Category Archives: All Because of Books

Letting Go of the Library: What Downsizing Is Teaching Me About Why I Read

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I have a confession that may surprise people who have seen my bookshelves: I did not build my library on purpose from young adulthood. Not many people set out at twenty-two to accumulate thousands of books. It happens one Tuesday at a time, one impulse purchase at a used bookstore, one “I’ll just order this too while I’m at it” click, until one day you look up and realize you have built something. A collection. A record, almost, of every question you’ve ever chased.

That’s the part people miss about book love. They think it’s about the reading – and it is, mostly – but it’s also about the keeping. The shelf is a kind of memory you can touch.

So when I tell you I’ve begun the slow, painful process of downsizing that library, I want to start further back than the boxes currently stacked in my garage. I want to start with where the habit came from, because you can’t understand why parting with a book feels like parting with a small piece of yourself unless you understand how it got there in the first place.

Where It Started

I grew up looking forward to My Weekly Reader landing on my desk every week in first grade – a thin, newsprint magazine of current events written for kids, and about as far from a leather-bound classic as you can get. But it did something classics rarely do, especially for a six-year-old: it made the outside world feel worth paying attention to. That’s an underrated function of reading. Long before it teaches you anything specific, reading teaches you that there’s more to know, and that knowing it is a pleasure rather than a chore.

The habit had a model at home, too. My father would pull a book down from the various shelves around our house most evenings after the workday was done – not performatively, not as a lesson for the children watching, just as a quiet, consistent fact of who he was. I didn’t articulate it this way at the time, but I absorbed something important: reading wasn’t an activity you scheduled around your life. It was part of the architecture of an ordinary evening, as normal as dinner. In my mid-thirties, I noticed I’d fallen into the same rhythm without deciding to. Some inheritances aren’t houses or watches. Some are just habits, passed down so quietly you don’t notice the transfer until you’re the one carrying them.

How a Shelf Becomes a Library

Here is where I’ll admit something that sounds like an exaggeration but isn’t: My “library” is in fact made up of multiple libraries on various topics. The single largest cohesive library is my collection of books about Walt Disney and the company he built, now over five hundred volumes, spanning releases from 1939 up through  a much anticipated purchase coming in a few weeks. Five decades of buying, one book at a time, on a single subject.

Nobody plans that, at least not in the beginning. 

What happens instead is something closer to what Mortimer Adler called synoptical reading – the practice of putting multiple books on the same subject in conversation with each other rather than reading any single one as the final word. You read one author’s account of how Walt Disney approached storytelling, and it raises a question the book doesn’t answer, so you go find another author who tackles it from a different angle. Then a third. You’re not collecting books so much as collecting arguments, perspectives, and blind spots that only become visible once you’ve got enough voices in the room together.

The trouble – if you can call it that – is that this kind of reading is inherently accumulative by design. You can’t practice synoptical reading with three books. You need enough of them to reveal the patterns and the contradictions, and “enough” tends to keep redefining itself upward. My Disney library isn’t really about Walt Disney anymore, not entirely. It’s about vision and leadership and and hospitality and how an organization sustains a creative culture across generations – Disney just happens to be the case study deep enough to keep teaching me something new after fifty years. 

And it’s not the only synoptical library in the house. 

There are shelves built over the last year for founding-era American history that grew the same way, one book answering a question the last one raised. There are three large vertical shelves on hospitality rooted in the home, with another two shelves containing books on the subject that I have written about. There’s a large selection of books about the hospitality industry seen through a culinary lens. And many more smaller ones: Hamburgers. Donuts. Bridges. J.R.R. Tolkien. Sherlock Holmes. Reading. Shepherding. And not surprisingly, Books. There’s a couple of fiction shelves: All of Stephen Hunter’s books, and the original Tom Clancy works.

Though not technically synoptical, the biggest of all is the general topic of Leadership and Vision – slowly built over at least forty years, first in graduate school, then gaining momentum in three church staff positions, then accelerating 2012-2025 when my job at the time required reading – lots of reading! At one time, that library numbered over two thousand books, but I’ve trimmed it down over the last few years to just under one thousand books.

A personal library, it turns out, is rarely one collection. It’s several, growing at different speeds, for different reasons, until they’ve filled every room that will hold them (plus a garage, plus – until recently – a storage unit).

Part of what fuels the accumulation is simply the hunting. There’s a particular satisfaction in walking into a used bookstore with no list and no agenda, just an open question you’ve been carrying around, and finding the one volume that happens to answer it. I’ve spent whole afternoons doing exactly that, working through curated shelves at a favorite spot and walking out with  a book or two I didn’t know existed that morning. When my former occupation carried me all over the country, you can be sure the first search I performed was “used bookstores near me”. A retailer can get you a specific title in two days. It cannot replicate that particular kind of luck, and I suspect the luck is half of why collectors keep collecting long after the shelves have stopped having room to spare.

