How Becoming an Author Made Me Fall in Love with Books Again

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If you’re interested in becoming an author one piece of advice you hear often is “read more.” I didn’t get it at first, but after writing my own book, I better understand this advice.

Reading as a student

Over the past 20 years most of the reading in my life has been academic. And if you have gone into higher education then you also know how much of a burden the reading schedule can be (especially in graduate school!). With that, I found it harder to feel the love and magic of books. Most of the writing I was subjected to was scholarly and dry (or boring as all hell) but necessary to advance my career. Following graduate school that kind of reading persisted as I leaned hard on academic journals and the hallmark mental health texts to try and become the kind of therapist I thought I needed to be. I don’t regret it now, but it was certainly a departure from the relationship I had with books at a young age.

Books used to be less informational & more entertaining

When I was young, I used to LOVE reading. So much so that I got chastised (and maybe that’s a strong word) for reading too much and not being outside enough - doing all the kinds of things that other boys do. That’s not to say I didn’t have my fun exploring the woods in suburban/rural North Carolina. I definitely did. I had my own collection of stick weapons and hiding spots that my imagination helped make real.When I was younger reading was a legitimately fun leisure actively. I loved being able to venture into unknown worlds and get to know people I never would have had the opportunity to meet in my small town. I loved being able to see writers delving deeply into the language of feelings, exploring their characters motivations and choices. In my mind I was having conversations with writers (and their characters) about the nature of people and why we do the things we do. I also wanted to win all the pizza parties and buy a ridiculous amount of books for Accelerated Reader. Anybody else?

Coming back to books

As I began writing The Shadow Work Workbook I made a committment to myself (and the author gods) to get back into reading - and mostly for entertainment and leisure. This lead me to Black Buck by Mateo Askaripour⁠ and The Last of the Mentally Ill, written by my friend Joseph Rauch (and oh so good!) among some other really great books that you can find on my Instagram. It's been great to see how both fiction, and non-fiction writers utilize form and voice to share their stories create impact. And, now, as a reader I have a different kind of lens. But more than that, I've noticed that my days feel a bit richer as I dig into these characters' lives, which is definitely something to be thankful for these days.If you've had a similar journey with reading, just know that it's OK to ease your way back into reading for enjoyment and that's not something for which you need to feel guilty. Take your time and enjoy these books just as they were designed for you to do!