I used to be a very active reader, but over the last year that habit has faded. So, my resolution is to read more. Right now I am finishing up a novel called The Things They Carried by Tim O’brien, and it has me thinking about why people have trouble reading.
I am lucky enough to have grown up in a very english centered household, which led to a love of reading at a very young age. It was effortless then. But, as I get older, the harder reading gets for me. Not comprehension, but sinking into a good book, really just letting it consume you so that your teachers are getting onto you in class for not paying attention. It’s been a while though since I really felt that. While my current read is phenomenal it aso is quite off putting, and at risk of making myself look bad, it fills me with this far off sense of guilt. I can not quite figure out where that guilt stems from, but I digress. I usually read pretty heavy books, my reads this year including To Paradise and Normal People. And I loved them for what they were, yet , I had trouble really getting my hooks into them.
I remember when I was younger I used to absolutely adore going to the library. Whether it was the local library or just the school one. Even if I still had a book to finish, I would just pretend that I needed to go, so I could wander through the aisles and pick out my next read. Now I have stacks of books I bought for myself sitting on my shelves waiting to be read. It just takes me so long anymore. I only read five books this year. Only five. In 2022? I read thirty-one. I want to get back there, I am just not sure how.
My point is this. I think that reading is easier to appreciate as a young child. As you age, you become more emotionally aware, meaning you can read into things and make up your own mind about what you are reading. Which is why reading is such a beautiful thing, because it does not necessarily have to be taken at face value.This is also what makes reading hard. I believe reading is harder as you get older, because you lack the naivety that a child does. You read into things too much, you recognize the signs of a plot twist, tropes seem over done and stories blend together. It appears that innocence is an important aspect when it comes to reading. So what do I do? The world will only continue to weather us, and unfortunately innocence fading with age is inevitable. So how do we replicate the childlike wonder of reading a new book?