The Day That Keeps Finding Me

The beginning of this downsizing project falls near a very auspicious day on the calendar.

August 9th does something odd to my calendar every year. It’s my father’s birthday. It’s also National Book Lovers Day. I’ve written about that coincidence before, and I’m not going to pretend it’s anything more than calendar arithmetic – but coincidences earn their keep when they keep making you think, and this one has never stopped.

Book Lovers Day, at its best, isn’t really about celebrating volume. Plenty of people can point to towering shelves without having been changed much by what’s on them. The day is worth marking because it asks a better question: not how many books have you read, but which ones actually shaped you. For me, that question and my father’s birthday have become impossible to separate. He didn’t hand me a reading list. He handed me an evening habit, and the habit did the rest of the work over the next fifty+ years.

He used to say something I’ve quoted before and will probably keep quoting: “I never made much money, but I made a lot of friends, and that’s what’s important.” He wasn’t talking about books when he said it. But it’s the same instinct, really – the belief that the things worth accumulating in a life are relational, not material. Friends, in his case. In mine, apparently, over five hundred books about a fascinating man who built an empire on curiosity.

Arguing With Your Own Shelves

Which brings me, finally, to the boxes in the garage.

Downsizing a personal library sounds like a logistics problem – what fits on the shelves, what doesn’t – and at the surface it is. But the harder work isn’t physical. It’s that every book on those shelves represents a decision you made once, for a reason that felt sound at the time, and downsizing means reopening every one of those decisions and asking whether you’d make the same call today.

Some of that is easy. The duplicate copies. The books bought for projects that finished years ago and will never be revisited. The reference material now more useful as a searchable PDF than as eleven pounds of hardcover. Letting those go doesn’t cost much.

I started, for what it’s worth, with the “easiest” shelf in the library – a collection of almost three hundred books from a long-practiced career phase that’s behind me now. Once I made the decision, it was relatively easy to call my friend Danny who is the most knowledgeable person in the field, and he graciously agreed to accept the library. Dropping off the books a few days later was gratifying as he perused the books and some of his staff began sorting them for immediate use. This decision was only “easy” in light of the fact that I knew the volumes were going to  a fellow “book nerd” who respected them and would use them appropriately.

Starting there wasn’t strategy so much as self-preservation. If I’d opened with the shelf that holds my father’s books, I’d have quit the whole project in an afternoon. There’s something to be said for building momentum on the boxes that don’t hurt (much), so that by the time you reach the ones that do, you’ve at least got some practice at making the call.

What costs something is the rest of the pile – the books that aren’t really about their contents anymore. The ones your father gave you. The ones you bought the week you started a new chapter of your life and haven’t opened since, but can’t quite explain why you’re still keeping. The signed first edition that will probably never appreciate in value but represents an afternoon you remember more clearly than the book’s actual argument. Synoptical reading taught me to keep gathering perspectives until the picture got clearer. Downsizing is the opposite exercise: learning to let a single memory be enough justification to keep something, without needing to defend it against the logic that says you should let it go.

I’ve started with a simple, imperfect rule: I ask whether I’m keeping the book or keeping the version of myself that bought it. If it’s the second one, I try to find another way to hold onto that memory – a photograph of the shelf before it changes, a note in a journal about why the book mattered – so the object can go without the memory going with it. It doesn’t always work. Some books I’ve picked up to donate and quietly put back, unconvinced by my own argument. That’s fine. This isn’t a project with a deadline. It’s a negotiation, and negotiations take as long as they take.

What I haven’t done, and don’t intend to do, is treat this as pure subtraction. The Disney collection will  stay intact, and even grow – that’s not sentiment, that’s an active research project with decades of momentum behind it. The founding-era shelf is slowly growing, not shrinking, alongside the  current interest and writing it supports. For now, many of the syntopical shelves will remain the same. Downsizing, done honestly, isn’t about arriving at some minimalist ideal where the shelves are bare and the mind is supposedly clearer for it. It’s about being honest for the first time in years about which books are still doing work in your life and which ones are just doing time.

What Stays With You

My father’s books – the actual physical volumes that sat on his shelves – mostly didn’t make it into my collection intact. Estates get divided, and books, unlike heirloom furniture, rarely survive the process as a set. But a handful did make the trip, and they sit now in spots I chose for them deliberately, not filed with everything else. I don’t reread them often. I don’t need to. Their presence is the point, not their content – a small, physical reminder that the habit I’ve spent a lifetime indulging didn’t start with me.

That’s the thing about a personal library that a spreadsheet of titles will never capture. It’s not an inventory. It’s a kind of autobiography written in other people’s words – which books you reached for during which years, which arguments changed your mind, which ones you kept even after you stopped needing them, just because you remembered who you were when you bought them.

Downsizing doesn’t erase that autobiography. If you do it with any care at all, it just edits it – cutting the passages that no longer serve the story and keeping the ones that do. My shelves are smaller than they were a few months ago, and they’ll keep shrinking more before I’m satisfied. But the books that remain are, if anything, a more honest account of who I am than the fuller shelves ever were.

There’s a version of this essay that ends with a tidy lesson about minimalism, or about letting go, or about how less is somehow more. I don’t believe that version, and I don’t think you should either. Some libraries deserve to keep growing – mine will, on the shelves that are still doing active work. The point was never the size of the collection. It was always whether the books on it could still tell you something true about the person who kept them.

My father taught me to read before he taught me anything else worth remembering. Figuring out which of his books, and which of my own, are worth keeping turns out to be one more thing he taught me – just later than I expected, and the hard way. If you’re standing in front of your own shelves right now, wondering where to start, I’d tell you what I wish someone had told me: start with the easy shelf, be honest about the hard one, and don’t mistake a smaller library for a smaller life. 

The books that matter will let you know.

They always do.

Part of a regular series on 27gen, entitled Wednesday Weekly Reader.

During my elementary school years one of the things I looked forward to the most was the delivery of “My Weekly Reader,” a weekly educational magazine designed for children and containing news-based current events.

It became a regular part of my love for reading, and helped develop my curiosity about the world around us.

The Pages That Shaped Us: A National Book Lover’s Day Celebration

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August 9th holds two profound meanings for me: it’s my father’s birthday, and it’s National Book Lover’s Day. The connection between these dates tells a story about legacy, love, and the transformative power of the written word. Each year as this day approaches I reflect on the power of reading and how my father instilled it in me.

When Words Become Memory

The last time I saw my father truly himself was during Christmas 2011. By then, several strokes had stolen his ability to read – the very thing that had defined so much of who he was. But as I wandered through our family home that quiet holiday evening, his books still lined every shelf, silent witnesses to decades of curiosity and growth.

I pulled volume after volume from their resting places, each one triggering a cascade of memories. Here was the history book that sparked our dinner conversation about World War II. There, the biography that led to his stories about perseverance. Opening each cover was like stepping into a time machine, hearing his voice again through the pages he had loved.

Two months later, on February 25, 2012, the legacy of those books became his lasting gift to me.

The Making of a Reader

My father embodied what author Jessica Hooten Wilson beautifully captures in her observation: “The manual labor of the past that allowed a human being to work in an embodied way, and to contemplate in heart and mind while working with one’s hands, encouraged the desire for reading after the physical exertions were completed.”

After twelve-hour days at his gas station, six days a week, my dad would settle into his chair with a book. Not occasionally – almost every single night. He understood something profound: that reading wasn’t just entertainment, it was essential nourishment for the soul.

This passion became the cornerstone of our family culture. As young children, every two weeks my mother would drive my brother and me to the library in the next town over. We’d return with armloads of books – I’d devour mine within days, then spend the remaining time impatiently waiting for our next literary pilgrimage.

That rhythm became my heartbeat. Elementary school, high school, college, graduate studies, decades into my professional life, and now accelerated in retirement – the weekly library visit remains sacred. Three or four books returned, three or four new adventures collected.

The Art of Deep Reading

National Book Lover’s Day isn’t just about celebrating our love of books – it’s about honoring the profound ways reading shapes us. I’ve discovered that the deepest rewards come not from reading widely, but from reading deeply.

Following Mortimer Adler’s wisdom in How to Read a Book, I practice what he calls synoptical reading – diving deep into subjects by consuming multiple perspectives on the same topic. It’s like being a detective, gathering clues from various sources to solve the mystery of understanding.

For over three decades, I’ve been conducting a synoptical investigation into Walt Disney and his revolutionary approach to creating experiences. My Disney library has grown to over 500 books, spanning from 1939 to last week’s latest releases. These aren’t just books about cartoons and theme parks – they’re masterclasses in vision, leadership, innovation, and human connection.

But Disney isn’t my only reading obsession. I maintain several “reading threads” – ongoing explorations of topics that fascinate me. Current deep dives include:

  • Charting the evolution of hospitality in American culture
  • What it means to be a “modern elder” in today’s world
  • Biblical leadership principles of “shepherding” for contemporary challenges
  • Discovering the “revolutionary” importance of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County in the 1770s

Synoptical reading often plays an important role in the Wednesday Weekly Reader, so I’m devoting an article next week – stay tuned!

Reading as Revolutionary Act

In our age of infinite scrolling and bite-sized content, choosing to read a book is almost rebellious. It’s a declaration that depth matters more than speed, that contemplation trumps consumption.

