Why I love reading

I’ve been reading a lot lately. And that’s because I’ve a lot of time on my hands to do so without much distraction. I’ve several unfinished books, including a John Grisham book from 2009 or 2010 (I think?), which I started reading on a flight on one of my work trips. The next time I picked up the book, I couldn’t remember who the main character was and what the plot was about. I put the book down, because it would mean starting all over again and I wasn’t ready for a fresh start yet.  I’ve found that while I’m hoping to finish reading those half-read books, I’ve been adding new stacks of books to my ‘to-read list’ by moving unread books to from my shelf or my sister’s shelf to my bedside table or just about anywhere in my room where I can have easy access to them. 

I’ve just finished reading an insightful blog post targeted at Christian men on how they can grow in their faith. At the end of my reading, I felt my heart soar and I thought, “Wow, this is really uplifting! Even though men are the target audience of the article, look at how blessed I am too! I love reading and wish everybody loved to read just as I do!” And that has got me thinking, “Why do I love reading? What do I get from it?”

I love to read books or articles that stimulate me to think critically about life, God, my beliefs, my values, health and nutrition, the world, social change and justice, hot bottom issues - some of which are not ‘issues’ in my country, Ghana (at least, not yet), etc. 

Through my love for reading, my worldview has been shaped largely by Christian literature, well… that is mostly what I read these days, lol! When I was younger, I would read all kinds of stuff: Baby Sitters Club (anyone?), The Pacesetters, Sweet Valley View, Sweet Valley High, Enid Blyton books, etc., and some romantic books, that I was warned not to read. I found a love in Mary Higgins Clark, John Grisham’s works, Condensed Readers’ Digest Collections, among others and I had friends with whom we would exchange our latest findings or purchase. As I grew older and especially when I got born again, I lost interest in such books. Apart from my Bible, I was hungry for Christian books for the most part. However, I do light reading (newspapers, magazines, blogs, comic stuff) as well but I’m selective about what I read now.  My worldview about relationships, marriage and family, work, my faith, politics, health, etc. have been shaped by a combination of both what I’ve learned from the my walk with God, at home, at school and through what I’ve read. Oftentimes, the literature gives explanations or scientific evidences for why, for example, my mother would let not me run off to play immediately after eating lunch or supper as a child or why, it is good to drink water first thing in the morning. 

There are a lot of things that I know about this beautiful world and life not as a result of classroom/lecture sessions or because my parents or a mentor taught me but because “I read it somewhere.” Oftentimes, in a conversation a friend would ask how I know what I’m saying and if I couldn’t remember the exact book or article, my response would be, “I read it somewhere!” Despite the best efforts of the government, the regulatory agencies and teachers, I think the educational system in Ghana is unsatisfactory and one needs to back up school lessons with self-motivated, individual lifelong learning. Reading is just one of those avenues for learning.

Reading gives me fodder for writing. When I read, I often get ideas for how to write; “Oh, I like the way she skillfully constructed that sentence,” or “Wow! See how the author brilliantly uses the two adjectives to describe the dog!” I also do get ideas for what to write, “This aspect would make a good insert in a short story,” or “The issues raised in this article about child-labour will make a good story. It’s amazing how children are lured away from their homes and schools into force labour!”

I’m sure there are more reasons why I love reading, but the above are what immediately come to mind.

Read! Read! Read!

Lady Akofa.