Curiosity Killed the Cat: Why Do You Read?
Why do you read? Is it to escape, enlarge your world, or perhaps to gain empathy…
I read mostly to learn about other people I may not encounter in my little town in Wonder Bread Utah. I read to engage my mind in a life that I might never experience and sometimes am thankful that I don’t. Mostly, I learn to understand. I want to understand other’s experiences through their hardships, their joys, and their frustrations; how they overcome such hardships, how they express their anger, rage, and even happiness. This can happen from engaging with people too but what if you live in a place where everyone is more or less the same in their culture, in their dress, and in their monetary value? Individuals are just that individuals, but when they are growing up in the same area the individuality is not as significant as it would be living in the melting pot of humanity.
I used to read a lot of classics. Books on the plight of the turn of the century during the climb second stage of the industrialization age, the struggles that people had as workers, and trying to create laws that protected those workers, or the plight of Dicken‘s characters just to eke out an existence in the grey world of London.
Except for as a small child I never really read strictly for entertainment. As a teen I devoured books, books about my heritage, books on relationships, books on world views I could never even imagine. If I owned it I had written in the margins, If it was borrowed I would copy quotes in a notebook (which I still have today,) or photocopy the page to remember all the beautifully used words. However, I still didn’t delve deep enough. What I could have learned if I paid attention to what Charlotte Bronte and her sisters were trying to say in a world where they had no say would have helped me to guide my own destiny instead of always following behind someone else’s plans for me.
As a youth, I hated school, not because I struggled with the subject matter, but that I wanted to discuss ideas. I wanted to learn why you had to do fractions and why it would pertain to my life later on. I wanted to KNOW.
Like in the rest of my life it was “do as I say” and not what would make my learning experience better, or help me love to learn on a larger scale. I felt squelched because according to people, especially teachers, “I was a darling girl, but I talked too much in class.” Damn, right I did! I wasn’t learning anything that interested me, except during English and History where we learned about expression and how other people expressed themselves in the here and now, and in the past. The rest of the time it was all memorization and rote information that was taught over and over again to generations of kids just like me. I wanted more. I wanted as I said before, TO KNOW. I wanted expression, I wanted feelings, I wanted two sides to each history lesson, not just the popular telling of it which marginalized the information that I received. I read to close these gaps that I felt were not being taught in school. So, my parents and grandma would introduce me to books that were sometimes a bit of a stretch for my understanding, and yet, I understood. My german grandma and her (and mine) heritage branched me out to the Holocaust, the lives of the Jewish people and the aftermath of that horrific time. I learned about the resistance that so many Germans secretly gave to help the marginalized and misrepresented. I even learned the thought process of the man who decided that Jewish people were an affront to his life and a danger to his unified world. Mein Kampf for a 12-year-old was a scarily deep and disturbing book (it still is) and yet, I wanted to, no, I needed to learn about it as it affected all sides of my German family.
Still, I didn’t expand out past the USA or even the European nations, I didn’t read internationally ALL OVER the world. I am grateful that those options are now part of my reading repertoire and all the way down to small children through so many fabulous picture books.
It wasn’t until I started taking college courses at the age of 43 that I found my voice. That I could express my frustration to professors, that I could dig deeper when I asked a question on our discussions. I wanted to expand my knowledge and feel more empathy towards others. I had a few professors that took the thirst I had for more and pored all their experiences, ideas, and knowledge into my brain during class; after class, and through emails. I felt empowered. I felt acknowledged for the first time for the intelligence I had and wasn’t belittled for asking questions or throwing out ideas. I am sure I drove my fellow school mates crazy. Those 19/20-year-olds that just wanted to get the assignment and get the heck out of the classroom. I wanted a discussion that expanded the topic at hand. It was a glorious time.
After we moved and college wasn’t an option for me anymore, that didn’t stop me from learning. It just built up the desire even more. So, I started reading international books, books by authors who weren’t famous, books with tough subjects because those are the books that teach the most. I’ve found that emotional connection and different ideas from all walks of life, faith’s and countries expand our hearts and minds to what could be, what should be, and what will be if we work towards a collective betterment and kindness towards those we come in contact or see on the news. Empathy towards others and seeing people’s struggles help make the world a smaller place. It makes you want to know but also to do. Serve, improve, and build a bridge. As the tribes of third world countries have shown, it definitely takes a village to raise those who might not have anyone to raise them.
Don’t get me wrong, I read for entertainment too, but overall I read to expand my individual universe so I am a better community member of this spinning blue and green marble we call Earth.
Because of this, over the next year, you will see more diversity of subject matter in my book review choices, more international authors, and some amazing covers that don’t blend into the popular canvas of publishing.
I am extremely curious to know: WHY DO YOU READ And will you expand that way of reading throughout 2021?
I can’t wait to hear and learn from you in the comments.
~Sandra
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| Happy Reading |
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