you are new to the world of reading, and if you want reading to be a part of your identity, you should start by reading books on topics that you like or need to learn about at the moment. When you start with a book that solves a particular problem in your life it will be much easier for you to get involved with the book. If you don’t like the book you just bought or if you are not able to connect with the author’s thoughts, it is time for you to say goodbye to the book. You don’t have to feel the need to complete a book. Not every book can be a suitable for you, every author has a different style of writing, and you cannot love all of them. It is very important for you to have an attraction towards the book. In my case, the love of sports was the attraction. As I mentioned earlier in the post, the first book I loved reading was ‘Relentless‘, a book which gives us great insights from the lives of basketball legends like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade etc. I loved reading about the lives of these great people. I was so focused on learning from some of the most successful minds in the world, and thus I had an instant connection with the book. From the very first chapter, I was able to feel the difference between reading a fiction book and reading a non-fiction book. That’s the kind of feeling you should be looking for when you pick up a book.
“There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island.”
-Walt Disney
Hope this post was helpful to you. Thanks for reading !
Wordsbykenaniah 