Weekly newsletter
I. Prompts for motivation
Can you remember a book you couldn’t put down that completely sucked you in from the very first page? What about the content you were reading do you think kept you engaged and going back for more?
Do you read as often as you would like? What types of genres or mediums do you think would appeal to your personal interests and lifestyle that you can learn from the most?
II. Thoughts for intention
Beyond the experience itself, one of the benefits of reading is that it strengthens your brain health. It also stimulates neural pathways, which can serve as a mental workout for boosting your memory, focus, and concentration. Moreover, it not only enhances your critical thinking and emotional intelligence skills but also helps you actively reduce stress, expand your vocabulary, and practice empathy.
Naturally, preferences in taste differ from person to person. While some might argue that they personally don’t like books in general, the truth is that the ones you choose can influence your view on reading altogether. It’s important to experiment because sometimes the wrong books can turn you off from the activity, while others might actually lead to a beloved pastime and lifestyle you never imagined for yourself.
III. Ideas for preparation
This isn’t talked about often, but there’s a golden rule to finding the best books to start a reading habit. Personally, I think if you’re not a big fan of staring at long chunks of text, then your reading goals should be less about intelligence and classics, and more about momentum. One way to go about this is to look into reviews on titles that feel more like episodes or movies over ones that resemble dense homework material. The idea is to look for short, fast-paced, emotionally engaging works that end in lots of cliffhangers, like Angels & Demons by Dan Brown, Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, or The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.
Another way to go about this is to begin with short, lighter reads that, despite the length, feel meaningful all the same. This is particularly helpful for those hoping to improve a rusty attention span. In time, this will change; it just takes a little getting used to, as with any habit you’re hoping to build. A few quick yet powerful books that come to mind are The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom, and The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
IV. Quotes for inspiration
“When you find a writer who really is saying something to you, read everything that writer has written and you will get more education and depth of understanding out of that than reading a scrap here and a scrap there and elsewhere. Then go to people who influenced that writer, or those who were related to him, and your world builds together in an organic way that is really marvelous.”
― Joseph Campbell, The Hero’s Journey: Joseph Campbell on His Life & Work
“For I need not remind such an audience as this that the neat sorting out of books into age-groups, so dear to publishers, has only a very sketchy relation with the habits of any real readers. Those of us who are blamed when old for reading childish books were blamed when children for reading books too old for us. No reader worth his salt trots along in obedience to a time-table.”
― C.S. Lewis, Of This and Other Worlds
