How have books enhanced your imagination?

Careful, one of your greatest assets may have atrophied; hopefully it is not dead.

Every free moment is consumed with scrolling through the social media feed filled with images and videos. A downside of this imagery influx, is now we see an actress as Little Red Riding Hood and her face becomes defined. If read, our imagination builds the image of the young heroine, and my image may be far different than yours.

Alfred Hitchcock said, "I can't read fiction without visualizing every scene. The result is it becomes a series of pictures rather than a book." Movie producers try hard to match or surpass our imagination and with computer-generated imagery, and they continue to gain ground. However, until they can read every mind and tailor the film to match; there will be a gap.

Most of my reading has been non-fiction. I have recently enjoyed several fiction books and appreciate how my imagination was used to sweep me away to another time and place. The description of the turtle crossing the road in the opening pages of The Grapes of Wrath prepared me for an enduring story of heartbreak, as I walked with the Joad family through the Depression.

Hearing Neil Gaiman narrate The Graveyard Book and tell the story of Nobody "Bod" Owens was incredible. I listened to the audiobook while stripping and painting the trim on my house. Often, during my approach to the front door, I will experience flashbacks of Bod's encounters with the living, dead, and those somewhere in between. The story quenched my parched imagination.

I do not enjoy math. I have heard that those who love the subject, are entranced by the symmetry, the beauty, and the eternal presence of the discipline. I am grateful many fall into this category. I read The Housekeeper and the Professor as a way to encounter and appreciate math's virtue, wrapped in a compelling story. Yoko Ogawa's descriptions engaged my imagination and began to bend my will favorably toward the discipline.

No doubt, you have favorite books that set your imagination ablaze. Embrace the gift that is not constrained by natural limits. Engaging this precious resource delivers solutions. Stoke the fire to see the impossible, then return and make it possible

Going Further: What books sparked your imagination? How do you consistently challenge your imagination? How have you used your imagination to solve real- world problems? What other imagination question comes to mind?

What resources do you apply to reading?

Before Amazon came along, I spent a lot of time and money in the bookstore. After Amazon came along, I would buy a cup of coffee at the bookstore and a lot of money at Amazon. Jeff Bezos's master plan flawlessly worked on me.

No matter the gift card stash, books cost money, and are an investment in your future self, and it is important. The thought that you could glean several years of life, instruction, enjoyment,and inspiration reading the words on a simple page, is enticing.

The time it takes to find the book can be merely a moment with a "1-click buy" on Amazon or a more detailed search of the local used bookstore. I have put out-of-print books on my Amazon wish list and waited several years for delivery.

The hard-earned cash that you spend with a quick swipe of your card or dropped on the counter openly proclaims what is important to you. Voting with the money you earned by trading your life for cash, to buy this book, loudly proclaims this collection of authors written words is a priority.

The moment of truth arrives as you open the cover and peruse the book, How we spend our time and the things we devote our attention to are a reflection of the person we have become. You get one life, and you have chosen to spend it with this collection of dead trees with some ink spread across the page.

As the back cover is closed and the first read is complete, a decision must be made; must you keep the book? Just as a grocery store only has room for a specific number of products, your library can only hold so many versions of the written world. My office bookcase is proof that I would rather error on the side of adding to the library vice giving away the resource.

The logical question to answer becomes, is it worth trading your money and precious life to read this author's words? I am grateful and humbled that you have made it this far in the post.

Going Further: What did you learn from these books? How did it meet your expectation? Will you read more from this author? How did the author surprise and delight you? 

What triggered reading a new genre?

I failed the class because I spent all my time reading books on the subject.

I was not excited about taking the required natural sciences course. It seemed to be the least of all the other evil options, and I figured it would be an easy class. I assumed the sustainability professor, would be a tree-hugging, granola-eating, hippie, suggesting the solution to the earth's woes, was to kill all the humans.

The course had an outsized impact on my life. Through the course, I learned about sustainable farming practices. How the farmer plants, harvests crops and lets the soil recover, has a significant impact on the quality of the crop, soil erosion, and the final profits.

The building's orientation on the land can influence the heating and cooling requirement. Strategic window placement and shades can make use of natural light throughout the year at no additional cost. Use of local building materials reduces the transportation burden and can lower construction costs.

These concepts were more about using design and resources wisely, and less about eradicating the humans.

Shortly after starting the online class; I spent all my free time reading anything within this previously ignored genre. Sadly, I lost my primary focus, went a bit too far, ignored the classroom assignments, and failed the class.

Following the course, I took a year break from school to learn and study this new world. You would have thought a thirty-something, working full-time, and paying for the class would know better. If you shake your head in bewilderment and say "some people's children," you would be right. The class was a breeze the second time around. I never found out if either professor were hippies, liked granola or had recently embraced a tree.

This unplanned excursion brought much joy as I learned these "new" concepts, ancient people groups had been using for thousands of years.

What are your genre trigger stories? 

Going Further: Do those involved know about this impact on your reading habits? It may be time to bring them in on the story and thank them. How are these genre's still represented on your reading list? What trigger story caused you to stop reading a genre? How do these changes encourage you about having a growth mindset?

How diverse is your reading diet?

Morgan Spurlock was in pretty rough shape at the end of Super Size Me. Mr. Spurlock restricted his diet to McDonald's food for 30 days and added 24 lbs.to his waistline in the process. Quite the achievement and sustainable if the goal is meet the Grim Reaper sooner rather than later. 

Attainment of the health pinnacle is through an intake of various healthy foods and functional physical exercise. Rejection of the simple processed Honey Bun carbs, calling from the cafeteria vending machine, is essential. Technology has not yet reduced our mental health to being a hard drive on the shelf. We must exercise our minds to keep them active and healthy until this perceived nirvana is achieved. Reading is a primary delivery system for mental stimulation.

It is no wonder that one of the Cleveland Clinic's 6 Pillars of Brain Health, does not include YouTube cat videos in the title.

I have my go-to genres where I spend the bulk of my time, and most categories are non-fiction. However, I have a growing appreciation of fiction. Dr. Al Mohler published his thoughts on the reading of books to ensure reading program diversity. I appreciate the intentionality he has applied to broadening his reading repertoire beyond his expected discipline.

I recently attended a local group meditation led by Tara Brach. During the visitor introduction and following meditation, I came away with an appreciation for a greater vocabulary. The discussion used language in ways I have not experienced, and it was refreshing. The good news is that you don't have to endure Washington DC traffic to reap the same rewards. Books can offer this same introduction and dialog, no matter where you call home.

Going Further: What are your predominant reading categories? When were these initially established? What prevents you from expanding the genres you read? How do you push your reading boundaries? What category was a brilliant surprise? What has been the greatest benefit of reading broadly?

Action Step: Recommend a favorite fiction book in the comments.