Why I Read. And Why Universities are Teaching Students to Read.
WORDS BY CHARLIE GLADSTONEI read quite a lot, certainly every day, mainly novels and always in actual books, not on my iPad or whatever.
The main reason that I read is simple: I like it. I was lucky enough to have an inspiring English teacher at A Level, which really set me off. Nick Welch, RIP.
I didn’t read English at university because I was better at other subjects, and so I have always had a slight imposter syndrome when it comes to literature. My closest friends all read English, and they were (are?!) very academic; but the imposter syndrome is no doubt of my own making. I know, I get it, hey ho.
But, yes, whatever, I like it.
Literature teaches us about the world; it shows us how we are not alone in ways that no other art form touches. It enriches, emboldens us, reminds us. Stories are deep in our DNA.
But that’s not why I’m here.
This is my main point. I also read because I am restless and in a world of distractions, I find that it takes me away from those distractions like nothing else.
This means that I work hard to find time to read, and that means forcing myself to do it, perhaps in ways that people force themselves to exercise.
You know that thing that people say about the hardest part of a run being leaving the house? Well, the hardest part of reading a book is picking it up and opening it. Then, like a run, you’re off and it feels good. I am aware that the cynical amongst you might say that this all sounds a bit puritanical, but worthwhile pleasure is rarely offered up on a plate, with no work.
This is important in a world of doom scrolling, 24-hour news, constant shit TV. Not because I don’t like this stuff, because I like it too much and yet, like junk food, it doesn’t enrich me.
And now universities are actively teaching their students how to read a long novel (or indeed any novel) because many really struggle with this. And I really get it. I can’t imagine how my brain would have coped with contemporary distractions when I was a student, let alone when I was at school. The temptations that students face now are huge and I think that they need all of the support that they can get, at least in this regard.
So, despite a cynical and dismissive leader in The Times (fine, clickbait, it’s their job) suggesting that lessons such as ‘leave your phone in a different room and get comfortable’, are for idiots, I don’t agree.
My rules for more and better reading are below, and they might be even more draconian than the universities’. But their work and the rewards are huge.
#1.
Buy more books than you can read so that you have a library that you can choose from at home, to suit your mood.
#2.
Buy from a bookshop, through implied or actual recommendation.
#3.
Put your phone some distance from you.
#4.
Be comfortable. Wine, comfort and books are an excellent combo.
#5.
Force yourself to read every day, especially at times when you don’t really have much else of any value to do. Don’t watch TV.
#6.
Read at times other than before you go to sleep, which is not a particularly good time to read a book, in my experience at least.
#7.
Always take a book on the train or bus. Even two pages is good.
#8.
Understand what you like; what you like is enough. Teacher isn’t watching.
#9.
But do challenge yourself. You never know.
#10.
Don’t persist with books that you don’t like.
#11.
But remember that the first bit of a book is the hardest to get through.
#12.
And remember that it takes effort, but that effort offers reward.
And finally, you can subscribe to my monthly culture email that recommends new books to read via the Glen Dye website.
