Oftentimes when someone steps into a bookstore, they go to find a trending book to keep up with a trend, to find a required reading book, or to find a book that may or may not be a classic because they “ought” to have read it by now.
While these are not bad reasons for looking for a book, they are often not good foundations for which to build a reading “life” or a long-term interest in books. Many people say they should “read more” but have “no time,” but what they don’t seem to have is the interest. Those same people seem to be at a loss for where to begin, and they often ask what books they should read first.
My answer to those people is: Whatever you want.
For those who don’t even know where to begin with the books that they want to read, follow these steps:
1. Drive to your local bookstore.
This goes for the book section of Goodwill as well, but more often than not, it’s filled with battered copies of Twilight, endless books by Koontz, and the past month’s/year’s/decade's trending book - the selection is limited at best.
2.Leave your inhibitions and reservations about books at the door.
Just set them down. No, don’t pick them up again. You won’t need them.
3.Walk into the store and wander, go to whatever sections interest you.
Pick up books for shallow reasons, like because you like the cover (a book cover is specifically designed to convey the contents on the inside - so don’t tell me not to judge a book by its cover) or because you read one of their stories in high school or because the author has the same first/last name.
4.Read the synopses on the books you pick up.
If they don't interest you, put them back. If they do interest you, read the first pages.
5. Repeat steps three and four until you have found the book you genuinely want -
This is not in a “this is the sort of book I should read” sort of way. There is no “ought" or “should” in this exercise. Get that book and read it. Repeat.
Also, acknowledge that if you are ever to read a certain book, it will fall into your hands at the right time as long as you are open to it. This may sound nonsensical, but I know it to be true. I have picked up books as a teenager that made me cringe or bored me to tears that are now my favorites as a young adult. As we age and our minds change, so do our interests.
This particularly goes for the people who aren’t in school and have the liberty to never read a required book again. When I graduated this past fall, I was torn between whether I should read all the college-level books I “ought” to have read or whatever I was interested in. I wrote a long list of books I might be embarrassed not to have read when I get to postgraduate school, before realizing that it doesn’t actually matter.
I’m not interested in hearing about someone’s pretentious book that they read to have read it; I’m much more interested in hearing about someone’s favorite book or genre of books that made them think or excited them. To me, there’s little point in people trying to read books that make their eyes glaze over with boredom.
It doesn’t have to be a classic or a trending book or capital “L” literature or a book recommendation from a friend. If you’re interested in crime shows, read books like that. If you’re interested in romcoms, there are books like that. If you exclusively watch action films, there are plenty of books like that as well. If you’re genuinely interested in some of the same books you thought you “ought” to read, start with those if you want. I recently read a biography of Queen Victoria and a crash-course book on world religions, because I wanted to.
There is certainly something to be said for reading books that challenge you, but you should want to challenge yourself. The foundation of anything should be built on genuine interest, not a sense of obligation. Especially for inwardly rebellious people like myself, obligation is a surefire way to stifle any genuineness. Passion and interest, however, can fuel you to learn and to read yourself into fantastic places you couldn’t have imagined on your own. So, read what you want, not what you “ought."
