I was never an avid reader as a kid. My Mom read to me, I was loved, I just didn’t have a passion for it.
Blame TV. Blame video games. Blame music. Blame food.
I again blame my children.
My son enjoys reading but has been doing less of it and my daughter will only read comic books. I realized I wasn’t being a positive influence.
What I Read
I read almost purely non-fiction.
I realized that a lot of deep content is found in books. When I wanted to read more about time travel and quantum physics, books were the best source of information. I’ve even read “textbooks.”
I would like to know more about the things I never learned in school. I’ve read a variety of books from drywall to baseball strategies. From self-improvement to writing comedy.
I find these niche areas are rarely addressed in mainstream visual media. Content creators are putting things on YouTube now, but even a movie like Moneyball barely scratches the surface of my passion for baseball analytics.
What About Fiction?
If someone tells me that the Harry Potter books are better than the movie, I will reference one of my favorite Jim Gaffigan jokes…
Do you know what I liked best about the movie?
No reading.
It was only two hours and I could take a nap after.
-Jim Gaffigan
I’m not trying to look down on fiction. I’ve watched my fair share, from reality to art-house. I just find that forcing myself to read about something intellectual for at least 15 minutes a day will help keep away dementia. And I know that I will be playing a video game or watching a TV show or movie some other time of the day. I don’t require carving out time for it.
Also, it’s not my jam. Fantasy isn’t really that interesting to me.
How’s It Been Going?
I started my streak of reading ~15 minutes or more over 1000 days ago (April 4, 2018). I generally do it right when I get up. I used to try to do it before going to bed, but sometimes you’re really tired and just want to sleep. While other times it can make a great sleep aid.
I wish I had kept better track of what I read, but my Kindle doesn’t always update Goodreads.
I also realize that when I usually do it when I first wake up and not again throughout the day my kids aren’t actually seeing me read. My wife has filled the void and reads to them every night now.
… Harry Potter …
