Zimpapers Logo

Ryan Conroy Correspondent
Reading is fun, but that’s not all.

A few days ago, I read an interview on Marilynne Robinson, conducted by none other than former US president Barack Obama.

The former president’s name initially piqued my interest and then the brief description captured my attention: “President Obama: ‘The most important stuff I’ve learned I’ve learned from novels.”

As someone who loves to read and write, seeing such a positively weighty statement from him brought satisfaction to me.

Upon reading the interview, however, I realised I had no idea who Marilynne Robinson was, nor had I even heard of her books.

Robinson is a Pulitzer Prize winner and an established name in contemporary literature, yet I had no clue who she was.

I know of and have read William Faulkner, Herman Melville, Leo Tolstoy, James Joyce, Mary Shelley, J.D Salinger – the list goes on and on, and many of my peers can say the same thing.

Yet, very few of us know anything about contemporary writing. Of course, I know Stephen King, Cormac McCarthy, Toni Morrison – all big names in contemporary writing, but compared to the culture of just a few generations ago, we scarcely concern ourselves with the novels of today. In a time when public discourse has really just turned into public “I-can-yell-louder-than-you-can”, this cultural self-awareness is crucial.

Everyone agrees that as a country, we can do better. Whether that means politically, environmentally, socially, whatever, the general consensus clearly reflects that we are not fully satisfied with the world we live in.

We all read the classics in high school and college, but why should we read modern writings? Well, when we read those timeless classics, we also learned how more often than not they reflected the societal sentiments of their present culture.

For this very reason, we must read our own culture’s literature. By doing so, we will inevitably become more aware and acquainted with the characteristics and tendencies of our society and thus, be able to improve ourselves.

No longer do we converse about the latest best seller or the Pulitzer nominees; the literary community has become exclusive, but not by their own choice or desire.

We must generate a common discussion not just about the novel, but what the novel reveals about our current state. It is hard to discern who will be the definitive and most prominent writer without retrospect, but that means we should just try to read anything we can get our hands on.

Often, the only disappointment I feel after finishing a good novel is that I have no one to discuss it with. It’s like being the first to see a great movie in theatres; you can’t talk about it and express your excitement until everyone else finally gets around to seeing it.

However, with books this simply doesn’t happen, because people don’t get around to reading it. Granted, I’ve never seen a commercial for any novel on TV, and to be honest it probably wouldn’t be very enticing.

Anyway, if you find yourself in a position similar to mine, loving books but without an output for discussion, then find a book club. Even better, start your own! Find a few good friends who already read, or get them to start.

Put away the distractions, turn off the TV, silence your phone, grab a book, sit down and read. Clearly, if the former president of the United States can find time to read, so can you.

And apparently, reading has worked wonders for him. You’ll feel relaxed, smarter and all around better. The more we do this collectively as a society, the better of a society we will become. So grab a book and start reading! – Odyssey