“Reading the same thing as everyone else is only going to put the same ideas in your head everyone else has.
If you want new ideas, read old books.”
I like book challenges. I’m not saying I like book clubs. I don’t have anything against book clubs really, I’ve never tried one. But I can tell you book challenges are fun!
Here’s how they work. You get a list of 50 or so descriptions, not titles but descriptions, and you read a book that fits the description.
For example:
Read a book… with a color in the title… or, that’s a memoir.
Why I Like Book Challenges
I like these challenges for three reasons. Contests motivate me. Lists motivate me. I enjoy competing against myself to achieve a specific goal of crossing an item off a list.
And I need motivation! With family, and work, and a world so full of information and video streaming and podcasts and blogs, it’s easy to be overloaded. Book challenges prioritize reading.
I like it because I get to choose. And who doesnt want to choosec? You can pick the memoir you want to read, and. I pick the one i want go read. We don’t have to search for a club that reads books I like. I can do it on our own.
I also like these challenges because they prioritize reading books. In our society we read thousands of words a day. We read blogs, tweets, emails, and text messages and direct messages, posts, and post comments.
In some cases, we translate hundreds of texts, dms, post-comments and more because we’ve also chosen not to spell out every word.
Books are long. They use proper grammar, punctuation, and spelling. They’re hard. And yet, there is a special feeling of accomplishment when I finish one – every time.
Just Do It!
Do I understand any of the science or medicine behind why I like book challenges? Nope! But it works. And who knows, eventually I may come across a challenge that includes a book that has those answers? It might even be a fun read.
I saw the quote in my weekly email from the Farnham Street Blog. Ironically, it’s a blog that prioritizes adult continuing education. The quote stuck out because that’s what I’ve been doing the past few years. I’ve been reading old books.
Find a Balance
Amid the tribalism, and groupthink we see compounding around us every day, there are ways to move forward. I’m convinced reading old books is one of them.
Our founding fathers didn’t forge a new nation after wresting freedom from the greedy hands of the British Empire by only reading the daily newspaper. They also read centuries old books.
Our Founding Fathers read their bibles, even the ones who disagreed with parts of it. They read Locke, and Montesquieu. They read old books to balance new ideas and information in a changing world. We should too.
