My Experience with Reading
Recollecting My History with Books
Books have been an integral part of my daily routine for the longest time. The self-help space and recent trends have brought reading into the spotlight again.
Knowledge, learning, intellect, and articulation — they are components of the human psyche that sets us apart from other primal creatures.
The Quran states,
“Read, ˹O Prophet,˺ in the Name of your Lord Who created —
created humans from a clinging clot.
Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous,
Who taught by the pen —
taught humanity what they knew not.”
— Quran Chapter 96, Verses 1–5.
Being a Muslim, the drive for knowledge and curiosity is taught to be an essential element of the primordial spirit of man.
In other words, learning is a basic instinct just like eating, drinking, and sleeping.
But that’s not how I began.
What Got Me into Reading?
I intuitively knew reading would play a center-stage role in my life, but an 8-year-old child cannot comprehend the right material from the wrong, the childish from mature, or the garbage from gold.
So, I did what others do: read what was popular. It didn’t matter if I enjoyed it or not; all I knew was that I had to buy the latest Diary of a Wimpy Kid to boast about my collection at school. And you know what? I started to enjoy the reads.
Soon, my library expanded from just Greg Heffley’s cartoonish adventures to Goosebumps, Amos Lee, Horrible History, and the like.
It was around 2017, right around the time when the premonitions of adulthood started to settle upon my teenage self, that I realized I must outgrow fantastical retellings of imaginative authors into the real world, a man’s world.
Thus began my real quest for knowledge.
In my re-adventure for books, I faced the same dilemma: “What should I read?”
So, I did what everyone else did: I hopped onto Amazon and coursed through their bestseller selection. I didn’t care what the book was, what the plot was, who the author was, or even the genre. If the title resonated with me and the cover appealed to my old-fashioned senses, I bought it.
This introduced me to one of my favourite authors, Kahlil Gibran. I didn’t understand the wisdom encapsulated in The Prophet, I just enjoyed reading about Almustafa’s mysterious and soulful sermons.
“The timeless in you is aware of life’s timelessness. And knows that yesterday is but today’s memory and tomorrow is today’s dream.”
― Khalil Gibran, The Prophet.
I had also bought an abridged copy of The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer. The tales of medieval knights, damsels, innkeepers, and priests travelling on an unlikely pilgrimage, sharing stories and finding familiarity triggered my historical callings. I walked the Pilgrim’s Path with them, immersed myself in their stories, and lived their experience.
“Youth may outrun the old, but not outwit.”
― Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales.
That was it, Classical Literature was my next stop.
Thereafter followed a stream of classical books: Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift, the unabridged The Canterbury Tales, Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe, Valmiki’s Ramayana, H.G. Wells’ The Invisible Man, Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, Collected Short Stories of O. Henry, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Hamlet, Macbeth, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Avon’s beloved Bard, Animal Farm by George Orwell, The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo, The Old Man and the Sea by E.M. Hemingway, Siddhartha by Herman Hesse — suffice to say, I was hooked.
“‘Classic’ — a book which people praise and don’t read.” -Mark Twain
Mr. Twain, I praised and I read. Mind you, I didn’t make the effort to read all of them, at least not yet. There are still titles I am yet to indulge in that I bought way back then. I just knew I had to hoard them for posterity; if not me, then someday my children could become avid readers.
Fast forward to 2023 and I enjoy dabbling in History, Psychology, Self-Improvement, Leadership, Classical Literature, and Non-Fiction. I would like to get started on classical fantasy fiction like the immortalized The Lord of the Rings or Narnia, and I intend to.
Challenging the “Read Every Day” Productivity Facade
Search the top ten habits for productivity, and reading will be in the top three, right up there with meditation and cold shower. But why?
Take some time to think: people are literate; everyone reads something every day, willingly or unwillingly, but are they educated?
The distinction between literacy and education is important. Devouring gossip magazines doesn’t make you a reader; indulging in steam-riddled erotica doesn’t make you a reader (I can hear some of you gritting their teeth at me); scrolling through social media posts and memes all day doesn’t make you a reader; then what does?
Knowledge.
The substance and quality of writing that you absorb and make part of your cognitive ecosphere classifies you as a learner worthy of using the moniker ‘reader’. I am not saying you can’t have junk reads—it’s fairly important to indulge — but being a reader is more about absorbing knowledge and repurposing it into your thought process.
Let me separate academic reading and fiction reading. You can learn sufficient lessons from both if you approach it with the right mindset. Does the storytelling aspect enlighten you? Are you learning new words? Has the reading made you better in any aspect of your life? These are vital questions you must ask yourself when you engage in written material.
Lessons Learned
Reading gave me a window into the past and a critical mind for the present. Nurturing my inquisitiveness helped me expand my vocabulary far beyond any of my peers could comprehend. I would consistently fail in Mathematics but I knew English Literature and Language were two papers I always aced.
Those early readership experiences helped me get started on my freelance journey in 2020, when Covid forced my hand to monetize my skills. And I say, “Alhamdulillah!” for all of it.
Reading helped me overcome deficiencies in my intellect and rise above baser follies. It made me an intellectual, a writer, an earner, a learner, a thinker, an educator, a speaker, and a leader.
It has also made me a rebel against structured authority. By no means am I an anarchist, and Islam teaches me to comply with instituted rules that are fair and just. Fair and just are the keywords here. When you learn to think on your feet and actively critique the world around you, you have no choice but to be an outspoken outcast. Teachers admired my intellect but I’ve had my fair share of conflicts with academic authority.
To conclude, let me use a fancy quote by a reputed thinker:
“The reading of all good books is like a conversation with the finest minds of past centuries.” — Rene Descartes
All in all, it’s an essential part of my life, and I just hope I can read well into my old age.
Thank you for reading my story.
I am a new writer on this platform and would appreciate your feedback and engagement.
If you enjoyed this story, you may also check this story about the value of reading penned by Dr Mehmet Yildiz, who shares his years of experience.
What Makes a Reader Most Joyful About Reading — Part II
Here are the links to my recent stories for new readers.
For professional collaborations, you may contact me on Upwork.
