In the 70s, my teacher, Mark Pearson, once said he wished that if for only one week, the New York Times would not publish a Sunday edition, it was all so overwhelming. How quaint that seems today.
Are you also bogged down by blogs? Email updates from all the online newspapers you’ve subscribed to? Internal messages from friends with links to other interesting websites? Friendly fire on a daily basis from Facebook groups which require dropping everything and watching or reading? Do you also discover stacks of books – begun but unfinished – at your bedside, at your reclining chairside, or at your poolside (I should be so lucky!). And I’m thinking of all those wonderful catalogs I’ve dragged back from exhibitions, the collections of poetry I couldn’t resist, the essays, all those classic novels people have recommended…
And yet it’s so much fun to visit book stores, and I always come home with more stacks of something new and tempting. Juggling this situation alongside life’s duties and other pleasures can feel overwhelming, yet I do plow on. After breakfast I usually get in some poetry. Late at night, when all is quiet, perhaps a couple more chapters by a great author…
Well, among my friends can be found many notoriously avid readers, so I decided to send out some messages asking their particular secrets in this regard. By last week I began to think it might be good to share these as a public service, since we’re at the “Resolutions” time of the year. Here are some replies. I hope they help or inspire you.
This is from Steven Eldrich, who this year alone has read nearly 100 books (he’s a fabulous pianist and coach I encountered at the Met, and with whom I savored a quite memorable dinner chez Craig Rutenberg – himself one of the most broadly-read individuals I know):
“I read mostly at night, in my comfy chair, with phone and computer turned off. I tend to read in long sessions, usually two hours or more. Sometimes I set a kitchen timer for one hour, during which I do not look at the clock. That is my sacred hour to be with my book and me. I also tend to carry my book around town with me, to read on the subway, in a doctor’s waiting room. The other thing is that I watch ZERO TV. Most people who say they want to read more but don’t find the time tend to watch a lot of TV. Some people like to read books. I LOVE to read books, and I cannot stand watching TV. It’s simple. There are so many great and important books I still wish to read, I am running out of time! PS: I also log my reading onto Goodreads, which keeps constant track of where I am in a book, and lists and shelves all the books I read. My other secret is that I live alone, and reading is the most solitary pursuit. I have been like this my entire life. As a teenager I loved to read in my room all the time, I am just used to it!”
From Eduardo Tello (Perhaps the most widely cultivated person I could ever expect to meet, and a true defender of bel canto. That was our first connection, via Facebook):
“I was read children’s books from the beginning. I recruited everybody in the house to read to me, and it was a huge pleasure, when I learnt how to read at age 6, to read all those beloved stories all over again. There were books in the house, of course, and my parents bought my sister & me appropriate books to our age. We devoured them all. We read for pleasure and television never could rival the pure, unadulterated involvement & delight of a congenial book, the kind of book one hates to see come to an end.
It has nothing to do with resolutions or will power or a sense of duty. It’s all related to PLEASURE. Discover the books that you enjoy, and enjoy whatever you like.”
From Linda Hitchcock (A true bibliophile. We started by exchanging recipes on Messenger. Go figure.) I have condensed her generous suggestions here. Her full response is in the comments, below.
“There are no secrets to reading. If you have a book with you, you will inevitably read. Some of us are voracious readers while others don’t see the point of owning books and haven’t picked one up since they completed their formal education. The key to completing any book is to find something you are interested in or want to read. Trust your instincts. The hottest best seller may be absolute crap. Wander through a library or bookstore, new or used, and see what jumps into your hands. Ask librarians, book sellers or friends for recommendations.
If an entire book seems daunting, read a poem or short story. Project Gutenberg has thousands of out-of-copyright classics and old books in many languages that can be downloaded for free. The key is to begin. If you dislike the book or find it uninteresting, don’t feel obligated to complete it no matter who has recommended it and don’t feel guilty. Start another, keep reading. Always have reading material with you! I can read anywhere but prefer to read on the bed with pillows propped behind me. I do read an average of over 250 books per year and yes, I naturally can speed read. We both prefer to read physical books but I do also read eBooks on my computer. Neither of us has a smart phone and I am uncomfortable with the page size on Kindles or Nooks. I have the fortunate ability to be able to slip into a story and block out sound and distractions. And I was fortunate to have parents who loved to read and can’t really recall a time when I didn’t have a book in my hand. My advice is download or pick up a book, start reading and either finish or not.»
I welcome all comments from Facebook friends who have other ideas about how to juggle the overwhelming amount of material we deal with every day. And thanks to Linda, Steven and Eduardo for launching the exchange!