Speed. For thousands of years, it was wind whipping through scalp and mane; steed and rider galloping thunderously as the earth fled under tramping hoofbeats at roughly 40mph. Then came the Industrial Revolution, and the world discovered ways to go faster and faster. Trains, planes, automobiles, pushing the boundaries with each decade that passed. When it seemed impossible to move faster physically, brilliant minds came up with ways to bring information to us at the touch of a button. The result? Even fast-food establishments, once marveled as a miracle of efficiency, cannot meet our need for speed. We want it now!
How can books compete? Books have words. So many words. So many pages and pages of words. Who wants to spend time and effort when the world provides alternative entertainment at the speed of light. Optics are mesmerized by images and lights while brains become insidiously fat and torpid on their saccharine offerings. Jane Austen, the beloved author of Pride and Prejudice, states it somewhat bluntly through her novel Northanger Abbey: “The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.” Though this straightforward sentiment may be a tad dysphemistic for our comfort, there is some truth in it. In a more modern novel, The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, an instructor reproves a student for questioning why it’s even important to learn. “’You are ignorant, boy,’ said Miss Lupescu. ‘This is bad. And you are content to be ignorant, which is worse.’”
Inadvertently, there will be two responses to these quotes. One will seek to wriggle from under Ms. Austen’s steely gaze and find a book. I mean, who wants to be thought of as “intolerably stupid”? The second response will wave nonchalantly at the air and poo-poo the idea that books could be all that important, thus remaining content to be ignorant. Let’s be honest, sometimes we just want to turn off our brains for a bit and let them chillax. Watch a thrilling movie. Laugh at some crazy memes. However, those things shouldn’t dominate residence in our minds.
The goal of reading is to enlighten, edify, and employ the mind in something worthwhile. Pick up a challenging book. If you’re new to reading, just pick up any book – but start somewhere. Slow down and feed the need to read.
