Reading Deliberately

I have recently been listening to an audio book version of Walden, by Henry David Thoreau. Walden, in short, is an account of a two-year practical and philosophical experiment by the transcendentalist author. Thoreau went into the woods, built a cabin, and lived off both the land and a small garden for two years. The idea was to focus in on the very basics of life, to simplify and weed out all the unnecessary efforts, that had crept into society. He states that he really only needed to work six weeks out of the year to survive. The rest could be spent in experiencing nature and books and people and other of his interests. He calls this living deliberately.

While listening to these profound and prophetic words, I found myself disobeying his direction, while at the same time, believing the ideas stated. This hypocrisy was more practical than anything. I was listening to the book while driving for work - how I consume the vast majority of my literature these days, because that is my most lengthy, uninterrupted "dead time". But I realized that I was breezing through these chapters at a pace in which I could not properly consume and digest the ideas.

Some books should not be listened to while driving. They are too intoxicating. Ideally, one would get as cheap a paperback as possible, and read with a pencil and journal, underlining, annotating, rereading passages with the newly gained perspective, in essence "sucking the marrow" out of the binding.

Walden was probably one of the first self-help books, but it cannot help when being read like a spy or romance novel.

Reading deliberately does not just apply to a book devoted to deliberate living. Most Christian sects emphasize lifelong study of the holy scriptures, though a casual pace could get one through the Bible in under a year. But deliberate reading is even worthwhile with fiction. Take, for example, Beartown, by Fredrik Backman.

Immediately after I finished this book, I began rereading it. Only then did I catch the significance of some of the first lines, chapters, and storytelling style. Like a coach, viewing tape after a game, I had the context of the end to add meaning to all parts. The result was a richer experience of consuming a beautifully crafted story. It is a habit I hope I have the energy to keep up.