Reading every day for 30 days – A non-reader’s journey into books

I’ve never considered myself a reader

I read lots of books and articles about higher education as part of my studies. I read reports and board papers and emails and website copy every day as part of my job. I read Facebook comment sections, feel bad about the state of the world and then promise to not read Facebook comment sections again – always inevitably failing. I read lots, but I almost never pick up a book and read for fun.

Since becoming an adult – whenever that was… let’s say 18 – I can count the number of books that I have read for fun on one hand. I did read a lot of Goosebumps as a child, but things changed soon after that. Instead, I’ve absorbed much more of the world through videos – YouTube was my go-to place to get lost in a topic and learn about something new.

A lot of people around me are great readers. One of my flatmates is a reader – our cabinets are filled with resources that I’d never even thought to utilise. My partner reads every night on his Kindle before going to sleep – this is usually when I’m then absorbed in one of those YouTube videos. One of my friends who I used to work with (and now play board games with) is a star reader. Her Instagram is filled with the adventures that her reading takes her on. I’ve always been inspired by her posts, but felt galaxies away from it being achievable for me; like a longstanding carnivore admiring beautiful vegan meal photos.

Could 2019 be any different?

Earlier this year, I started thinking about the potential to one day do a PhD. I wanted to learn more about the subject, so I decided to read Estelle Phillips’s How to get a PhD: A handbook for students and their supervisors. I found this book so incredibly useful because of the depth it provided. A depth that no YouTube video could cover.

I realised that perhaps books could offer something that I’d been missing out of on for so many years. As my first book was very functional, I suppose you could argue whether it was really for ‘fun’, so I decided to stretch myself a bit further in my next book. A couple of years ago, a good friend bought me John-Paul Flintoff’s How to Change the World. I’d never gotten around to reading it, but I used my new-found enjoyment from Phillips’s book to springboard into it.

How to Change the World is a wonderfully practical approach to the philosophy of making a difference. In every chapter there was at least one mental exercise or thought experiment that helped me to reflect on what was most important to me and how I could start changing the world. It was short and sweet – exactly what I needed at this stage in my reading journey. I finally got to properly thank the friend for my gift and got to start sharing this book with others who I know have that same spark for activism.

I didn’t want to stop. So I made a commitment at that point that I would Michael Jackson it up and make a change.

My love of YouTube served me well here. Many YouTubers – such as Matt D’Avella, WheezyWaiter and Nathaniel Drew – have taken part in the trend of 30 day challenges; where you introduce a new habit into your life by committing to do it every day for 30 days. So… I thought I’d do the same. Reading every single day.

How could I fit in time for reading?

But we’re all so busy. I’ve found that “busy” has replaced “good” as the number one response when you ask people “how are you?”. How could I keep up my momentum for reading? I was afraid that I was just one bad book away from getting stuck and giving up.

So from day 1, I made a change in my habits by swapping my phone for my book. Instead of charging my phone by the side of my bed overnight, I now charge it on the other side of my bedroom. Out of reach unless I leave my bed. My book has now taken its place on my bedside table. Before I go to sleep each day, I read.

I used transport time. I cycle to work each day, so that would have been a bit dangerous (at least until I consider the audiobook approach). However, I was able to benefit from a few weekend train journeys to see friends, as a way to slot in extra reading time. On day 6 I was visiting some old friends near Southampton and I was really looking forward to having the quiet time on the train to read more. I visited the Foyles at Waterloo to stock up.

What did I learn about reading? 

My favourite thing about reading so far has been the way it moves your mind to a place where you are more reflective. I already considered myself to be quite a reflective person. I keep a diary. I have yearly goals. My friends and I even have a method of evaluating our lives when we catch-up – the ‘life wheel’. However, over the last month, reading has allowed me to be even more reflective because I have suddenly encountered numerous new perspectives on which to reflect.

This feeling was best captured in a mini-documentary about bookstores and reading by Max Joseph. It includes this amazing quote from Dr. Ruth J Simmons, President of Prairie View A&M University and first African-American woman to be President of an Ivy League University (Brown):

“The busyness does not make our lives meaningful. It is the interior life that makes the greatest difference to us in the end. If you enforce reading, you’re likely to enforce time for reflection – cause it’s hard to read without reflecting.”

