I’ve noticed lately that I have an obsession with buying books. I buy them, and add them to my collection, and it gives me a brief sense of accomplishment. Then I realize, “Hey – I’m not reading all these books that I’m adding to my collection, in fact, I’m reading very few of them!” It’s just an interesting habit I noticed. Obviously we live in a society that is all about getting a “quick fix” to just about any conundrum we face. When I face the conundrum of not having “enough knowledge and wisdom” I invariably turn to buying more books. We’re also a society that is trained in the art of the “short attention span,” and I am no exception. I want to consume the books that I own quickly, or not at all. The problem is, when I attempt to consume them quickly, I very rarely retain any of the information. Which becomes really silly because the whole point in getting the books (and reading them) is to gain (and retain) knowledge and wisdom. So I guess I’ll just blame Facebook, the Internet, and everything I can think of (except myself of course) for these poor habits. Perhaps my challenge will be to read the books a chapter at a time, and journal after each chapter. That seems to be the best way to retain the information. It becomes more of an experience than a task to check off the list. I guess this is similar to what I’ve been doing with movies on this blog in the past: watching movies and then digesting them through my journals and blogging about the lessons learned and eternal truths that spoke to me. So that’s it! The accountability I need with books is right in front of me! I’ll be selecting a book, and blogging through each chapter right here on my blog. How exciting. I can tell everyone is just as excited as I am. Now, I have to decide which book to read. So many to choose from. If you don’t hear back from me within the next several days, feel free to call me up and ask what book I’ve decided upon. Or e-mail me, Facebook me, etc. Alright…until next time.
-Andy
Interesting. I like this idea and I think I may copy it! My blog is pretty empty, and treating it like a journal is a good idea. Maybe we could keep each other accountable to finish a chapter in a certain amount of time (a week, two weeks…).
I do read the books I buy. Well, mostly. But I can totally identify with you about not retaining a lot of the information. I tend to read a book so that I can say I’ve read it. C.S. Lewis wrote an essay on how to read books, and it made me feel really guilty.