I was very tempted to participate in NaNoWriMo this year (and I’m still tempted to participate in NaBloPoMo) … until I read this article.
Basically what I got out of the article was that writers are stubborn determined enough to keep writing no matter what, but there is a shortage of people who actually read the plethora of books / blogs / magazine articles / etc. writers produce. I am most certainly guilty of this. My shelves are covered in books that I purchased with every intention of reading them – possibly using the information within to help create positive change in the world – and then promptly ignored. There are others (I can think of at least 3) that a friend lent me (that I should read and return, or just return) and several more that I started reading, then stopped for one reason or another. Maybe some of them just aren’t worth my time, but the majority probably are. I’ve just been too busy doing other things to actually sit down and read them. Which is sad – reading is one of the activities I used to enjoy the most.
And to you, my fellow bloggers, I have a confession I must make. I enjoy reading your blog posts, but too often I come to WordPress with the intention of checking my own stats and possibly writing something, in hopes that you will read it. I don’t take the time I should to read the posts you have carefully crafted, nor to leave any meaningful feedback. How can I expect others to read my posts if I do not read theirs? And how can I expect to write anything worth reading, if I myself do not read?
This month, I want to change that. I hope this post can be a place of encouragement and support for anyone who wishes to do the same. There won’t be a word count to reach, but perhaps encouragement to read at least a couple pages every day. A blog post. A chapter of a book / novel. A poem. Perhaps we can even discuss what we read, giving full credit to the author of course.
There are several books vying to be first on my list, but I’m going to give the honor to Raising my Rainbow by fellow blogger Lori Duron. Today my goal is was to read at least one chapter and I read the whole book.
a day with depression 
we just get too busy and preoccupied with life sometimes.. but it’s good to take the time out to read something.. I’m having a garage sale today to sell some of those books that I’m never going to get time to read lol..
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I find it way too hard to give up on old books. The only ones I’ve been able to get rid of recently were textbooks from undergrad that I realized must be obsolete by now.
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I know what you mean here ~ I have so many books just sitting here waiting to be read! And I also don’t seem to have the chance to read other peoples blogs as much as I wish I could…Or write on my own that often/regularly…I think it is simply as your friend above said ~ life gets in the way, and time goes by faster than we can keep up with…Perhaps it is just a matter of accepting that we can only do as much as we can do! Well done on reading that entire book though! That must feel awesome 🙂
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Yeah, I see what you mean about accepting that one can only do so much. Trying to do everything gets overwhelming, but if I give myself permission to do one thing I become amazed by what I can do.
Giving myself permission to just read, without the pressure to write (or at least with less pressure to write) has been wonderful. Ironically, I now have more to write about! And I feel so enriched from the reading I’ve been able to do, so excited by the new adventures that have been sitting on my shelves and I’m finally going to get to have!
Finishing Raising My Rainbow in one day did feel awesome, and it’s a testament to how well the book was written that I couldn’t put it down.
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