Read Less. Read Better.

Click me!

Think about it.

Reading less means you have to put more thought into what you read.

I have read hundreds…. a thousand or so……I don’t remember.   Books (the dead tree kind), e-books, ‘zines, magazines, websites, etc.  Whatever way the words have been delivered I have read them.  I have read so much that I can’t even remember many of the books I have read until about half way through a second reading.  Or I will remember that I read it but not remember the story more than it was the one about that guy (or girl or people) who did that thing or things and some other stuff.  The mind might be like a sponge but, like a sponge, it can only hold so much at one time.

Many of the books that we read are mind candy.  Candy in that they are sweet and highly enjoyable but have no lasting positive effects or value.  If you have too much it can cause brain cavities.  Unfortunately we can not fill brain cavities.
Sometimes “mindless” reading is a thoroughly enjoyable activity.  I like to read the same books many times.  It is a way to give my brain something to concentrate on while my mind wanders, thinks, and dreams.

And with a truly great story multiple readings are the only way to pick up on the intricacies and connections you miss with a surface reading.  It also improves your own writing and other mental fabrications in that you take the time to  look below the surface and think deeply.

We have words coming at us all the time on the web.  Some good and some not so good.  The difficult part is figuring out which is which.  Those are thoughts for a whole different post.  This one is about reading less as the drawing about says (click the picture to go to Mr. Bruce‘s site and see the post that inspired this train of thought).

I have purged hundreds of books from my collection.  What is the ideal number of books to have?  Should I count e-books and traditional ones the same way?  Which books?  Classics?  Modern classics? Fiction, Non-Fiction? Manuals?

I think this will be an ongoing project for me with books coming and going, both electronic and paper.