Posted From: The Bronx, New York, United States
Literacy - a new, worldwide phenomenon
As of most recent data, 85% of the world is literate. The graph below shows the trend over time:
Just 200 years ago, the inverse was true: 85% of the world was illiterate. This trend coincides with the improvement of other “human development” like-indicators, as the chart below shows.
Literacy rates, in and of themselves, are not the intended end goal of development programs. Rather, literacy rates serve as a mechanism to enable populations to learn about the world and from others, more easily.
An untaught benefit of reading books
Kids are taught to read for reading sake; the benefit of reading is reading and understanding words. As I progressed through my adolescence and onto my young adult years, I realized reading, in addition to allowing for understanding of written language, serves additional, more important purposes; it allows for a greater understanding of the world and the ability to more easily learn from others. In fact, reading is one of the highest return activities per time invested. With time in ever-increasing scarcity in our on-the-go world, reading provides a clear benefit.
However, I did not realize these benefits until very recently in my life.
Through my adolescence, my conception of reading books
Quite frankly, I did not read much in years past. Imagine an ocean-facing beach and its waves. On a normal day, the waves crash at an almost constant pace. That is my reading now — certain, and sometimes, heavy. Now, imagine a river-facing beach and its waves. That’s right, they are non-existent (except if a small speed boat causes them). From middle through high school, the reading I completed was as present as waves in a river-facing beach - non-existent, except if a small, mandatory assignment created some ripples.
I did not grow up reading. In fact, I had trouble reading as a child, not reading much until 1st grade. I remember being able to, at that time, find such enjoyment in reading all the road signs we passed as I sat in the passenger-side of my family’s minivan in my booster seat. In the subsequent few years, I did not conduct much personal reading. I read the “Civilopedia” of Civilization 3 and Civilization 4 and an encyclopedia my parents bought around that time. I remember reading just one “Magic Treehouse” novel, while my older sister of two years completed the entire series (34 books in total)! Compared to my sister, I was lazy; GameCube trumped books any day.
A brief change of attitude arose when my family and I moved to Richmond, Virginia, also known as the “Capitol of the Confederacy.” With field trips to Civil War sites occurring in school, I realized the land I occupied used to be of historical importance (to note: I was not yet exposed to the fact Native Americans inhabited the land first, as illustrated in this map). So, I took it upon myself to learn how the land was important; I read books about Civil War leaders, military battles, and politics. This euphoria lasted from 4th to 5th grade, where, as the field trips to Civil War sites trickled, so did my interest in reading about the topic.
In middle and high school, one class seemed disconnected from reality: English. In English classes, critiquing the prose of writers, disillusioned me to the benefits of reading. How can I, as a middle schooler, relate to love presented in Shakespeare’s A Midsummers Night Dream? Was it self-evident Slaughterhouse Five was an anti-war novel? What do I know about rags to riches, as described in The Great Gatsby? Because of my discontent towards the mandatory readings over the course of those secondary school years, I envisioned reading, as a whole, as unpleasant.
A shift, brought by a necessity to read a lot of books
As I started college, I knew the workload would be difficult. I knew I would have hundreds of pages of readings a week. I knew I wanted to do well in my classes. Thus, I knew I had to actually read hundreds of pages a week.
My first semester I enrolled in a 3000 level history course, centered around the causes of the Civil War. (not a coincidence, as my passion for the Civil War stayed with me for many years!) I read the syllabus, thrilled to listen to lectures describing the rise of secession, the role of women writers in abolition, and the life in the early to mid 1800s in America for slaves. After reading the syllabus, I headed to the book store and returned with 0 textbooks and six novels. I knew, to do well, I would have to read them. What better way to get back into reading than pore over one of my favorite topics?
While the class was one of my hardest at college, I felt empowered by reading - I better understood the rise of secession, comprehended the influential role women had in advancing abolition, and grasped the role slaves had in the southern way of life. Little did I know that the reading of books, inspired by that class, would create a new mindset for me; reading opened up my mind to better understanding the world and the lives of others.
This clarity in conceptualizing benefits from reading occurred to me slowly over the past few years, albeit, they increased directly with the amount of reading I conducted; as I read more, I realized the previously “unknown” benefits of reading more so. Fortunately, my liberal arts education provided a direct corridor for increasing the amount of reading I completed. Unfortunately, I would graduate in the first half of 2020, left with no enforcement of my reading.
