It’s funny, the things I know for certain? They never cease to surprise me anyway. Like reading novels and discussing them with people you trust...and who inspire you.
Earlier this week, I showed up to our writing chats, curled in layers of wool against the cold and armed with tea. It was like a small break from, well, everything else.
We met to talk about Mr. Pip. A beautiful book set during the civil war on Bouganville off the coast of Papua New Guinea. A book that sweeps you up with beauty and resilience in the face of catastrophe.
And that got us all talking about the way stories get us through.
You see, in Mr. Pip, one of the main (and mysterious!) characters, Mr. Watts, reads Dicken’s Great Expectations to the school children as all the teachers have left the island. Ultimately, he draws the entire village into the story, to create something new a new tale that deviates perhaps from Great Expectations...possibly from the whole and exact truth of his own life.
“Do we forgive Mr. Pip for not being entirely honest?” I wanted to know in our book chats.
Do we forgive the author for telling us the story that we need to hear? For handing down the story that makes us strong rather than ‘just the facts?’
At any rate, this was just the book to read in uncertain times--full of beauty and reminders that, yes, we make it through incredible things.
And that, yes(!) stories, retelling, and conversations about stories…
are more than escape and relaxation in tough times.
make us stronger too, ready to go back out there with so many creative and new perspectives.
bring us together and make us stronger—together.
This week’s blog post is just a reminder and meditation on reading and the reasons that you should pick up a great book (or a stack of them) in 2021.
We’ll talk about the reasons that reading, sharing adventures of the written word, and storytelling get us through…
Reminder #1: Reading makes time stop so you can recover and stay strong.
You’re a reader. I know this about you. I know you love it when you see a book in the mail, or contemplate your stack of books ready to get you through--whatever comes next.
You know what it feels like to pick up a good book, diver under a blanket, and hit pause on a world that seems ‘too fast’ or ‘too much.’
If Mental Health First Aid of England tells you that “reading as little as six minutes a day can reduce stress levels by 60% by reducing your heart rate, easing muscle tension and altering your state of mind…”
Or that reading is “better at reducing stress than music, drinking a cup of tea, going for a walk and playing video games….”
Well, I’m sure you’ve already felt that. But after a few conversations with other creatives from around the world who are concerned more than ever about staying strong and getting through?
I thought we could use the reminder. (I can use the reminder.)
If you don’t feel like you can suddenly pick up a new yoga practice or sports routine to get your mind off things?
Or if you’ve tried meditation and it just makes your active mind bounce around while you hyperventilate? (Yes, some of us know what that’s like...welcome to the club.)
According to the South African College of Applied Psychology…
Reading has been shown to put our brains into a state similar to meditation, and it brings the same health benefits of deep relaxation and inner calm. Regular readers sleep better, have lower stress levels, higher self-esteem, and lower rates of depression than non-readers.
So if what you love to do is...read? Crack open a good book and disappear from this world for a bit? All while supporting bookshops, authors, culture...and your writing and creativity?
Maybe that’s your go-to for stress relief. Maybe, just maybe, you can give yourself a break if meditation or some other self-care technique is not working out for you right now. Or feeling like ‘another thing’ on your to-do list.
Reminder #2: Reading is not (just) about escape--it’s about perspective, empathy, creativity, and strength.
I’ve heard many people talk about escaping--and I do it too. I’ve just wrapped up reading Pachinko--our next book for the book club. And I have to say, I spent a good month hopping around South Korea and Japan, following generations of a family and examining life from someone else’s perspective.
But no, the story of people in a nation colonized, forced to emigrate and endure harsh conditions, racism, life as immigrants, war...it’s not just a happy story.
Once again, it’s a place to escape so we can retreat and come back wiser, stronger. Reading is a reminder that:
We are not the only ones who have had to learn to be resilient. I’ve heard people say-- “No one told me how to live through a pandemic!” And I think it every day. But… humanity--and literature--are full of people who do know how to get through. Who are full of love, grit and creativity…
This reminder that we are not the only ones? And the need to ‘walk in someone else’s shoes?’
Well, of course, you’ve guessed it:
Reading literary fiction is an exercise in empathy. And creativity.
If you’re looking for another reminder of reading in action on your mental health and your humanity and empathy read this 2019 article from the BBC: Does Reading Make Us Better People?
Aren’t we better when we are thinking of others and not just navel-gazing at our own problems. I know it makes me feel better as a human.
And for all of us writers out there? Empathy and perspective makes us stronger writers too. I mean, it’s not as important as being a better human being...but it’s up there…
Reminder #3: You’ll find strength in communities that revolve around reading.
As I’m fond of saying and remembering,
We read and write alone, but we do it to connect with others.
Even in these fast days. Especially in these fast days.
Taking the time out during the month to come together with other readers, writers, creatives… it’s one of the things that gets me through.
There is a certain magic in hearing someone else’s take on a story. They have read it with different eyes, experienced the plot, places and people through the lense of their own exprience and culture.
When you meet to talk about a great book...it’s a chance to write the story again. Together.
Maybe we can be forgiven for turning the story slightly away from exactly what the author wrote...or may have intended. And for telling these tales that get us through.
How will you read for resilience in 2021?
I’d love to hear how you plan on keeping your resilience and creativity up in 2021. And what you’re reading now...or next!
Tell me in the comments below, or send me an email.
And if you’d like to be a part of our creative community...
Members of our community who subscribe to the newsletter get to attend one book chat free of charge...and they also get plenty of inspiration, writing prompts and chances to meet up with other creatives. Interested? Sign up here.
And if you’re interested in joining a cozy community of multilingual creatives, writers, readers, storytellers for adventures of the written word, inspiration and shared resilience? Check out our creative community here.
Further Reading:
For further inspiration, here are our book club picks for the first months of 2021.
Here is a post I wrote about reading through times of crisis based on my personal experience.
And a post that reminds you, even when you think you don’t have time to read, you can read to take back your time.
Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash