Maximizing Time for Reading

Reading and writing require time yes, but if we’re only able to think of the time in a day as already belonging to someone else, we’re essentially screwed.

Obviously you can pick books that fit your interests, but if you’re looking to read to be a better writer, setting goals to read books that will improve your range of knowledge, even if they aren’t as fun as Harry Potter or whoever, is vital. You might not love every second of The Magic Mountain or The Unconsoled , but you will have absorbed someth... See more

In general, aiming to ‘understand’ or even have concrete takeaways for what you read is getting the cart before the horse. Again, no one wakes up reading Pynchon and converting it to gold; that’s not the point. The point, if there is one, as with looking at a painting, is that you are exposing your mind to being nourished without needing to define ... See more

Manifesting the proper brainspace to be able to think clearly enough to read and write is probably even more important than having ideas or skill; in fact, the latter would seem to emerge out of the former.

One beautiful thing about literature is that it’s a blossoming tree, and each new branch you crack can lead to all sorts of nooks and crannies.

a poem can be really satisfying to swallow in one bite, and then have echoing in your head while you do other stuff.