I have rediscovered reading by rediscovering the library, specifically, the New York Public Library. It sounds stupid, but that’s all it took. Now there isn’t a financial constraint to being well-read, and if I start an ill-advised book (that I’ll never finish) I can GIVE IT BACK, UNREAD! Freedom!
I’ve found it helpful to alternate heavier, longer more serious books (like a biography of John Wilkes Booth) with cotton candy type books (such as “Skinny Dip” and the Lemony Snicket books). So, my suggestion to those contemplating this goal…rev up your library cards and wear ‘em out!
As I mentioned, one advantage of taking books you read about in the New York Times out of the LIBRARY, rather than buying them, is that when you realize that you really have no desire at all to read the 400 page biography of John Wilkes Booth you checked out, you can just return it, rather than putting it on your bookshelf next to The Satanic Verses and Possession and a number of things by Michael Cunningham.
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