Prior to retirement, most evenings I would continue my father’s tradition – settling in with a book after the day’s work is done. As I continue to adjust to my new lifestyle, one thing is a constant – reading has expanded! I may be researching topics like those above, or working on my other major website projects – concepts of First Place Hospitality and the Modern Elder. Other times, it’s pure pleasure reading, the kind that makes you forget time.

Thomas Edison understood this hunger for knowledge and put it this way: “I didn’t read a few books, I read the library.” That’s the spirit we need to recapture – not just reading for information, but reading for transformation.

Your Book Lover’s Day Invitation

This August 9th, how will you honor the books that have shaped you? Here are some meaningful ways to celebrate:

Create New Traditions:

  • Start a synoptical reading project on a topic that fascinates you
  • Host a book swap with friends who share your interests
  • Write letters to authors whose work has impacted you
  • Create a reading nook that invites daily literary escapes

Share the Love:

  • Gift a meaningful book to someone who needs its message
  • Volunteer with literacy programs in your community
  • Share your favorite quotes using #NationalBookLoversDay
  • Mentor someone just beginning their reading journey

Go Deeper:

  • Revisit a childhood favorite with adult eyes
  • Finally tackle that classic you’ve been avoiding
  • Join or start a book club focused on challenging reads
  • Practice the four levels of reading Adler describes

The Legacy Lives On

Every August 9th, I’m reminded that the greatest gift my father gave me wasn’t his collection of books – it was his modeling of what it means to be a lifelong learner. He showed me that reading isn’t just about acquiring knowledge; it’s about remaining curious, staying humble, and never stopping our growth.

In a world that often feels chaotic and overwhelming, books offer something irreplaceable: the opportunity to slow down, think deeply, and connect with the vast tapestry of human experience. They remind us that we’re part of something larger than ourselves, contributors to an ongoing conversation that spans generations.

So today, pick up a book. Not just any book, but one that challenges you, changes you, or simply brings you joy. Turn the page with intention, knowing that somewhere, a future reader will be grateful for the path you’re helping to preserve.

After all, we’re not just book lovers – we’re the keepers of humanity’s greatest conversation.

What book will you turn to today? What conversation will you join? The pages are waiting.

Part of a regular series on 27gen, entitled Wednesday Weekly Reader.

During my elementary school years one of the things I looked forward to the most was the delivery of “My Weekly Reader,” a weekly educational magazine designed for children and containing news-based current events.

It became a regular part of my love for reading, and helped develop my curiosity about the world around us.

Celebrating National Library Week: Where Stories Come Alive

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National Library Week is more than just a calendar event—it’s a vibrant celebration of knowledge, community, and the transformative power of reading. Each year, this special week reminds us of the vital role libraries play in our lives, offering far more than just rows of books on shelves. They are sanctuaries of discovery, learning, and connection that continue to evolve in our digital age.

That’s the North County Regional branch of the Charlotte Mecklenburg library.

It’s also my weekly destination for dropping off and picking up books I’ve placed on hold throughout the week.

Visiting the local library is a long-standing tradition with me. As a small boy, I remember with fondness the bi-monthly visits to the branch library in the next county. We were limited to checking out 20 books at a time, and it was a rare visit when I didn’t meet that quota.

As soon as the car pulled in the driveway, I would race into our house and begin reading through my treasure trove of books.

In my early years, I would often have them all read in a matter of days. As I got older and the books got longer, it might take the whole two-week period to read them.

Then there’s school libraries, from middle school to high school to college to graduate school. More treasures of a deeper and longer-lasting sort.

When our children came along, I introduced them to the joy of reading and the local library. In each city we’ve lived in, one of the very first visits we made after moving was to stop by the library and pick up a library card. Since our four children were born four years apart, that’s a long time of library visits!

I’m proud to say that as they have grown up, and with children of their own, reading and visiting the library is still important in their lives. And of course, any grandchild visiting Nina and GrandBob is going to have a selection of the latest age-appropriate books from our library waiting!

The Heart of Our Communities

Libraries are perhaps the most democratic institutions we have. They welcome everyone, regardless of age, background, or economic status. From a child discovering their first picture book to a student researching a complex topic, from a job seeker using free computer resources to a retiree attending a community workshop, libraries serve as inclusive spaces that bridge gaps and open doors to opportunity.

In an era of increasing digital isolation, libraries stand as physical spaces that bring people together. They are community centers where knowledge is shared, ideas are exchanged, and connections are made. Free classes, reading groups, cultural events, and workshops transform libraries from quiet repositories of books into dynamic, interactive spaces of learning and engagement.

A World of Endless Exploration

Imagine walking into a library and being surrounded by millions of stories waiting to be discovered. Each book is a portal to another world, another perspective, another life experience. Whether you’re interested in traversing distant galaxies through science fiction, understanding historical events through meticulously researched non-fiction, or exploring the depths of human emotion through poetry, libraries offer an infinite landscape of exploration.

