I ran across a link to an interesting online article. It was called "Read More, Read Better". It listed several tips on how to become a better reader - specifically from a Christian perspective, but overall the tips were not spiritual/religious.
Basically all the tips boiled down to read a lot and read a lot of different stuff - fiction, history, theology, art, science, etc. A couple of the more specific tips were to read an old book for at least 3 of every new books you read and occasionally read light books just for the fun of reading.
Personally, I read a lot more old books than new books. This article made me see that I shun all of the new stuff rather than carefully selecting a few new things to read. Also I don't read enough non-fiction...and come to think of it, in about 3 months, I probably won't read much at all!
But the whole discussion kind of sat with me throughout the day and that night I found myself reading a book to my kids - and I realized "Read more, Read better" describes exactly how my kids are read to - in fact the exact mixture of styles they like to have read to them. They like to be read stories, they like to be read the Bible, they like to be read science books, history books, music books, counting books, sports books, animal books, everything! They are voraciously curious and learn constantly. And all the eating things off the floor and mismatched clothing aside, that is how I would really like to be!
It's hard to get out of our "reading niche." Reading time is valuable time and we don't want to waste it by taking a chance on a book we might not like. I'm into a book now that I have to read for a book club. I'm not truly enjoying it even though it's by an author I've read before and enjoyed. He didn't come through the same on this book. I'd much rather be reading a good novel but I'm sure this will make me think a bit. Guess it's like nutrition--we need a variety of food to get a balanced diet.
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