Good Book: The LITTLE GUIDE TO YOUR WELL-READ LIFE

I've always been a terrible reader. I don't mean in ability, but in resolve and consistency. My commitment to literary pursuits has been sketchy at best; always well intended, but leaving so much to be desired.

It's not to say that I don't read, I read quite a bit actually; it's just WHAT I read that I've been concerned about. I've always been rabid about magazines, especially trade or specialty mags. Anything new that I wanted to learn, I'd find a magazine. (I've got so many of them they're running me out the house.) And I'm reading online all the time, which, according to one of my recent commenters, is the future of reading. (Although that's a comfort, it's a small one at best.)

I really should give myself more credit because I do own a lot of books. I've joined myriad book clubs over the years and have amassed a nice little library for myself, but it's mostly nonfiction, especially how-to books and manuals (mostly genre-specific topics like computers, photography, cooking, etc).

I never really got into "literature" (classic or otherwise); novels weren't really my thing, primarily because it takes me forever to read one. I'd start, then put it down for few days, then pick it back up, then put it down again. Sometimes I'd never finish it. Whenever I'd check a book out of the library I could never return it on time, which got expensive, so I stopped. (I'm sure I still owe one branch or another of the New York Public Library.)

Despite having the attention span of a flea (I totally attribute that to being born in the GenX TV era), I always had the desire to just sit and read a book from cover to cover within a reasonable amount of time.

What I came to learn, through a great book called The Little Guide to Your Well-Read Life by Steve Leveen, is that it's not just about knowing how to read, it's about knowing HOW to read. There's a way to appreciate literature that's nothing like your old high school English teacher or those LIT 101 classes in college would have you believe. You can tailor your reading to your own likes and lifestyle.

I discovered this book in the Levenger catalog, where Steve Leveen is CEO and co-founder. (See previous post, Every Home Should Have One.) It's a small book, but loaded with just the right information for a recovering litphobe like me. Mr. Leveen even let me know that it was OK to not be into all the classics if they didn't move me, and that the way I've been reading all these years was just fine. Ultimately, it's about creating MY well-read life, not just being a well-read person.

One of the reasons I started this blog was to help myself become a better reader. Now that I've discovered The Little Guide… I know I'm on my way.