Lately, I’ve been feeling like I’m reading more than I need to. But in a society where fewer and fewer people read books, is this question even relevant? Well actually I’m not just referring to books but rather about reading in general. I consider myself a geek for liking way too many things and subjects in this world. Let me give you a quick background on my intellectual pursuits.
My reading habits revealed!
- Having a degree in IT means that reading technology blogs is already a natural habit for me.
- Maybe I’m a frustrated web designer because I also frequent sites like Smashing Magazine and Noupe.
- I love science but most especially astronomy. Websites like Universe Today and APOD are heavenly to me.
- I’m a chronic procrastinator so I try to get help from sites like Lifehacker and Zen Habits.
- I’ve always been a fan of pop culture so I regularly check news on the latest music and movies.
- I don’t claim to read all kinds of books but I absolutely love reading encyclopedias and science books. I prefer reading them cover to cover as if they’re novels. Yeah, I’m a geek like that.
I’m smart enough to know that THAT indeed is a lot for just one person to read. But believe me when I say I DO read that much. So, is this bad? Well, I have noticed through myself the following downsides to this kind of reading lifestyle.
Possible downsides of being a very wide reader
- Information overload – There’s simply too much information than my brain can handle that sometimes I wish I didn’t like some of these things in the first place. Knowing a lot of stuff can be very stressful at times.
- Inability to focus – With all these things going through my head all day, focusing on just one topic so I can a have deeper understanding of it can sometimes be very challenging.
- Social problems – Reading this much limits my time for social interactions. I don’t have real life friends to whom I can share with my latest reading adventures. This makes me feel alienated not knowing people who I can talk to about stuff that interests me like pop remixes and time dilation. It also doesn’t help that I have a very timid attitude when it comes to meeting new people.
- Physical fitness is neglected – The sedentary lifestyle that reading demands causes my already unfit body to become even more unappealing than it already is!
- Likes to be on the fence on a lot of things – Reading a lot introduces me to so many opposing views. This makes me indecisive about a lot of things in life.
- Hating life – Novels often depict characters with personalities which you never rarely ever find in real life people. By reading a lot, I involuntarily draw a perfect image of what and how things should be. But of course, real life never gets that image right, ever! The result? I end up having a misanthropic attitude and being dissatisfied with almost everything in life.
- Becoming a jack of all trades but turning into a master of none – I read and know many things but I’m not exactly an expert on any one of them either. In my opinion, it’s the biggest price I have to pay.
Why do I read these much anyway?
The first reason is that I’ve always believed that reading is the best hobby a person can have. I value knowledge and advocate the wide exchange of ideas and opinions through reading. It’s through knowledge that one can obtain wisdom to learn how to live a meaningful life in this world. I challenge you to tell me of other hobbies that can get you that kind of benefit.
You are probably going to suggest that I let go of some of the stuff I read to save myself some trouble. Well that brings me to my second reason. I read somewhere that the secret to creativity is by getting inspiration not just from your own field but also from outside of your familiar workspace. To me, that means reading as much as I can. I admit that I haven’t gone into other genres yet like history and romance novels for instance. But the only important thing is that I spread out my reading horizons as widely as I can.
Third reason: reading a lot expands my vocabulary and improves my grammar and communication skills which has always been a good thing in my book.
And lastly, I just like learning about everything. I reckon that it would be very useful when you’re in some social gathering. You are guaranteed to always know a bit about almost anything that could come up in the discussions.
So, am I doing more harm than good to myself by reading this much? And if there’s such a thing as excessive reading then how much is enough? Are there adverse effects to the mental or even emotional health of a person who reads a lot? Unfortunately, it seems I have not gained enough knowledge yet to know the answers to these questions. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have new books and articles to sink my teeth into.
Reading books is really a hobby for me but I feel that it had become a part of my lifestyle – I usually read a book when I am in the subway or bus while going to or from work. It broadens my personal knowledge about a variety of things as well as enhance my communication skills with other people as well. Thank you for sharing such an interesting and informative article. – Pilipino
Hi! I believe I stumbled into another interesting blog. Your post is so amusing — ’cause I see some of me in there. I’m quite a eclectic reader; I embrace almost all sorts of genres and reading material. So, I do suffer from “information overload”, “being on the fence on a lot of things”, “becoming a jack of all trades but turning into a master of none”. But nothing relaxes me more than settling down to a good book or simply gazing at my bookshelf. So, is there such a thing as reading too much? Maybe, but I couldn’t care less. Tee hee!
Hi Johanna! I’m glad to hear I’m not alone in this. I also could spend the whole day staring at bookshelves. There’s something about books and shelves that simply fascinates me.
If I have a ‘motto’ by which I live, it is Forster’s ‘Only connect’. Making links between ideas from different books, from different disciplines, is the way in which greater understanding comes about and with greater understanding comes greater sympathy and compassion. Go on reading omnivorously. I’m sure it won’t do you any harm at all.
Reading omnivorously… I like the sound of that. And it’s a really good idea too but I can imagine it requires a lot of hard work. Thanks for sharing your insights.
I really like your account of your reading life.
Thanks Mel. Glad you liked it.
One can never read too much, Patrick.
I hope so.
nope, no such thing!!! :p
I knew someone would say that.
And I’d really like to believe that’s true but right now, I’m trying to control the urge to pick up another book from my TBR pile. There ARE also other things worth doing which don’t involve reading. 