Modern libraries have expanded far beyond traditional book lending. Many now offer:

  • Digital resources and e-book collections
  • Free Wi-Fi and computer access
  • Language learning programs
  • Technology workshops
  • Children’s storytelling sessions
  • Local history archives
  • Career development resources

How to Celebrate National Library Week

Celebrating National Library Week doesn’t require grand gestures – just curiosity and an open mind. Here are some wonderful ways to participate:

  • Get a Library Card: If you don’t already have one, visit your local library and sign up. It’s typically free and opens up a world of resources. Many libraries now offer digital cards that provide instant access to online materials.
  • Attend a Library Event: Check your local library’s calendar. Most libraries host special events during National Library Week, such as author talks, book clubs, writing workshops, or family-friendly activities.
  • Explore a New Genre: Challenge yourself to read something completely different from your usual preferences. Ask a librarian for recommendations – they’re experts at matching readers with perfect books.
  • Support Your Library: Consider donating books, volunteering, or making a financial contribution. Libraries often rely on community support to maintain and expand their services.

A Personal Invitation

This National Library Week, I invite you to rediscover the magic of your local library. Take a moment to step inside, breathe in the quiet atmosphere of possibility, and remember that within these walls, every book is a journey waiting to begin, every shelf a landscape of potential waiting to be explored.

My visits to my local library – from 60 years ago as a young reader to this week’s latest explorations – continue to impact my life every day.

Libraries are more than buildings – they are guardians of human knowledge, dreamers of collective imagination, and bridges to understanding. They remind us that in a world of constant change, the love of learning and the power of stories remain timeless.

Make time this week to “check out” your local library!

Closing the Circle: A Grateful Goodbye and a New Beginning

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We live in a world defined by exits. Visual reminders of departure surround us daily, guiding our movements, anticipating our turns, and flashing directions.

From following exit arrows in parking garages to noting emergency exits in darkened theaters, from flight attendants’ safety briefings to kindergartners learning their first important words – “exits” represent efficiency, safety, order, and protection. They structure our physical environment and shape our daily routines, whether we’re navigating unfamiliar highways or traveling well-worn paths in our communities with barely a conscious thought.

The language and metaphors of exit permeate our lives as well. We apply for exit visas before international travel, directors choreograph theatrical exits, poker players “fold” to exit a game on their own terms, and even our news media and crime shows are saturated with references to “exit wounds.” These departures are woven into the fabric of our existence – marking our physical landscapes, embedding our language, shaping our national narratives, and influencing our personal development. Yet despite their ubiquity, exits often remain invisible, overshadowed by our cultural fascination with beginnings, launches, and entries.

Perhaps in our celebration of new starts, we’ve rendered the equally important act of leaving somehow less noble by comparison.

Today, I am invoking a deeply personal ritual of goodbye to my job with the Auxano team.

Saying goodbye is never easy, especially after spending over 12 years as part of the incredible Auxano team. But as I consider a new chapter, I want to take a moment to reflect, appreciate, and look ahead with optimism.

For me, this isn’t just an exit – it’s the closing of a circle, a completion of a season filled with dedication, growth, and countless meaningful experiences. The phrase “closing the circle” often symbolizes bringing something to completion, ensuring that what was started is finished well. That’s exactly how I feel about my time on the Auxano team.

My Journey with Books and Auxano

My Auxano journey began in 2008 with books – specifically, one book and a custom bookcase holding 40 or so leadership books, designed to fit in the back of a Jeep Liberty. That initial encounter led to joining the team full-time in 2012.

My Auxano journey is ending with books – specifically, a book curated by me for each member of the current Auxano team – from my Disney library.

Books have always been a part of my life, going all the way back to my childhood. To a lesser extent, Disney has been ever-present as well. It seemed only natural to put those two together a long time ago, and I haven’t stopped yet!

As I wrapped up my time with the Auxano team earlier this week at our annual Resync, I wanted to celebrate each team member in a special way: From my 500+ book Disney library, I chose a specific book for each member of the team that conveyed a message of how their gifts and encouragement have been demonstrated to me. It is my hope they enjoy reading through the book, and as they do, they will know that I remember our times together on the team with much fondness and appreciation for their friendship.

A Legacy of Dedication

Over the past 12+years, I have had the privilege of working alongside some of the most talented, knowledgeable, and compassionate people I’ve ever met. Whether it was managing key projects, brainstorming fresh ideas, or simply being a reliable presence, I have truly cherished the opportunity to contribute and grow alongside this team.

From my early days navigating the new challenges of an almost-vertical learning curve to the most recent initiatives that pushed us forward, I have learned so much. The resilience, creativity, and shared commitment to our mission have made this journey incredibly rewarding. I am proud of what we have accomplished together, and I know that the impact of our work will continue long after I’ve moved on.

