Careful reading

"I believe young writers should be careful about what they read," Ellen Gilchrist says in The Writing Life.

Whatever our age and however we make our living, that is still probably good advice. Each of us can read only so many books in our lifetimes, and for most of us who are not blessed with speed-reading abilities, each book takes several hours to read. So we do need to be careful.

Robert Frost

Gilchrist herself says she starts each day by reading a Robert Frost poem and devotes her Sunday afternoons to reading Shakespeare plays with friends. Others of us have our own favorites. I know a man who begins each day by reading a psalm. I know others who read at least one thriller a week. If the thriller adds pleasure and stimulation to one's life, it may be as good a choice as Frost or Shakespeare. At least for that person.

I recently read about a woman who became a writer after reading some terribly written stories as a girl. You can get paid for writing this stuff, she realized. She knew she could tell better stories than that, and then she went out and proved it. So I guess that proves that even reading bad books can sometimes be worthwhile.

Last week I commented on books I read decades ago that I had totally forgotten about ("Forgotten books" June 29, 2022). Were they a waste of my time? In many cases, I'm sure they were. Yet I'm also sure many of them gave me momentary pleasure, insights or information, even if they did not impact me enough to stick in my memory. If only those experiences that affect us in a profound and/or memorable way are worthwhile, then most of our lives would be a waste of time. That's a discouraging thought.

I still agree with Gilchrist that we need to be careful about what we read, especially if we are writers and especially if we are growing old. Writers need the best examples of good writing implanted in their brains. Aging individuals need to finally attack all those books they've been saving for a rainy day or for a week at the beach. We are running out of time.