Books, books, and . . .

I was teaching a writing workshop on Saturday and the subject of reading came up, as it often does. Students are not surprised when I suggest that, if they really want to be writers, they also have to be readers. What does seem to surprise some of them, though, is how much reading I suggest they do as a minimum requirement for the writers' life: a book a week for life.

books . . .

"What? I don't have the time for all that," grumbles a student.

"Turn off the television," I suggest.

"I don't watch television, at least not much."

"Get up earlier, then."

"I already get up at six."

At which point I just shrugged. Of course we can find excuses why we can't possibly do something, but if it's important to us, we'll make the time. We'll give up something to get something of greater perceived value. If you can't find the time to read, I can't imagine how you'll be a writer. The two are inextricably connected.

Then, too, comes the question of what to read. I always ask students to read outside their comfort zone, as well as within it. Read what you love, certainly, but also read new things, books you might not ordinarily pick up, just to see if a new take on the world might shake up your own. Such things are good for readers and writers alike. As writers, we also read to see how other writers manage to craft such fantastic books, as well as determine why a book fails to engage us. Great books make great teachers.

: . . . books . . .

A friend mentioned recently that she found a book I had recommended "challenging." And perhaps it is, for the first person narrative voice is intimate, and the narrator spends a good deal of time pondering events in three different time periods, which is often the way the mind associates critical events. I admit, you do have to keep your wits about you when reading this wonderful book (The Bishop's Man by Linden McIntyre), but the pay off is well worth it. It's a thought-provoking and deeply compassionate work about a difficult subject (child abuse by Catholic priests), and a beautiful character study that captures perfectly a particular time and place.

This reminded me of a conversation I had not long ago with the fantastic Haitian/Quebec writer, Dany Laferriere. We were discussing readers' responses to our work, which are sometimes baffling. Dany said a woman once approached him in something of a tizzy and asked him why his books were so difficult.

"Difficult?" he replied in his wonderful French-accented double bass voice, "Come now, why would you say this to me? Do I say this to you? Do I point out a passage in my book and tell you how difficult it was to write? Do I make notes next to a paragraph: This paragraph took me four hours to write! No, of course I don't. I have done my job, and now, you must do yours."

That cracked me up.

However, I'm not advocating writing difficult works just for the sake of it. That feels like nothing more than self-indulgence, and a little like the writer doesn't like their readers very much. If, for example, a writer must explain that the hidden key to a book appears only in an obtuse allusion on page 79 to something which doesn't actually appear in the text , as a very famous writer once said to Oprah, well, then. . . perhaps it's a tad TOO obtuse. But generally, if we only read fast, easy books which do little to enrich us, do not make us question our assumptions, nor expand our sense of compassion, well, what's the point? Pure entertainment? Sure, but how about that and a little (or a lot) more?

: . . . and more books

Here's a challenge for you -- back to that book a week. On the www.goodreads.com site -- a fun and useful readers social networking site -- you can keep track of the books you read, what you think of them, share that information with others if you like, and give yourself a reading challenge. How many books do you commit to reading this year? Put in that number, and as you enter more books, the site lets you know how you're doing. I put in 52 books, and as of today, I'm 10 books ahead of schedule. Feel quite good about that, I do.

Care to join me? You'll find me on the site -- "Friend" me if you like, and maybe follow my reviews. It's good crack as the Irish say, and that only means good fun, which you know if you're Irish, or perhaps if you've read, "The Last House in Ulster" by Charles Foran, which I'm reading now.

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Comment by Lauren B. Davis on July 18, 2012 at 6:16am: Thanks, Jayne.

Comment by Jayne Martin on July 17, 2012 at 6:45pm: Stephen King said exactly the same thing. To be a good writer you have to read. Excellent piece. I'd better get "cracking."

Comment by Lauren B. Davis on July 17, 2012 at 12:13pm: Hello M.E. O'Meagher, I wasn't sure if you meant your comment for me -- the author of the blog -- or for Carmen, another member who commented on it. But, in case it was for me -- You're most welcome. "Lovely seductions" is a wonderful phrase.

