The more you read, the more you’ll know, the more you learn, the more places you’ll go!

[to paraphrase Dr. Seuss]

Today, I was posed a question on Twitter from @meganmonique.

“@champsuperstar Avid Reader: What would you recommend me reading to start my ventures, considering I don’t remember the last book I read.”

I thought about how to respond in 140 characters, but decided this terrific question warranted much more thought than just a Tweet.

My Twitter profile says “Avid reader”, among other things. Avid, though, comes in fits and starts. My love for books, however, never wanes. I love the look, the feel, the smell of books. I like the way different papers feel between my fingers as I prepare to turn a page. Sometimes, I will re-read the last paragraph on a page just to be able to rub a particularly wonderful feeling fiber blend a little longer. I like different fonts and covers and graphics and sizes. I like hearing creaks in the binding and how a book sounds when you toss it on to the coffeetable. I love buying used books. It feels very historical and communal to see pages dog-eared by someone else. I love reading notes in the columns or inscriptions inside the cover. My favorite inscription is this one:

Christmas ’84

Dear Matthew –

Hopefully your recent move will make it easier for us to spend time together.

Love – Joaly

Inscription

The book is One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, definitely one of my favorites. Also, funny I couldn’t remember which book this inscription was in but I walked right to it on the book shelf. First book I picked up. Anyway, all this to say that owning books, being near them or surrounded by them is a very intimate experience for me.

Reading, too, is a very physical, visceral and intimate experience for me. Again, it comes in fits and starts. I learned to read very early on, before I even started kindergarten and have never stopped. I had a friend once who called it “compulsive” but that sounds so negative. What’s wrong with reading all the time? But, sometimes my compulsion only goes so far as the coaster underneath my beer [100 times during the length of a pint], flyers, leaflets, those extremist hellfire and brimstone Christian pamphlets, CNN, WWTDD, top 10 lists, etc. etc. You get the picture. As of now, I haven’t read a book in about a week, which relatively speaking is not a very long time, but before that it had been about a month. If you’ve gone longer than that you know how difficult it can be to get back into the habit. So, finally getting around to answering @meganmonique’s question, here are my tips for getting back into the reading game again. Like everything else, it’ll take practice, dedication and discussion over several glasses of wine.

1. Get a library card.

2. Read when your mind is active. A lot of people like to read before bed, to unwind, to relax. I agree it’s relaxing and terrific, but I don’t think it’s the best time to read. If you’re like everyone else but me, you’ve probably had a full, tough day and have to get up early the next day and do it all again. So, you’re not reading for the pure pleasure of reading, you’re probably reading to tire your eyes and to lull yourself to sleep. I say figure out when you’re mind is most active, most receptive and plan a little 15 minute break at work or wherever and read a few pages.

3. If you’re just getting back into the habit of reading, I have two suggestions for picking a book:

A. Pick a book that has definitive short stories. They can be by muiltiple authors, but my suggestion is to find a memoir with a collection of essays by one author. This way, you’re not adjusting to different styles every 10 pages and you have a fairly decent, simple, single timeline or history to follow. I just read Chelsea Handler’s “Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea.” It was a fast, fairly simple and hilarious read and if you can accomplish 10 pages in no time at all, you will soon be comfortable reading 100 pages in one sitting in no time. David Sedaris is also a good choice for this type of book.

B. Pick a book you’ve read before. Especially something classic, under 300 pages. My favorite example of this is “To Kill a Mockingbird.” I was 14 the first time I read it and 24 the next time I read it. I knew what the book was about, I knew I could get really involved in the characters and I knew I loved it. What I did not know, was that when I read it at 24 it had a completely different meaning to me. It’s so amazing to see a reflection of your own personal evolution in the pages of a beloved book. Not only is that exactly what reading comprehension should breed, it’s really fun to have multiple and divergent views of the same characters. You will understand the story better and get a new one from the same book! It’s a literary 2-for-1!

4. Make goals for yourself. Progressive goals are my favorites. I read Gravity’s Rainbow. It took me nearly 18 months. My goal for that was to read 3 pages a day for a few months, then 10 pages a day, then 15 pages a day. It was pretty dense. I never did make it to 20 pages a day, but I got through it. If you are starting out again, set a goal. It can be a goal for number of pages, a time limit, whatever. But, increase them every so often so you get used to the physical act of reading again. It is stimulating and it is tiring. You are using a number of cerebral processes simultaneously and training your eyes to work in ways they aren’t used to anymore. Also, see Tip #1 – doing this when your mind is most active will produce the best results.

5. Read with a buddy. There is very little better to me than sharing a coffee or a beer with a friend and discussing the last 10 pages we read. I don’t care for the concept of Book Clubs – most I’ve been to have been disorganized and based more around being social than discussing themes and characters. I love that, too, but I would rather have a one on one with someone that I’m sharing goals with. Also, they might pick up things you miss and vice versa. Plus, don’t you love having little private jokes? Then, when someone asks you about the joke, you can say “Oh, it’s from a book we’re reading” and feel intellectually superior! Bonus!

6. Find a good spot. I particularly enjoy reading on the couch in my house with the TV and radio off. Wherever YOU enjoy it, just go there. It may take a few tries and you may find you can concentrate in strange places. I had a friend who liked to find a good, busy bar and pull out a book and have a Guinness or three.

7. Take it with you. Speaking of strange places, when you are reading a book, put it in your car or in your bag or whatever. Sometimes, those 2 or 3 minutes when you’re waiting in line at the grocery store or waiting for the bus that you can sneak in a couple of minutes are golden! I actually use this time to go BACK to some things I had questions about earlier in the story or to REMIND me of issues or story lines that will come up later. Also, this is what dog-earing is for.

8. Keep on movin’. One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever received about reading is “Don’t quit.” It was from David Lowery of Camper van Beethoven fame. Camper has a song about Roger Mexico and Lowery is apparently a huge Pynchon fan, so we were chatting about Gravity’s Rainbow and that was his advice. Simple, concise, authentic. I was struggling, struggling to read this thing and was having every difficulty. Every time I wanted to give up, I thought about that conversation. I feel this way even when books are terrible. Don’t quit. Just like anything, everything else, reading can get difficult. It can be frustrating and emotional and physically painful. But THIS is what the ACT of reading is. This is the visceral part. The reaction is not just inside your head. It’s in your tired arms from holding up a book you just can’t put down, and it’s in your anxious breathing when you pause to turn a page. It’s in that moment when your eyes start stinging just before the tears fall. It’s in those “I laughed so loud and so hard I dropped the book” moments. It’s in sharing passages and recommending authors. It’s in thinking about the characters as if they are people in your life – and they are in your life.

So, @meganmonique, I hope these tips help you. I would love to suggest a specific book for you, but I think if you’re gonna kick off your reading training, you have to find something that suits you. With your trip to New Orleans in mind, you might think about adding some classic New Orleans fiction like Walker Percy’s “The Moviegoer” or John Kennedy Toole’s “Confederacy of Dunces” to your reading list. Amazon has a pretty cool list of 20. Keep me updated on your progress and let me know of any tips you might have once you get started!

Happy reading,

Champ Superstar