Finding questions and answers about why I like books

I saw a tweet awhile back that sent my brain to a far off galaxy…

Most people are proud of their reading habit.

But for many, it’s just an act of productive procrastination.

I’m looking at you “I read a book a week” club

Here’s how you know:

Are you reading to find answers to questions?…or are you reading to find questions to answer?

— Alex Hormozi (@AlexHormozi) July 2, 2022

Of all the injustices happening in the world… you know who needs to be taken down a peg? The Book-a-Week People. Fuck those guys. With their books in their Zoom backgrounds. That bothers me. Fuck them.

I know the original post is part of some weird hustle culture subgenre, but it’s probably no surprise to folks reading that I like books and fit this targeted demographic. After pondering whether I’m “finding answers to questions or questions to answer” my answer is a resounding, “…I guess?”

A lot of why I read is about juxtaposition. I read business books to juxtapose my experience against the Platonic ideal of “good business”. I read about social justice to juxtapose my lived experience against others lived experience. I read science fiction to juxtapose the present against futures I haven’t imagined. I read non-fiction airport books because I like facts and social science garbage. I read books on topics I’m already an expert in to see if there’s information that further informs my perspective. I read to teleport to different places, minds, times, and rooms where it happened.

I read to escape. I read to find myself. I read because I like facts. I read because I like fiction. I read for entertainment. I read to fall asleep. I listen to books to help me finish mundane tasks like doing the dishes every night. And I listen to books because there’s a slight communistic thrill of getting them from the library.

There’s a widely accepted idea out there that “the best way to become a better writer is to become a better reader.” I think Stephen King said it, but I can’t find the quote. Either way, I want to become a better writer. Whether fact or fiction, I want the ability to not struggle when putting thoughts on the page. Oh to partake in this magical osmosis! The transitive impartation of skills! Let me flex the language encoding and decoding synapses in my 40-watt brain.

And sometimes reading is out of due diligence. Like… if you’re going to start a job as a manager… read a book on management? Or ten? You’re dealing with people’s lives and careers, seems like the least you could do. If you’re going to talk or blog on a topic and there’s a relevant book… read that before showing your ass? A thought backed by some literature seems better than regurgitating TikToks.

Books are strange objects. Chapters and chapters of coherent research and lived experiences assembled by people who wanted to put it all down in one place. Edited by actual editors who like editing. Designed— down to the weight of the paper, the typography, and the illustration on the cover— to make the experience of reading it enjoyable. Books are uncanny and impractical objects. A terribly inefficient way to encode information from one brain to another, but an excellent way to tell a story.

You can also just like books for no reason.

Anyways, books. Check ‘em out.