I've really been enjoying some of the books I've been reading lately and that had me wondering why I don't read these kind of books all the time. I've read quite a bit for the last 5 or 6 years or so with a few breaks in there along the way. My opinions on the types of books that are worth reading has evolved throughout the few years that I have realized I like to read. I thought I'd write a blog about what my opinions used to be and what they have become today.
When I was young I actually couldn't stand reading. Reading was something that they made us do in school and I viewed it as work and not a leisure activity. Even though I enjoyed a few of the books I read as a child such as "The Hatchet" or "Island of the Blue Dolphins" it was kind of like finishing a cool science project, "Yeah, now that it's done it's pretty cool but not nearly cool enough to justify the time and effort needed to complete it." That was the opinion of my childhood self of course, now that I'm older I can really appreciate the knowledge and insight that can be gleaned from books. There were a few key books and a few key people that brought me to this realization. One key person was my brother-in-law, John Spencer. I don't know how he did it back then but he convinced me to read a few books like "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis and "The Jesus I Never Knew" by Phillip Yancey. These books probably changed my life forever, not only because they contained knowledge that I enjoyed reading about but because they changed my opinion of reading altogether. This was the first baby step to my love of books.
One of the struggles I've gone through in my life is that sometimes I have trouble looking at things from other peoples point of view. I draw hard conclusions when I feel like they can be backed up by reason. One of the hard conclusions that I drew about books was that I thought non-fiction books were the only ones worth reading. I can remember a conversation with my friends mom, DonEtta, when I told her, "Reading fiction is stupid, if I wanted a story I'd go backpacking or go do something fun and exciting to make my own. Why would I want to read about somebody else's made up world?" I really believed that gaining knowledge was the only purpose for reading and I couldn't figure out why so many people wasted their time by reading meaningless stories. Now that I'm older I can look back and realize how small minded I was being. I still have a tendency to draw hard conclusions when I feel like they can be backed up by reason but I think I get to those conclusions a whole lot slower and with more thought than I used to and if it's not an important issue, I try to avoid it altogether.
I was in a bit of a reading slump when I started dating my girlfriend, Renee, a couple years ago. It is her that I have to thank for making me pick up books again and start reading them. I had gotten a little bit burned out with the books I was reading and hadn't been at it for quite a while. She bought me a copy of "The Hobbit" by Tolkien and I read it all during a short vacation in Hawaii with my mom. "The Hobbit" completely changed my misconception about fiction and I went on a fiction rampage after that. I read all of the Lord of The Rings trilogy and a couple other books by Tolkien, all of the Chronicles of Narnia, all of the Harry Potter books, and a long 10 book series by Vince Flynn about Mitch Rapp, a CIA Operative. There were a few other books here and there in the middle but for the most part, I ditched non-fiction for awhile and ate up the fantasy worlds created by those talented authors. Looking back, I can tell that even though these books weren't the types of books I thought could teach a person something, I ended up taking some very important things away.
"The Hobbit" and the other books by Tolkien taught me how much I desire a simple life. Even though it was all made up in Tolkien's mind, reading about hobbits made me want to be like them. They just live simply, eat, drink and are happy and there isn't anything that they do that's not possible in real life. It reminded me of my brother-in-laws' favorite verse in the Bible, Ecclesiastes 2:24&25 "A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him who could eat or find enjoyment." Reading those books changed my life for the better because it made me realize that the goals we have in society don't have to be accepted by everyone. Happiness and contentment can be a priority over money and materialism.
"The Chronicles of Narnia" taught me aspects about certain virtues such as justice, mercy, bravery and Love as well as others.
The Harry Potter books made me appreciate the benefits of friendship. I think they made me think consciously about the type of friend I want to be for other people and to always be willing to forgive and be empathetic to other peoples situations.
The Mitch Rapp series by Vince Flynn were a different animal. Although they were really fun to read, I've never seen such a miserable protagonist as Mitch Rapp. It was hard to disagree with everything he did in the book because he always seemed to be stuck between a rock and a hard place and had to choose between the lesser of two evils. Even though, in theory, I didn't disagree with what he did, it was hard to agree as well. It was almost like watching a fight at a bar, it seemed really easy to tell who was right and who was wrong but when you think about it, it would probably be better if the people fighting just didn't hang out in bars. What I took away from those books was this, a life well lived avoids conflict whenever possible.
At the end of my fiction rampage I didn't have another series to read so I picked a book up off my shelf called "Sages and Lunatics, recovering what we lost from factory education" by John Spencer. I enjoyed reading this book very much and when I was done I picked another book up off my shelf called "The Mystery of Capital" by Hernando De Soto. This was one of the best books I have ever read and I have blogged about it previously. Right now I am in the middle of a book called "The paradox of choice" by Barry Schwartz. This is another book that I am really enjoying. These last three non-fiction books have been so much fun to read I started to remember that old thought I used to have that gaining knowledge is the only purpose for reading. This time I'm not being so closed minded and I think I'm better off for it. Looking back at what I've read and learned and the thoughts I've pondered as a result makes me realize that nothing can be bad as long as it's analyzed and examined properly. I think I will forever be a reader of fiction as well as non-fiction and I have learned and will continue to learn a lot about myself and the way I want to live in the process.
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