Why Reading Matters
Notes on Reading
Deep Life Notes | Reading
Reading takes us to new worlds, exposes us to new ideas, helps us become less distracted, and gives us a better chance of creating something worthwhile.
A thousand years ago, Murasaki Shikibu, a lady-in-waiting at the Japanese Imperial court, was in mourning after her husband’s death. She retreated to the Ishiyama temple at Lake Biwa near Kyoto. There, while gazing at the moon and freed from distraction, she wrote the 54-chapter and 1200-page story, The Tale of Genji, capturing the peak of Heian court society. This became the world’s first novel.
Written to entertain Japanese aristocratic women, The Tale of Genji wasn’t only popular in its day, read by the emperor no less, but is recognised today, a millennium later, as one of the classics of world literature, capturing a time and place that have long since disappeared.
History has countless examples like this. Human beings putting themselves under the right conditions, especially unbroken concentration, to take on something difficult, creating something new and enduring.
The value of undistracted work
The state of unbroken concentration produces more from our brains than any other cognitive state. But today, that focused mind is getting harder to achieve. A major new survey of the U.K. public by the Policy Institute and Centre for Attention Studies revealed 47% of participants believe “deep thinking” has become a thing of the past, roughly double the proportion who disagreed with this view.
The ability to work on difficult things without distraction is what author Cal Newport defines as “Deep Work.” Deep Work matters because it allows us to do something increasingly rare: give sustained attention to difficult work that produces something valuable. But it is becoming harder and harder to do.
Distractions are everywhere. In our digital world of relentless back-and-forth messages, notifications, and dopamine shots of social media, we often go through an entire day, not once concentrating hard without distraction. This impacts our ability to do work with depth, originality, and care.
There is an irony here. Deep attention is becoming rarer at the same time as it becomes more sought.
One way to strengthen that kind of attention is simple, ancient, and still available to us: reading.
Studies have shown that the two areas of the brain stimulated while reading are the same areas where concentration, attention, planning, and decision-making activities take place. The more we regularly read, the more we improve our concentration and attention.
Reading is one of the great tools of attention, but we seem to be reading less
”Some books leave us free and some books make us free.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Reading may well be a powerful tool, but it seems to be one on the wane. The consensus is we are reading less.
Research group WordsRated found in their 2022 study that more than half of American adults (51.6%) haven’t read a full print or ebook in over a year. They also found fewer younger people read, and of those that did, they read significantly less than older generations. It’s a similar picture in the U.K. The GB TGI 2021 study from Kantar Media found 47% of UK adults haven’t read a book in the last year.
This is despite the reported surge in reading habits during the pandemic. Research service Global English Editing published a report in November 2020 revealing the global pandemic caused 35% of the world to read more, with 14% saying they read significantly more.
We can infer from the research some maintained their reading habit, and some didn’t as life returned closer to normal in many countries.
Why reading still matters
“There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island.” — Walt Disney
In her article for The New Yorker, Can Reading Make You Happier, Ceridwen Dovey made the case that based on science and research, those who read are likely to have a higher quality of life than non-readers.
The benefits of reading are well documented and lifelong.
Reading strengthens the brain and may help slow cognitive decline. Reading involves a complex network of circuits and signals in the brain. Just like going for a run exercises your cardiovascular system, reading thirty minutes a day keeps your brain in good shape, improving memory, focus, and attention span, and slowing the decline of brain function with age.
Reading builds vocabulary, language, and communication. It gives us more of the raw material of thought: clarity, persuasion, and critical understanding. These things matter in work, but they matter far beyond work too.
Reading can deepen empathy. An influential study published in Science in 2013 found reading literary fiction improved participants’ results on tests that measured social perception and empathy, which are crucial to “theory of mind”—a set of skills essential for building and maintaining social relationships.
Reading gives us more to talk about. Books we’ve read can be a great conversation starter, as well as helping us bond with new people. Reading broadens knowledge on a range of topics, helping generate new ways of thinking.
Reading can reduce stress and support mental health. In 2009, a group of researchers found that thirty minutes of reading lowered blood pressure, heart rate, and feelings of psychological distress just as effectively as yoga and humour did. Books can help us in many areas of our life when we feel in a downward spiral, such as relationships, career, and bereavement. At times, books can feel like doses of medicine. They shift our brains into a relaxing and calm state, a respite from the white noise of society.
Three ways to read more
“You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.” ― Ray Bradbury
It’s never too late to read more. Common barriers include a perceived lack of time, not knowing what to read, or seeing yourself as someone who doesn’t read books.
If you’d like to have a book in your hands more often, here are three things worth considering:
Make a little more room. Time is a limited resource, and reading needs some of it protected. Even just thirty minutes less time scrolling on social media can free enough time for an unbroken spell with a good book before bed.
Start small and find the right space. If you’re not a big reader, or you used to read a lot but don’t anymore, reading just ten minutes a day can be a decent place to start. A quiet space without distractions helps, using headphones if needed.
Choose well and keep it simple. A small shortlist of books that interest you is often better than a mountain of recommendations. Ask friends what books they enjoyed, bookmark the New York Times Best Seller list, and search online for specific topics that interest you. You can also have a couple of books on the go at any one time, picking up the one that best reflects your particular mood at the time.
Choosing between physical books versus digital books matters less than protecting the act of reading itself. I would avoid reading on a multi-purpose device such as a smartphone or tablet. Distractions and temptations are only a touch away on these devices.
I prefer physical books to digital books. I like the feeling of a physical book in my hands and print is visually less demanding than digital text. Research also suggests we absorb and remember more information from physical books.
“Think before you speak. Read before you think.” – Fran Lebowitz
Much of what we create depends on our ability to stay focused on difficult things long enough to understand them. Reading is one way to help us do that. It trains us to be in a more focused state and less prone to distraction. It also has multiple benefits that can last a lifetime.
If you already read regularly, you probably know the value it brings to your life. If you want to read more, it may begin with something small: a better book, the right space, and a little more time reclaimed from elsewhere.
And perhaps, once in a while, it helps someone create something that lasts a thousand years.
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