Reading Books - A Case for the Good Shit

In my last post, I briefly mentioned the importance of reading real books, as opposed to the little snippets that we all get in this remarkably overstimulating age. I wanted to expand on that, because I've seen a lot of "pro-reading" articles and posts around our world wide web that say some pretty stupid things. Some take the attitude of "I don't care what they're reading, as long as they're reading," which is well intentioned, but hilariously misguided. I think that it comes from having a culture of semi-literates, which has caused those of us who DO read books to join forces in the name of literacy (which is a Good Thing), but in doing so, we have allowed some questionable factions into our alliance. So, with the caveat that at the end of the day, I am a full, card carrying member of the pro-literacy alliance, I wanted to say a few things that I've found to be helpful for choosing reading material for myself, and some of the characteristics that I look for when recommending reading material to others.

Popcorn Nonfiction < Popcorn Novels < Good Novels < Good Nonfiction

When it comes to reading material, the first thing to do is decide why you're reading. If you're just reading to have something relaxing to do (a time sink), then damn near anything will do, and usually it's the thing that's closest to your hand. This is how People sells magazines, and I've managed to leverage this force to get literally DOZENS of views every time I put out a post. I have to say that while I've used this force, I can't really recommend wasting reading time on whatever happens to be most convenient, especially if you're reading online. You'll end up in clickbait purgatory reading "The 5 most notorious Super Bowl halftime nip-slips"

How have I only heard of ONE of those?

Popcorn nonfiction is the worst. There is literally nothing worse you can read than clickbait and celebrity gossip. Go watch TV or something. You're rotting your brain. In this category we can also put any lies masquerading as truth, like books on palm reading or Scientology.

In order to keep us from falling victim to articles and books about thetans or the 15 best haircuts for '15, we have to put up a line of defense. This is where our popcorn novels come in to play. Popcorn novels are fun! They have swords, or guns, or magic (or if you're a girl, penises and candlelight and stuff), good wins, or loses if the author is trying to be gritty - whatever. The point is, they're fun! They don't make you a better person or teach you anything, but they're not supposed to. They're just there to be a good time, like "escorts" for your brain. Keep them around and pull them out when you start getting the urge to read about Scorpio's compatibility with Aries.

Next on our list we have what I refer to as "good novels". These are your "To Kill a Mockingbird"s and your "Grapes of Wrath"s. These are the ones that you feel like you should be reading when you're reading your popcorn novel. To me, they're a little more valuable than popcorn novels, not only because they might teach you a thing or two about how to live, but also because they can be a good source of heroes. In addition, they also give you something you can talk to smart people about. After their guard is down, you can throw them in your van and beat them until they tell you what they know. I figure it's cheaper than college.

While I do certainly feel that quality fiction is worth reading from time to time, the best fictions will never rise to the level of quality work about reality. Because of this, when people ask me what my favorite books are, I go to "How to Win Friends and Influence People" and "How the Irish Saved Civilization" (some of my favorite books) long before I ever get to "Of Mice and Men" or "The first 26 pages of 1984 - I keep meaning to finish it..." (some of my favorite novels). The reason is that novels will always just be stories. Now, I love stories, stories are great, and as I said above, in the best of them we can find helpful hints on dealings with people, and how to live our lives in general. But if you're reading to learn how to live, in the best of non-fiction, the lessons are better organized, easier to apply, and more helpful in general. Also, no novel is ever going to teach you a specific skill. Sometimes, you even get meaningful stories that actually happened (which is why history is the bomb - best of both worlds).

What to read

So you've decided why you're reading, and decided what category to choose from. As far as popcorn novels go, it really doesn't matter. Something with cool cover art or something. Good novels can be found here. If you go along the right side of the page, just skip over the Scientology ones, and know that while Ayn Rand's work is pretty good, her presence on the page is more indicative of what type of person votes for what the best novel is on the internet than what the best novels are.

If you want to read the best work about real stuff, look to your heroes again, or to your future ideal self. What would THAT person read? What would he know? For me, my ideal self has great dealings with all kinds of people. He is knowledgeable in a wide variety of subjects, from Roman history to nutrition. So when I pick a topic that I want to read about, I find a few books on that topic on Amazon, and then I read the most helpful review and the most helpful critical review for each. It's pretty easy to tell which one to read after that.

As always, thanks for reading! I hope you found something helpful, or at least amusing. Catch you next week.
Remember, reading good shit is awesome. Fill your mind with excellence, not with garbage.