Realizing my reading goal
As I gleaned from college, reading was, simply put it, fun. It felt natural and fulfilling. This new feeling about reading came about as I appreciated the nuanced benefits from reading. Reading allowed me to further my dual-goal of understanding the world and understanding others to a greater extent. I built knowledge of subjects, while simultaneously, increasing the sample size to which I could evaluate the world. In turn, I afforded myself a more complete learning experience. Summed up in an equation:
building knowledge + increasing sample size = developing a more complete learning
Thus, I labeled my goal of reading — to develop a more complete learning. I did so by building knowledge and increasing the sample size of experiences.
Working on a strategy to reach my goal
With that goal in mind, I sketched out different pathways to best achieving that goal. Was it joining a book club? Reading what famous people are reading? Should I listen to audiobooks? Ultimately, I landed on a flexible solution that would best inspire me to read and afford me the opportunity to generate a more complete learning.
The tenets of my strategy, included:
Reading 15 books in 2020
Reading across genres
Checking out library books, in either physical or virtual formats (Kindle-based)
Taking ~1 page notes on each book, focusing on themes, dependencies, and interconnections
Diving into each goal further (with my stream-of-conscious thoughts interlaced)…
Reading 15 books in 2020 — over one book a month? Well, I have one semester of school left, so that could help accomplish the goal. (I did not know about COVID affecting life, as well).
Reading across genres — How do I choose which genre at which time? Do I have to choose specific genres, or is it more amorphous? I guess I will switch as I read each book, seeing what is in stock at the libraries… (As of now, the genres I read are about: climate change, nature, energy, brain, equity and justice, china, biographies, anthropology, business.)
Checking out library books, in either a physical or virtual format (Kindle-based) — The library??? I have not been there in years. Will they even have the books I want? Time to get a library card for the neighboring counties, and, to look up books in advance.
Taking ~1 page notes on each book, focusing on themes, dependencies, and interconnections — Is this homework or for fun? If I want to achieve my goal, I can’t retain all the information in my head — I need to have it written to review as time progresses.
Inspiration, derived from others
To note, I did not develop the above tenets on my own. I received assistance from a wide variety of sources, including:
Nick Maggiulli — as depicted by two articles linked above, his quantitative analysis of the potential of books and his own journey of reading, helped me take the leap to dive into my own reading journey, realizing, that the benefits would far exceed the “costs.”
Goodreads — my favorite social media site. (yes, it beats out LinkedIn.) The friends I have connected with on it, who constantly update their reading. And, those who I do not know, but provide data, in the form of reviews and ratings, to help me better pick out which book to read next. (If you are inclined, add me as a friend!)
My fiancée — who else to be crazy enough to develop a reading goal with me? Alas, a goal of 20 books a year?! In all seriousness, she helped me through the entire process: we discussed books together, she inspired me to start my own reading goal, and, she thought of the ingenious idea of taking notes in the format that I currently do!
Professors — The Civil War professor, for introducing me to the concept of reading a variety of novels to learn, rather than sifting through a textbook. Subsequent professors, for providing novels and the associated analysis; bringing them both to life to me as a young adult.
Random readers — those on the subway, in parks, in coffee shops; seeing you all, my mind now normalizes reading. It allows me to explore my goals more thoroughly, knowing others are doing the same.
Where does it end?
Ultimately, my journey with reading might very well come to an end. It only built up within the past several years; in the next several, it might receded, as it has in the past. Nevertheless, I doubt that will be the case, as the world of reading allows me to best achieve my goal of developing a more complete learning of the world and those who inhabit it.
One scenario that can trigger an end to my reading and its goal; if I stop enjoying reading. More specifically, if reading no longer becomes the best way to build knowledge and/or increase sample size of experiences. Currently, I do not see that happening any time soon, but it is opportune to constantly evaluate the effectiveness of reading as an activity to reach my goal.
Books allow us to learn, by affording an effective intake of knowledge and experiences. They have drastically shaped my learning of the world, along with billions of others. I developed certain strategies to maximize the achievement of my goal of achieving a more complete learning of the world. Fundamentally, reading is one of the best ways for me to achieve that goal.
Next Steps
Thank you for reading.
This is post 6.
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