Not an Ending, But a New Beginning

While my job may be coming to an end, the relationships, lessons, and experiences of the Auxano team will stay with me forever. This job has never just been about tasks and deliverables – it has been about the people who make it all happen, and the clients we served.

Now, I am looking ahead to a new season, one filled with possibilities. Whether it’s exploring new career opportunities, diving into passion projects, or simply taking a break, I carry with me the confidence that the same qualities that served me well at Auxano and previous jobs will continue to guide me forward. Change can be daunting, but it is also exhilarating – an open door to new adventures and unforeseen opportunities.

A Heartfelt Thank You

As I close this circle with my Auxano brothers and sisters, I do so with immense gratitude. Thank you to each and every one on the Auxano team for your support, encouragement, and friendship. You have shaped my journey in ways that I will never forget. My work here has mattered, but more importantly, you have mattered to me.

While I will not be logging on to the virtual office space that Auxano thrives in every day, know that I will always carry the memories and lessons from this team with me. I celebrate all that we have accomplished together, and I look forward with excitement to what’s ahead for the team.

So here’s to closing the circle – not as a farewell, but as the completion of a journey well traveled and the beginning of a future full of promise. I can’t wait to see what’s next!

May God continue to richly bless each of you in the days ahead!

The Joy of Reading: Reflecting on Another Year Between the Pages

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Normally during the last week of the year, maybe sliding into the first few days of the new year, a post appears on 27gen related to reading and books.

Sometimes it’s about reading in general; others it’s about specific books that I’ve read during the past year.

That’s “normally” – the last few weeks have been anything but normal!

You can read more about it here (with a follow-up on 1/22), but the bottom line is that the last three weeks have been pretty much a blur, and a post in development since mid-December is just now ready for publication.

We have closed the book on 2024, and we are several weeks deep into 2025.

I find myself, like many book lovers, taking stock of the stories that have shaped my year. As someone who devours 2-3 books weekly, my life is measured not just in days and months, but in the volumes that have kept me company through seasons of change.

“Reading is a passport to countless adventures,” wrote Mary Pope Osborne, and indeed, each book opens a portal to new worlds, fresh perspectives, and unexpected revelations. This past year, through the pages of countless books, I’ve walked the bustling streets of distant cities, unraveled mysteries in moonlit manor houses, and contemplated the deepest questions of human existence – all from the comfort of my favorite reading chair.

Toni Morrison once said, “Books were my pass to personal freedom.” In a world that often feels increasingly fragmented and fast-paced, reading remains our sovereign territory, a space where we can pause, reflect, and truly be present. It’s a form of meditation, really – a way to quiet the endless notifications and urgent demands of modern life.

Looking back at 2024, I’m struck by how the books I’ve read (acquired 117, borrowed 174 from the library) have served as faithful companions through both ordinary days and extraordinary moments. They’ve been there during early morning tea rituals, afternoon coffee shop visits, late-night contemplations, and those precious stolen moments between responsibilities. As Neil Gaiman beautifully put it, “A book is a dream that you hold in your hand.” These dreams have sustained us, challenged us, and helped us make sense of an ever-changing world.

A special part of the AdamsFamilyExperience at Christmas (when all of our kids and grandkids were with us for 5+ days) was seeing parents and kids alike sprawled over a chair or on the floor, reading a book. That sight warmed my heart!

But reading is more than just escape or entertainment. Research consistently shows that regular reading improves empathy, reduces stress, enhances cognitive function, and even helps stave off cognitive decline as we age. In essence, every time we open a book, we’re investing in our mental and emotional wellbeing. As Maya Angelou wisely observed, “Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of his deep and continuing needs, is good for him.” The same holds true for adults.

As we look ahead to 2025, there’s something deeply comforting about the towering stack of books waiting to be read – the “to-be-read” pile that seems to grow taller despite our best efforts to keep pace. Each unread book represents a promise of discovery, a future adventure waiting to unfold. Italo Calvino captured this anticipation perfectly: “The more you read, the more you realize you haven’t read. The more you know, the more you realize you don’t know.”

In this coming year, I encourage fellow readers to embrace both the familiar and the unknown. Perhaps it’s time to venture beyond our comfort zones – to pick up genres we normally bypass, to seek out voices we haven’t heard before, to challenge our preconceptions through literature that pushes us to think differently. As Frederick Douglass reminded us, “Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.”

Reading isn’t just a solitary pursuit, either. Book clubs, online reading communities, and literary social media have created vibrant spaces where readers can connect, debate, and share their love of literature. These connections remind us that while reading itself may be solitary, the joy of books is meant to be shared. As C.S. Lewis noted, “We read to know we are not alone.”

