When I tell people I run a book club, I am met with a variety of responses. Some people get it, but others don’t understand why I would dedicate so much time to reading. I’ve heard them say they don’t enjoy reading, that they find it boring or a waste of time. They might even proudly tell me they haven’t read a book since high school and don’t plan to any time soon! Naturally, this made me question where my love of reading does come from if it isn’t an inherent desire.
The more I thought, the more I felt quite qualified to talk about the relationship I’ve had with reading. I’m sure listening to my mom read all the Magic Treehouse books as an infant helped me developmentally, but I know I’m not alone in saying that books were more of an escape for me when I was younger. I would spend a lot of my time with my nose in a book instead of interacting with the people around me. During recess and after school, I stayed with my sixth-grade teacher and organized her class library, noting which ones I wanted to read eventually. I hassled family members to take me to the public library once a week and when that wasn’t enough, I started walking to one on my own every other day to read and to be alone.
Reading wasn’t just a way to avoid other people though, reading was also fun for me. I loved the feeling of getting lost in another world and imagining how someone came up with this idea. Books helped me understand the people around me and connect with parts of myself I didn’t see in the world I lived in. I liked learning about many different subjects, feeling like I might understand everything around me one day if I read enough. To this day, I still love how reading makes you feel like you’re lost one of the thousands of snow globe worlds contained within the pages of each book.
When I grew older, I got busy and my relationship with reading became strained, limited to school assignments and internet threads. I began to see reading as a chore and too much of a commitment. So, I got into watching movies, still satisfying my craving for learning and getting lost in the plot, while consuming less of my time. My library card expired, my family stopped getting me Barnes & Noble gift cards, and I fell out of love with reading.
It’s only been within the last few years that my relationship with reading changed again. What really re-ignited my love for reading was realizing what a privilege it is to be able to read and learn. Per Literacy Together, a nonprofit dedicated to transforming lives through the power of literacy: “Literacy plays a significant role in reducing gender, race, nationality, and religious inequality that favors one group over another in access to education, property, employment, health care, legal, and civic participation.”
Without literacy, society is incredibly part to participate in. Not being able to succeed in school/college, understanding rental or housing paperwork, employment applications and requirements, medical prescriptions and instructions, political participation, transportation access, essentially every area of life is affected by literacy. The effect of low literacy rates trickle through communities, in high infant and child mortality rates, higher rates of sex trafficking, poor family health, lower wages and overall quality of life. Education, literacy, is the key to enacting the changes needed in our communities to help each other not just succeed but excel.
The more you read, the more you get out of it. Like anything, when you practice, it gets easier – and you become a better reader. Meaning, you understand the text deeper, you pick up on new ideas and perspectives, you find more books that align with your interests, and you learn more and being literate is beneficial for numerous reasons.
From my relationship with reading, this book club was born and I feel incredibly fortunate to be a part of the journey. So, to my friends who feel like they don’t have the same love for reading they had when they were a kid or who don’t know how to see the value in it – I feel you. I’ve been where you are and I’m just letting you know reading will always be there when you decide you want to try again.
I wanted to leave a Q & A with tips that I thought of and collected from my chapter’s members in terms of reading:
Q: How do I get into (or back into!) reading?
A: good place to start is asking your friends for their current or all-time favorites – it’s hard not to like someone’s favorite book when you know them. Another way might be rereading a novel that is very nostalgic to you, perhaps from a time you felt differently about reading. Picking a book by someone who inspires you in your daily life (i.e. influencers, athletes) or the book-version of a play or movie you like might also help spark that interest.
Q: How do I pick a book that won’t bore me?
A: Any of the strategies above are fair game for this question as well, but in addition checking best-sellers and new releases lists for books that have plenty of people talking about it that will allow you to gauge whether it sounds interesting to you. Spending time finding the technical genres of books you know you like will help limit the searching you have to do if you want to ensure it aligns with your expectations. For many people, listening to an audiobook is a more engaging experience and thus easier to finish.
Q: Help! I can’t finish a single book!
A: I push myself and my friends to finish a book when we’ve started it. Not everyone believes in this – and I’m not saying I’ve never put a book down halfway through because I simply wasn’t enjoying myself. That being said, we’ve seen opinions change so dramatically from the beginning of book to the end – for good and bad. Either way, when you’re a good reader, you’re able to take something away the work – even if it’s only further insight into what you dislike. Avoid getting stuck with a book by following the tips above, or try starting with shorter stories and poetry, that are easy to pick up and put back down without getting lost.
Q: Where do I find other people who want to read with me?
A: If you’re someone like us, you find more value in something when you’ve been able to fully discuss it with others. A few ways to get involved with other readers include checking websites and public library displays for local events based around literacy and supporting authors or find a friend or two and start an impromptu book club like we did. We’ve also seen a lot of our members journaling their book reviews and sharing them on their social media to connect with people across the world who have read the same book. Finally, there are lots of ways to join our book club each month as well. From buying the book yourself and commenting on the forum, to having the monthly book sent directly to you with a bunch of handpicked items to go along with it. Check out the rest of our website to learn more!
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