The Value of a Reading Nook

Caught these two boys finding a perfect spot to read at my library’s book sale. I love that they just flopped on the floor with books. Made me remember the reading nook I had in my crab-apple tree. Part of me understands that these boys were just looking for a spot out of the way…

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The Number of Books You Read Is Not a Badge of Honor

In her piece for The Atlantic, Emma Sarappo dives into the practice of keeping track of the books we read. Can someone explain why people do this? Just because you read doesn’t mean you remember or apply. It doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve learned or enjoyed yourself. Why is the number a badge? When I was…

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What Henry Ford Knew About Writing Books

Henry Ford is one of the most well-known American innovators. He’s the guy who brought mass production to the “horseless carriages”–that is, cars–we zoom around in today. So what does Ford have to do with writing? What readers don’t know they want There’s a famous quote that, while having an unclear origin, many people attribute…

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How Sunk Cost Keeps You Reading (and Writing) Bad Books

It often doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to stop a job or task once you start. You can’t recover what you’ve invested, so you feel obligated to keep going to avoid taking a loss. People call this sunk cost. Unfortunately, it doesn’t just apply to work. It applies to your reading list, too.…

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How Many Books Should You Read Each Year?

In America’s culture of “more is probably better”, people tend to flaunt how many books they’ve read like badges of honor that offer implied evidence of competence. In this context, Pew Research says that Americans read an average of 12 books per year. The median is four books per year. But is there really a number of…

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