If you prepare a reading resolution for 2025, remember that there’s no “right” way to be a reader. Whether you prefer physical books, e-readers, or audiobooks; whether you read one book a month or one a day; whether you annotate meticulously or simply let the words wash over you – all approaches are valid. The only requirement is the willingness to open yourself to the transformative power of stories.

So here’s to another year of reading adventures. Here’s to dog-eared pages and highlighted passages, to late nights spent promising ourselves “just one more chapter,” to the books that will make us laugh, cry, think, and grow. As we stand at the beginning of 2025, let’s remember what Susan Sontag said: “Reading sets standards. When we read, we want to read more, better, deeper.”

May your 2025 be filled with wonderful books, quiet reading moments, and the joy of discovering new favorite authors.

When people ask me, “Do you collect books?” I always say, “No, books collect me.”

Nicholas Barker, in At Home with Books

Reading Between the Lines: Cultivating Continuous Learning Through Reading

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In the journey of becoming a Modern Elder, few practices are as powerful and transformative as continuous learning. And at the heart of this lifelong pursuit of knowledge lies a timeless, ever-accessible tool: reading. 

For Modern Elders, cultivating a rich and diverse reading habit is not just a pastime – it’s a fundamental strategy for staying relevant, expanding perspectives, and fostering the curiosity and openness essential in today’s rapidly evolving world.

In a timely twist of scheduling, this article on reading occurs on the day of National Book Lover’s Day! Check out my thoughts here, then read on for the power of lifelong reading.


The Power of Lifelong Reading

In the digital age, where information flows at an unprecedented pace, the timeless practice of reading remains an unparalleled tool for continuous learning. For Modern Elders, embracing lifelong reading is not just a leisure activity – it’s a strategic approach to staying intellectually agile and relevant. Reading offers a unique combination of depth, breadth, and accessibility that few other learning methods can match. It serves as a gateway to new ideas, a catalyst for critical thinking, and a bridge across generational and cultural divides. By cultivating a robust reading habit, Modern Elders can harness a powerful engine for personal growth, professional development, and lasting impact in their roles as mentors and leaders.

Reading serves as the bedrock of continuous learning for several reasons:

  • Accessibility: Books, articles, and digital content are available at our fingertips, making learning possible anytime, anywhere.
  • Depth: Reading allows for deep dives into subjects, offering nuanced understanding that surface-level information cannot provide.
  • Diversity of Thought: Through reading, we can expose ourselves to a wide array of ideas, cultures, and perspectives.
  • Cognitive Benefits: Regular reading has been shown to improve memory, increase empathy, and even potentially delay cognitive decline.
  • Self-Paced Learning: Reading allows us to learn at our own speed, revisiting complex ideas as needed.

Cultivating Curiosity Through Reading

In the journey of lifelong learning, Modern Elders understand that reading is a powerful tool for fostering curiosity and personal growth. Beyond mere information gathering, reading can open doors to new perspectives, challenge existing beliefs, and spark innovative thinking. By embracing a diverse and intentional approach to reading, Modern Elders can cultivate a sense of wonder that keeps their minds agile and receptive to fresh ideas.

For Modern Elders, reading is not just about accumulating facts—it’s about nurturing a sense of wonder and openness to new ideas. Here’s how reading can fuel curiosity:

  • Explore Diverse Genres: Don’t limit yourself to your professional field. Read fiction, philosophy, science, history, and more. Each genre offers unique insights and perspectives.
  • Follow Your Interests: Let your natural curiosity guide your reading choices. If a topic piques your interest, explore it further through additional books or articles.
  • Challenge Your Views: Deliberately seek out books that challenge your existing beliefs or offer alternative viewpoints. This practice keeps your mind flexible and open to new ideas.
  • Connect Ideas Across Disciplines: Look for connections between different fields. Some of the most innovative ideas come from applying concepts from one discipline to another.

Strategies for Effective Reading

Effective reading is a cornerstone of continuous learning, particularly for those committed to personal and professional growth. By adopting strategic approaches to reading, individuals can significantly enhance their knowledge acquisition, retention, and application of new ideas. The following strategies offer practical ways to transform reading from a passive activity into an active, purposeful pursuit of lifelong learning.

To maximize the benefits of reading for continuous learning, consider these strategies:

  • Set Reading Goals: Commit to a certain number of books or articles per month or year. This creates a habit of consistent learning.
  • Create a Reading List: Keep a running list of books you want to read. Include recommendations from colleagues, thought leaders in your field, and sources outside your usual interests.
  • Practice Active Reading: Take notes, highlight key points, and summarize main ideas. This engagement enhances retention and deepens understanding.
  • Join or Start a Book Club: Discussing books with others can provide new perspectives and reinforce learning.
  • Combine Reading Methods: Mix physical books, e-books, and audiobooks to suit different situations and learning preferences.
  • Read With Purpose: Before starting a book, consider what you hope to gain from it. This focus can enhance your learning and retention.

