It only takes 15 minutes

The collection of books I hope to read in the next year.

My nephew, David, had picked me up at the airport and drove me the 90 minutes to his house. Along the way we had a few conversations on a variety of topics. It was mostly me talking, but when he spoke, he asked questions indicating he was fully engaged in what I was saying and curious to know more.

We walked into his house and continued our conversation in between me saying hello to his wife, Kayla. A few minutes later, she rose from the couch and announced she needed to go outside for a smoke.

“Your aunt’s been here less than 10 minutes and she’s making my head hurt already,” she said. “She’s talking about things I don’t understand.”

Off she went outside to smoke. David and I chuckled. I wear those two sentences as a badge of honor. I don’t fault Kayla for not knowing the things I do. She is your typical American. She is finished with school, so she doesn’t read anymore and isn’t interested in the topics I am. I also believe we are transitioning into a post-literacy age. We just don’t fully see it yet. Kayla is however, interested in seeing pictures of where I live because it is so different from the lush greens of the East Coast she is familiar with.

David and I, however, have always been like this. He explains stuff and I listen. I ask questions. He does the same. It’s something we’ve done together since he was a little boy.

I like reading and learning and sharing what I learn with others. I never really understood how it came to be or why it’s something I do, it’s just…something I do.

When I was little, my family rarely went to the library. Mom worked 3:30 p.m., to Midnight. I would see her long enough after school to say “see you in the morning.” My grandmother came home from work around 5:30 p.m. Our library closed at 6 p.m. By the time dinner was eaten and the dishes were cleaned, the library was closed. I occasionally purchased a book through the Scholastic Book Club at school, but we didn’t have money to buy books all the time. If I bought two books a year I was lucky.

Mom did get us the World Book Encyclopedia set, which arrived every few months. Except it was a different letter each time, so you never knew what you were going to learn about next. It didn’t matter to me. It was something to read. She bought them so we could do research for school assignments, but I read them like a book. I read my textbooks and I read whatever was assigned in English class even if I didn’t like it.

As life went on, I averaged 15-17 books per year. I used to slog through titles I’d picked because I thought if I started reading a book I had to finish it. I was 50 years old when I realized if a book sucks, you can put it down and read something interesting. For the last five years or so, my average has been 11-15 books per year. My choices tend to be longer. They are almost always non-fiction. Sometimes, they are a bit technical and/or scientific, so I need to read slower, which lowers my book count.

After my mother’s accident on July 15, 2024, I stopped reading. It took me a year and a half to read a short book of poetry. I thought I’d never get back to reading even one book a month.

Then, I saw a video with Philosopher Jared Henderson. In it, he said if you have 15 minutes per day, you can read 10 books a year. I have 15 minutes. I probably have 30.

So, I set myself up with a new ereader, the Boox Note Air 5C. I wanted something that would be easy on my eyes. The herpes in my right eye causes fatigue easier and I end up reading with my right eye closed. I also wanted something in color so I could read my graphic novels and Judge Dredd comics. So far, so good. There were more “boxes” I wanted to tick in an ereader and the Note Air seems to fit everything I want.

I also have 30-50 books at home I haven’t read yet. I’m going to spend 15 minutes with my ereader and 15 minutes with a physical book each day. It might end up time passes and a couple of hours have gone by. I don’t know yet.

What I do know is I love to learn. I love to share my new knowledge with others. It’s partly why I have this blog. It’s why I have a podcast.

When I was a teenager, my grand mother told me no matter what happens in the world, whatever information I put in my head, no one could ever take away. I never thought it would be life-long advice, but I think about what she said every time I crack open a book.

Hopefully, I will be able to answer yes once again to the question, “read any good books lately?”