The very best way for me to tell you about me as a reader, I think, is to start with my love of learning.
I love learning. I think it's because it's a new way to explore the world and discover new possibilities without ever leaving home. Not that I dislike leaving home, I actually love it. It leads to more exploring. But I digress, I was talking about my love of learning.
I think I've always loved learning. Though I haven't always loved reading.
According to my Mum I really struggled with learning to read. I can only assume that's because I'm such an auditory and kinaesthetic learner that reading is usually the last way I'd choose to learn something new.
Give me a podcast and I'll listen while I'm driving. Put on a YouTube clip and I'll listen while I do housework. Put me in a seminar room and I'll scribble notes while the speaker talks. But ask me to read words off a page without anything to hear or do and... well, let's just say: it better be a fantastic story.
And so that's what I have discovered; that if I am going to learn something new from a book or something in long-form written format (like a very, very long Hive post for example 😉) it is best if it's a story--a really, really engaging story.
But I do like to challenge my brain, and since I write new content myself, across multiple platforms rather often, I know that the most helpful thing I can do to be a better writer is to actually read (well-written) things.
Recently I bought another collection of second hand books. I did this partly because I've always wanted a huge library (thanks Dad, the librarian 😀). But I also knew that if I owned a lot of books they would nag at me to read them every time I walk into my office.
It's worked; I've read more pages of more books in the last year than probably any other year since I was in university back in the early 2000's.
In order to read more when reading isn't my first preference I've had to make it really easy for myself. I read at any time of day when I feel inspired or motivated to read, but I have noticed some patterns. I read most consistently:
How much of a book I read in one go and how often I pick that book up in a day or week or month (until it's finished) depends very much on how engaging the content is and how challenging the information is to digest.
For example, I recently read "The One Thing" by Gary Keller (with Jay Papasan) and while it's not written in story form, it is very, very well written and super engaging. But there were so many new, fascinating and challenging concepts for me in there that I had to read only a few pages at a time and then walk away again. It probably took me a month to read it and after I ran out of sticky tabs I dog-eared many, many pages to revisit.
(Photo taken on my Google Pixel 2XL)
When it comes to my favourite place to read I'm not sure that I have just one; I tend to take my current book to any place that feels comfortable.
At least once a day I'll be reading and eating at the dining table. Some days I'll soak up some sunshine by putting my skin in the direct sun and put the pages I'm reading in the shade of my own body or the house. And reasonably often I'll be sitting on the couch or the floor in the lounge room as I'm absorbed by the words on the page.
I rarely read in bed and almost never when I'm in a moving car or bus or boat as I get motion sick too easily that way. But when I lived in Sydney and caught trains several times a week I would often read a lot as a way to pass the time on hour-long train rides.
And while I've read books on my travels to the USA, Bali, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and probably a bunch of other places I've been I can confirm that I've never read a book while riding a horse, a camel or an elephant! 😋
Now before I wrap up this rather long post, let's just check that I've answered all the contest questions, hey?
What is your favorite time or place to read?
Yep! Both answered.
What makes you enjoy a book?
Tick! It needs to be well-written, engaging, preferably teaching me cool stuff through a story. Oh! And it has to be focused on a topic I genuinely am interested in learning more about. Though I'm sure that's try for everyone, right?
Do you like to read outdoors, before bed or on the bus on your way to work?
Done! Yes, no and definitely not.
Do you focus on character development, thoughtful messages, or the level of intrigue a plot generates in you?
Hmmm, I think I could say more on this. And my answer is probably: all of the above. I like character development, though I appreciate the relationships between characters even more. I very much appreciate thoughtful messages. In fact, a book that I think will have no thoughtful messages is one I wouldn't even pick up in the first place. And a story that has an intriguing plot is a very, very clever way to get this I'd-prefer-to-learn-by-listening-while-doing learner to stay the course and finish the actual book.
And somehow I turned my answers into a 1000+ word post!
I think that's enough 😝
And how about you?
Do you love reading? Or hate it?
Do you find it easy? Or hard?
Are you doing a post for the contest? Or just enjoying reading this post? 😉
