“He will have to start reading books to improve his writing.”
It was late 1999, and I had just started my 5th grade of primary school. Back at the time, it meant that I was getting a new professor for each subject, for Serbian language and literature included.
Somewhere in November, we had our first major written exam, in which you basically write on the topic assigned by the teacher.
I have sadly forgotten the topic, but what I do remember very vividly is that I got my first mark of 3 (on a scale of 1-5) in my life, and I actually started crying.
Eventually, the teacher said to my mother that to write better, I would have to read more books.
It will be many more years until I discover my love for reading, but I can say that today, it is my favorite hobby by far.
It allows me to learn new stuff, relax my mind, focus, get new ideas and inspiration, and slow down in this fast-paced world we live in. Reading is the food for my brain in all aspects.
In this blog, I want to share how I made reading easy and accessible wherever I am.
Reading at home - physical book
Not so long ago we finished renovating our new apartment and one of the first things we built was a bookshelf:
At home, I always have one physical book I am reading sitting on this shelf.
It is in the center of our apartment and I can pick it up whenever I desire to do so. At this very moment, it’s great espionage story of the Cold War:
Reading at home - e book
Next, I am always reading a book on my Kindle when I go to sleep. In this way, I can relax and reduce sensory input to my brain at the end of the day.
Another benefit is that I can do it in the dark, thus priming my body for sleep.
Currently, I am reading a fascinating book on the topic of storytelling called Storyworthy:
Reading at work - a textbook
While I am at work, I don’t have much time to read. However, I am always trying to read 5-10 pages daily, for the cumulative effect.
In this environment, I usually read some textbooks to broaden my knowledge. These are often books on topics I know nothing about, and the purpose of this reading is to feed my brain with new materials and ideas and to make more neural connections in my brain.
Some of the topics I like to casually read on are economy, politics, finance, marketing, and zoology. In fact, this is how I learned how much anthropology and sociology are interesting to me.
Currently, inspired by my recent MBA course, I am reading a textbook on Managerial Economics. I admit, before my MBA, it never occurred to me how much economics is an interesting subject.
Reading on the go - e book on my phone
Raise your hand if you like standing in lines in local supermarkets.
At one point, waiting irritated me a lot since I perceived it as a time waste, but since discovering my love for reading a few years back, I am, in fact, grateful for these moments, as they allow me some more time to read and make a break from all the rush.
I have a Kindle app on my phone, and I use every opportunity to pop it out and read.
Below is a screenshot of my part of my Kindle library.
Conclusion
My goal in this blog post was to share how I made reading accessible. A book is within my arm’s reach, almost literally, no matter where I am. 🙂
I hope it will inspire you to do more reading, as it is genuinely one of the best things we can do for ourselves.
