I’m writing this article in response to my fellow Bangkok-based writer, Gary Dale Cearley, who in his latest blog post asked the following question: Do you feel the need to read anymore?
For me it comes as a funny question as, less than two days ago I returned from Chatuchak Weekend Market in Bangkok with a rucksack full of books. To be more exact, I bought 16 books on religion, Thailand, and general fiction. So, yes, I still feel the need to read. Especially that, at this month’s Bangkok Writers’ Guild meeting, one of the topics of discussion was how writers learn to write. Some said that ‘how-to’ books could do the job, but most agreed that a writer learns more about the craft of writing by simply just reading (and writing, of course).
Recently, I’ve allocated more time to reading and drastically cut down on the time spent on the internet, especially logged on to my Twitter and Facebook accounts. For me, the World Wide Web is more like a valuable source of research rather than a place to socialize with known and unknown cyber friends. Apart from ruining my sight and back posture, the internet also used to keep me away from sports and, of course, reading. It does no more, as I succeeded in disciplining myself. As a consequence, archery practice and reading time always come first. I’ve even neglected answering my e-mails, but the more I stay offline, the better.
Last Friday I started Larry Welch’s collection of motivational stories entitled The Human Spirit – Stories from the Heart, a book that I received from the author himself at a gathering organized by Aaron Le Boutillier, author of And Then One Morning. Although I had in plan to read something else, Larry is such a nice guy that I had to read his book before anything else. I strongly believe that by reading a writer’s book, you get to know better the writer himself. This is especially true in the case when you’ve actually met the writer. So for me, this past weekend was spent doing what I like best: read books and practice archery. I threw some writing in between and, there it goes, a fruitful and healthy weekend.
To come back to Gary Dale’s question, I have to answer YES. I still feel the need to read and, as a matter of fact, yesterday I decided that I had to finish the 80 pages or so I had left from Larry’s book. With book in hand, I walked into a coffee shop on my soi and indulged in a smoothie and Larry’s positive stories about his life and travels.
On my way home, as I thought about this topic, I remembered that my 2009 reading list needed updating. And the list says that Larry’s book is the 30th I’ve read up to this point in 2009. Is it a lot, is it a little? It’s hard to say. Approximately 2.5 books per month is not that much, but this year has been a prolific one in another area that’s very important for me: writing and publishing.
Until next time, happy reading!