On day 18, I took some time off work and went around London to get lost in some book stores. That was really fun. I only managed to visit 5 and I know there are so many more that I need to visit. It was particularly lovely to sit in Regent’s Park with my books; reading in the sun. There are so many more that I want to visit - suggestions please!

What did I actually read?

My second favourite thing about reading so far has been talking with people about the stories I’ve read. Getting their thoughts and sharing mine. So, it wouldn’t be a blog on the topic of reading without sharing what I read in my 30 day challenge:

I Quit Sugar – by Sarah Wilson – 3/5 – Sarah gives her story of how giving up sugar helped give her more focus and better health. It matched nicely with my concerns about my own lifestyle and inspired me to follow along. It also included a number of beautiful looking recipes, although, beyond the photos, these were a bit lost on me.

Whatever You Think, Think the Opposite – by Paul Arden – 2/5 – A collection of imagery, poems and short stories about how you can stand out from the crowd. I found this book a bit contrarian. At times, it seemed like it was trying to prescribe difference for the sake of it. Not my glass of milk.

Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race – by Reni Eddo-Lodge – 4/5 – I loved this book. At one point, I reflected on my feelings that she seemed very angry. As the book went on, I started to understand why she may have felt that way, but also why I may have assumed anger in her words. I loved the UK specific perspective. The only thing that felt lacking was the binary nature of Eddo-Lodge’s narrative. I wondered where I stood or should stand as a mixed-race reader.

Talking to My Daughter About the Economy – by Yanis Varoufakis – 4/5 – So many chapters in this book that I loved. For a relatively dense book, it flowed and built upon itself so naturally. I found myself enjoying it more and more, the further I got through.

Life Admin: How I Learned to Do Less, Do Better, and Live More – by Elizabeth Emens – 2/5 – Whilst there were some interesting points and conversations in this book (especially the impact of gendered assumptions about admin) it felt overly repetitive. Full of anecdotes that didn’t link together. I made the decision to skip over some pages and sections when I felt like I was re-reading an earlier point. Perhaps a topic better suited for a YouTube video?

Between the World and Me – by Ta-Nehisi Coates – 4/5 – A very powerful perspective of the words of a black father to his black son. As someone still adjusting to reading, the long chapters of this book were a challenge at first, but by the end I loved how it allowed the book to continuously flow. Coates utilises a beautiful, poetic rhythm in his writing that made this very immersive. 

The Morning They Came for Us: Dispatches from Syria – by Janine Di Giovanni – 4/5 – An incredibly gripping journey through the horrors of the war in Syria. Di Giovanni prioritises the individual perspectives of those living in and through the conflict, which brings the book to life. The author has biases in the conflict that occasionally come through in her depictions of the people she interviews. However, you can see why she holds these biases given her own journey through the war.

Utopia for Realists: And How We Can Get There – by Rutger Bregman – 4/5 – Big ideas. Very big ideas about how left-wing politics has changed and where it needs to go next. Rutger builds on the idea that he is most famous for – a universal basic income – turning it into a passionate vision of how we can be excited about the future.

China’s Great Wall of Debt: Shadow Banks, Ghost Cities, Massive Loans, and the End of the Chinese Miracle – by Dinny McMahon – 3/5 – I did enjoy this book, so maybe it’s more of a 3.5. It was a fascinating introduction to the underpinning ways that the Chinese economy works, or doesn’t. I did find that some of the stories, figures and places were a little hard to keep track of, but that might also be due to my lack of much understanding about China before reading.

When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir – by Patrisse Khan-Cullors, Asha Bandele – 4/5 – I started off not thinking much of this book. It was a bit too poetic for my liking and assumed maybe too much from the reader in terms of awareness of recent events in the US. However, it grew on me and I soon found myself lost in Patrisse’s story and how her story fits into the biggest picture of systemic racism. Overall it’s incredibly powerful, I thoroughly recommend especially to anyone who has considered the term Black Lives Matter too extreme.

So what’s next?

Firstly, thank you for reading this mammoth blog and getting this far. I've kept up daily reading past day 30, as I don't want to stop. I’d love to hear new suggestions for books, especially if they link with any of the books or genres of books that I’ve listed above.