I’ve just gotten to the end of my first year’s documented reading on Goodreads. I made a reasonable effort to write something about every novel and book I’ve read in these twelve months.
Got into a looong conversation last week about the value of reading, perceived and actual. I think my final position (we meandered) came down to: Leaving aside any question of the enjoyment of reading as a past-time, I believe that reading novels leads, over a long time, to cumulative intellectual growth in ways that consumption of other media does not. This is my reason that reading novels is better for you than watching television, although it’s good to question assumptions like that sometimes.
We can’t really see this growth happening, it’s not like we can say “I read x, y and z this year, and now I’m this much smarter.” But I can say with some certainty that I am more historically, geographically, intellectually, emotionally and spiritually aware than I would be had I never cracked a book. And in the short term it’s okay to derive some satisfaction from the novels I’ve tackled and beaten, because at the end of the day they are part of this process of slow, indirect learning.
The reason I like goodreads is not so much for its social aspects (although they’re okay), but because it makes me, knowing I’ll have to jot something down afterwards, think actual thoughts about books rather than just churning through without any real analysis. It makes me critical.
It’s also a bit like writing online. You could be doing it in a notebook, but the online thing gives you a framework. Keeps you honest.
Also, knowing that I’m publicising my reading list also keeps me away from complete dreck. Because what would I write after reading it?