2 weeks ago
13
Reading never really interested me growing up. I distinctly remember thinking, “The pictures work just fine, why do I need the words?” I learned to read in second grade, and I hated it throughout the rest of K-12. That trend stuck up until last summer, leading into my senior year of college. It always felt like a chore, perhaps because the only reading I did was for homework.
Last summer, I took a field research course for my major. Part of the requirements was a book report. I put it off until a week before it was due. I remember bringing it with me to work and reading it between orders, I was desperate to get that thing finished. But it was genuinely interesting. It was about US history with rivers, how rivers allowed the country to grow rapidly and how we in turn began controlling them. It was fascinating. I got a 100% on the report, the book really spoke to me and made me enjoy reading.
I ordered a handful of ‘classics’ from high school that I wanted to read through a non-academic lens, as well as a canon book for my favorite video game series, the Bendy games. When it came time to buy school books, I added on a book about Marvel Studios’ history.
I read three books for courses this year: one about civilization’s relationship to dirt and soil, one about Jewish history in Germany up to the 1930s, and one about traditional ecological knowledge. All fascinating. For a project, I read a book on a famous incident in my hobby’s history, talking about a spill of LEGO in the ocean. I read an interesting-sounding book from a course a few years ago that I never read as well. I know I read one or two more on my own but I can’t for the life of me remember which ones, they’re on a shelf in my living room. I’ve developed a wanted list for books, I have about $500 worth of books I want to read.
My friend gave me a $50 gift card for Amazon last week. Before June, I would’ve instantly bought a LEGO set. But now, my mind, without hesitation, thought of four or five books I want. I’ll probably be getting:
1. “A Sand County Almanac”
2. “All Quiet on the Western Front”
3. “Silent Spring”
4. A book about LEGO’s history
5. A book about my city’s lost history
6. Ant-Man’s canon in-universe book
It’s a bit over $50 but whatever. It’s just so strange being excited about books. Six months ago I couldn’t imagine spending my free time reading. Now I’m halfway through my Marvel Studios book, which is the biggest book I’ve ever read. Maybe that’s just part of growing up, realizing that there’s so much to read beyond the classroom. I only need to retain what stands out to me. I can learn so much more about my hobbies, I can narrow down my career interests. It’s wonderful. I still haven’t read the classics I bought, as I remember their plots and I want to work through my ‘unknown’ books first. At this rate, I may never run out of my ‘unknown’ books.
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