Over the winter holidays I got a shock. Dripping with distain, my 4-year old nephew touched a present under the tree and exclaimed, “What kind of a present is this? A book?”
Wait a second, where is he getting this book-bad-rap? He loves books, he even reads to his 10-month old brother!
This helped me understand… A dear friend called and apologized for giving me books for Christmas after reading an article that called books one of a ‘top 5 most-hated presents’ to receive.
Curious, I asked the young adults in my family about their reading habits. They explained to me that they never actually read an entire book. Instead, they skim the digital summaries. (I’m thankful that at least this means they’re not reading the Twilight series.)
Adults, meanwhile, told me they feel they have too little time for “deep reading,” a term coined in 1994 by Sven Birkerts in
The Gutenberg Elegies: The Fate of Reading in the Electronic Age
to describe “the slow and meditative possession of a book” that differs significantly from the email, blog and article skimming and scanning we often due each day.
My Reading Fantasies
I love reading and always have. Give me a good book and I’m completely happy.
One of my fantasies is that I win a huge lottery and go to an independent bookstore, sweep my arms along shelves, piling books high into dozens of carts. Then, I go to a tropical island and spend the rest of my days reading all the books worth reading.
Another fantasy, which came true, is that a client pays me to read books. Imagine reading every leadership book you can get your hands on and getting paid to do it? I got to do that: Heaven on earth, truly.
What We Read
Today, “Mommy-porn” is the most lucrative genre of books published. According to Thomas Stewart, “Last year, the romance genre gained $1.438 billion and by the looks of things it’s not going anywhere any time soon.” Seems erotica and romance wins hearts and pocketbooks of the most powerful consumer force on the earth: Women.
Hearteningly, I’ve noticed a trend in ‘how-to-succeed-in-2015’ articles. They’re pushing reading.
Timothy Sykes says, “You should be reading every single day” in his Entrepreneur article: 8 Daily Habits That Will Make 2015 Explosive . Sykes reckons that when we read we get new ideas and thus can innovate and create more.
When author and ‘intentional leadership’ guru Michael Hyatt published a blog post on The 37 Best Business Books I’ve Ever Read , it was shared over 6,000 times on social media. Interestingly, only 2 of Hyatt’s 37 best business book picks were written by women.
If you want more diversity of thought about what success and leadership looks like, check out Tracey Cantarutti, Ph.D.’s Aiming for Success: New Books for Women in Leadership . Cantarutti writes, “ The books I have enjoyed in 2014 reflect a maturing view of how women achieve true success in life and leadership. In the words of Arianna Huffington, “the way we’ve defined success is not enough.”
Finally, Adam Grant suggests that we read children’s books that illuminate leadership qualities and lessons. I love this idea and find that these books delight, reinforce and expand my thinking too.
Get Dangerous
(Tweetable) Thought for the Day:
“A well-read woman is a dangerous creature.”
– Lisa Kleypas
This year, put down the Mommy-porn and pick up some books that transport you in different ways.
As the most powerful consumers, women can push people with large platforms, like Hyatt, to pay greater attention to books by women that explore leadership and success in more holistic ways.
Make time for deep reading each week, the kind of reading that requires a minimum of 20-30 minutes of focus rather than the all-too-familiar click and blink kind of reading.
Why read?
Rachel Grate explains in Science Has Great News for People Who Read Actual Books :
- Just six minutes of reading is enough to reduce stress by 68%
- Numerous studies have shown that reading keeps your brain functioning effectively as you age
- One study even found that elderly individuals who read regularly are 2.5 times less likely to develop Alzheimer’s than their peers
- Regular reading also increases empathy , especially when reading a print book
- Reading an old-fashioned novel is also linked to improving sleep
Be well. Get dangerous: Read.
Cheers to all you well-read women & men!
Jone this was awesome! I believe in feeding our brains and reading books to learn from all different successful people! It has been harder to find those types of books written by women! I will definitely check out Tracey Cantarutti, Ph.D.’s Aiming for Success: New Books for Women in Leadership. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks heaps for your lovely compliment, Lynette! Thrilled you found it a helpful post & of course, suspected that you’re a dangerous woman! 🙂
All my best, Jone