Comment by M. E. O'Meagher on July 17, 2012 at 12:04pm: Hello Carmen, Thank you for sharing your insight and humor. I love books in form as well as function. They are lovely seductions,my splurge and indulgence. A book weekly is fairly easy as I am a fast reader. Breaking away from my old stand-by selections can be challenging but I see the advantage. Thank you again.

Comment by Lauren B. Davis on July 16, 2012 at 6:50am: Hi Carmen, I understand your point. Woody Allen once said, "I took a speed reading course and then read War & Peace. It was about Russia." Snort.

The average reader, my research tells me, reads about 200-250 wpm with good comprehension. (http://ezinearticles.com/?What-is-the-Average-Reading-Speed-and-the...) The average number of words per line in a 6" x 9" trade paperback is approximately 10 and each page has approximately 39 lines = 390 words/page.Which is roughly 2 minutes per page. So, in an hour, the average person reads say, 30 pages. If the average book is 350 pages long, and if you read only an hour a day, it would take about 12 days to read a book. What I do is,divide the number of pages in a book by 7 and make it a priority to read that many pages a day. Often, especially if I love the book, I read more than that, and certainly more than an hour a day. I must say, "A Fine Balance" by Rohinton Mistry -- which I adore -- at 713 pages, flew by since it was so damn good.

And I do read carefully, especially since I use much of what I read in my teaching. Lots of note-taking and underlining.

Still, every reader is different, and the important thing, especially for the emerging writer, is to make a committed effort to read for a couple of hours at least every day. Think of it, if you can, as going to class for a couple of hours a day. (And sometimes, with the very busy lives we all lead, that means getting up earlier, or going to bed later, or cramming an hour into our lunch hours, and certainly--because it is so important to us--turning off the tv and turning down social engagements.)

You might find, with such practice (and it is practice, like piano scales or prayer) that your concentration and comprehension improve. Good luck, and no matter how many books you read, keep reading, and keep writing.

Comment by Carmen Esposito on July 15, 2012 at 10:43pm: I do not argue the need to read but some of us are slower readers. It takes me longer than a week to finish a book and I wouldn't want to be judged because of it. If I try to read it faster (as I've done in the past) I miss something and have to go back sometimes a page or three to get back on track. It either has to do with reading comprehension, maybe I get distracted easily or a combination of both. The author worked really hard to write the book so I want to give it my full attention despite the noisy people on the bus and the train that are disrupting me. So for me a book a week would be a tad difficult. However, your recommendation to read books that are out of our comfort zone is definitely something I might try. Thanks for the tips.

Comment by Lauren B. Davis on July 14, 2012 at 5:39am: What fun, Beth. I love books on design and have a stack of them. I find them inspirational, not only for my own home, but for imagining the environments of my characters. And, since I love to cook, my shelves bulge with cookbooks. Made lamb chops with a balsamic reduction last night (and ate far more than I should have!) I'll look up HomeStyle Books.

Comment by Beth Goehring on July 14, 2012 at 5:33am: While flossing! I love it--perfect for mss pages which I could tape to the bathroom mirror. I sell books through the traditional book clubs (Book-of-the-Month Club is the one most people recognize). After years of selling popular fiction through The Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club, now I sell cookbooks through The Good Cook and interior design and gardening books through HomeStyle Books. It's direct-to-member, almost like having your own bookshop.

Comment by Lauren B. Davis on July 13, 2012 at 3:19pm: Thanks, Beth. And you're right about filling in time with books. I read while flossing and brushing my teeth, which cracks my husband up. Where do you sell books?

Comment by Beth Goehring on July 13, 2012 at 2:08pm: I don't have to find time to read; I need to force myself to put the book down to participate in all the other areas of my life! I find it the most soothing thing in so many situations: waiting for the bus that takes forever to come, filling the time and distracting myself from my grumbling stomach before my husband gets home for dinner, to forget a stupid little argument that only time will resolve.... I sell books for a living, so I do a lot of recommending, but how I love when a friend leads me to something I'd never have found on my own. Andre Dubus III's TOWNIE was way out of my comfort zone, but worth every moment. GoodReads.com is a lot of fun.

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