Reading:
The Power of Stories
While reading is much more cool these days than when I was young, we do have to remember reading is something that only the few had access to for most of human history.
I don't begrudge readings coolness. I appreciate how older prints and different editions are now easier for me to find. (Though I have this skill of being able to find books that are rare and expensive for piss all in flea markets or charity shops.)
My mother was a big read but didn't read to me. My father (before I was five) would not only read but do all the voices and perform the stories. After the divorce he would record stories onto tape, even adding a noise to tell me when we could turn the page.
Little wonder reading became so important to me. Reading was so pleasurable, much like dancing, I didn't feel it was an effort at all. I now know how much harder I have to work as a dyslexic person to get the words into my brain. I don't belittle or get snobbish about audio books either.
Interestingly reading to children (I mean who wouldn't like bedtime stories?) is not just wonderfully bonding, great for getting kids calm and happy, it actually changes their brains!
This has throws up so many ideas in my brain.
You see psychologically, we are create narratives constantly and when they don't mesh with the outside would it can cause break-downs and all kinds of mental health problem. This cognitive dissonance comes down to how we tell ourself our story.
This power of stories is both a curse and a boon.
There is a large bang. You go to the window and it is dark. Now quiet, everything appears normal.
"Probably just a car backfiring".
Our past and our frames of reference inform us, and blind us to the world around us.
There is a large bang. You go to the window and it is dark. Now quiet, everything appears normal.
"Come away from the window, someone was shot."
Most people are not aware of this narrative thinking. This is why reading, and reading widely is important.
It allows you to freedom from the idea there is one narrative thread. That there is one set way to view the world. In evolutionary terns it makes us more adaptable to change. More resilient to the psychological stresses. Growing up I read all kinds of books sometimes several at a time. Most of the protagonists were male but instead of this isolating me it just enabled me to walk into worlds, stories where I was treated with all the male privilege. I was never the damsel in the story, I was the hero. Doing the daring do. To me it was quite profound in setting how I thought of myself.
This is why "Chic Lit" is just the dumbest idea from publishers and a trend I abhor.
The formula seem to be this
female writer+ female protagonist+human connection = Chic Lit
So many amazing books, and wonderful stories are lumped into a grouping that stops men from hearing these voices. Voices that can be beautiful and powerful and really deserve to be read.
Reading should not be gendered.
Reading what it is like to grow up female should be compulsory.
Everyone should read The Color Purple.
Everyone should read Tolkien, even if it is the Hobbit to your children.
Stories are hugely powerful. Inhabiting worlds can show you what racism, sexism and being a villain or hero is like. This dreaming while awake is good for the mind and in my opinion, good for the soul.
This why "just watch the movie" is so wrong. It is much more personal. So much more visceral when you are not passively absorbing something but creating it within your mind.
This changes how you emotionally connect with the content and you get to choose the voices, the soundtrack. You get to know how things smell, and taste and feel. What people are thinking as well as doing.
So much of our lives is based on stories, narratives. When we are able to hear other people's voices, spend some time in their shoes we are empowered. In reading with others, in sharing stories with our children and friends we share this tool. This gift. We are always more able to control our narrative thinking (if you don't believe me watch a group of roleplayers the week after their first mimic).
It allows us to be our own hero's. Know that we can survive anything, from the end of the world to war, to lost love.
