Reading and Writing

Since losing my job at the university back in March, I've been trying to regain a semblance of order. Life as we knew it no longer exists, and ironically, that truth extends far out of my experience as the world itself has completely changed. The power of the irony lies in the timing in which everything happened. All the patterns have changed. 

The practice of reading and writing have all but disappeared in my life as my daily routine is not what it once was, so finding the time to do either or both is a challenge. Morning starts early around here and nights often go late. The days are full of other matters requiring attention, so sitting down to read or write does not come easy--until recently. 

I've tried listening to books during my two-hour (total) commute but I have a difficult enough time trying to stay awake, especially on the way home--even with music blasting and A/C on full. My attention drifts or I am distracted by how something is being read and can't really pay attention. Besides, I also like to underline and take notes. Can't do that in an audio book. 

I've had a Kindle for a while, a used one given by my wife. I've not been very excited to read books that way until recently. I like my books! But my Kindle fits nicely in my back pocket--or in my phone via app. And so I've begun to catch snippets of books by this means, even in my hectic work environment when I find a few minutes to crack it open and read a few pages. I feel like a man who has gone without food for so long! And the more I read, the more I get ideas aboutt what to write--and making the time to do so. 

Since I love the Classics, I was busy building my Kindle library one night when I stumbled over a set of books I'd entirely forgot about--the 50+ volume set of Harvard Classics. Open Culture has the entire set available free of charge on their site. So I downloaded and got to reading but the weight of the project began to weigh on my again (I seem to have this idea that I can read ALL the books) and I began to get discouraged. So I started searching for a reading guide--and boy, am I glad I did. 

 

I paid a couple of bucks for this and put it on my Kindle. So glad I did, too.

I dropped a bookmark in the table of contents (it can be challenging to navigate) and found the month and day to begin, moving other bookmarks along as I read. The entirety of the Harvard Classics are crosslinked with each daily reading, each designed to be completed in approximately 15 minutes. Which is just perfect for me. Another version of this index is found here. And there is also a reading guide for children and teens, too! Check it out! (No, you don't have to bring it back in two weeks. It's a library joke.)

Make no bones about it--some of what you will read will be tough, but think about what that means. We must hurdle time gaps, geographic gaps, cultural gaps and so on--and look what we gain by digging in--an education. We are changed by what we read. 

As I've been reading, I am challenged by what I read to write, so perhaps my blog will flicker back to life once more as I reflect on what I read. Be encouraged to do the same. Read a little, reflect. Make new friends of the greatest minds. And spend time with old friends, too. You'll realize how much you missed them. as I realize I do. They are the best I ever had!