Leveraging Modern Elder Wisdom in Reading

Modern Elders bring a distinct advantage to their reading practice: a rich tapestry of life experiences. This accumulated wisdom serves as a powerful lens through which to view and interpret new information. By leveraging their extensive background, Modern Elders can enhance their reading experience, critically evaluate new ideas, and share valuable insights across generations. This unique perspective allows for a deeper, more nuanced engagement with literature and learning.

As Modern Elders, we bring a unique advantage to our reading practice—a wealth of life experience. This allows us to:

  • Connect New Information to Existing Knowledge: Use your experience as a framework to understand and contextualize new ideas.
  • Critically Evaluate Information: Your years of experience provide a valuable filter for assessing the practicality and validity of new concepts.
  • Identify Timeless Principles: Recognize fundamental truths that persist across time and trends, even as specifics change.
  • Share Insights: Use your reading as a basis for mentoring others, bridging generational gaps with shared knowledge.

The Digital Reading Landscape

In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, Modern Elders must adapt their reading habits to encompass a wide array of online resources. While traditional books remain valuable, the digital realm offers unprecedented access to diverse and current information. By embracing these digital tools and platforms, Modern Elders can enhance their learning experience, stay abreast of the latest developments in their fields, and access a wealth of knowledge at their fingertips.

In embracing continuous learning through reading, Modern Elders should also navigate the digital reading landscape:

  • E-books and E-readers: Familiarize yourself with digital reading devices, which offer convenience and accessibility.
  • Online Articles and Journals: Stay current with the latest thinking in your field through online publications.
  • Blogs and Newsletters: Follow thought leaders and experts through their blogs or curated newsletters.
  • Social Media: While not a replacement for deep reading, platforms like Twitter can provide quick insights and lead you to more substantial content.
  • Digital Libraries: Take advantage of online libraries and databases for access to a vast array of resources.

From Consumer to Contributor

The journey of continuous learning through reading doesn’t end with personal growth; it opens doors to becoming an active contributor in the knowledge ecosystem. As Modern Elders accumulate insights and perspectives through their reading practices, they are uniquely positioned to share this wisdom with others. By transitioning from consumers to creators of knowledge, Modern Elders can amplify their impact, inspire others, and contribute to a broader dialogue across generations and disciplines.

As you deepen your practice of continuous learning through reading, consider transitioning from a consumer of information to a contributor:

  • Write Reviews: Share your thoughts on books you’ve read, offering your unique perspective as a Modern Elder.
  • Start a Blog or a Podcast: Write or record about the connections you’re making between your reading and your experiences.
  • Mentor Others: Use your growing knowledge base to guide and inspire younger colleagues.
  • Speak or Teach: Share your insights at conferences, workshops, or in educational settings.

For Modern Elders, reading is more than a casual hobby – it’s a vital practice that fuels continuous learning, nurtures curiosity, and fosters openness to new ideas. By committing to a rich and diverse reading habit, you not only enhance your own growth and relevance but also position yourself to make meaningful contributions in our ever-changing world. Remember, in the words of the great William Faulkner, “Read, read, read. Read everything.” In doing so, you’ll ensure that your wisdom as a Modern Elder remains dynamic, relevant, and deeply impactful.

Part Four in a Series – Find the Introduction here, along with previously published articles.

Turn the Page: Exploring National Book Lover’s Day

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August 9 is birthdate of my father, H.D. “Doc” Adams, who was born in 1927.

It’s also Book Lover’s Day.

Those two seemingly incongruent circumstances actually have a powerful connection for me.

After suffering a major stroke on February 10, 2012, my father passed away on February 25. By the time I was able to get back to Tennessee to see him, he had lost motor functions and speech capacity. Over the few days I was there, the slow but steady decline continued.

I had last seen him during the previous Christmas holidays. While there, I spent some time alone at home with him. After suffering a series of strokes over the past several years, he could no longer read – but the legacy of his reading lined the bookshelves all over my boyhood home. In the quiet hours when everyone was asleep, I scanned the shelves and remembered hearing him talk about this book or that one. I pulled a few off the shelf, and opening them, was instantly transported back in time to a conversation about the subject, or to memories of the event itself.

I’ve been a reader of books since, well, before I can remember. My father was an avid reader, and he passed that passion along to me at an early age. Even though he worked 6 days a week, 12 hours a day as a gas station owner, he often spent several hours reading each night. A recent revelation from a book brought his actions sharply into focus:

The manual labor of the past that allowed a human being to work in an embodied way, and to contemplate in heart and mind while working with one’s hands, encouraged the desire for reading after the physical exertions were completed. One can imagine why a farmer might kick off his boots after a day of sweat and dirt to read a good book.

Reading for the Love of God, Jessica Hooten Wilson

That was my father.

He insisted my mother take my brother and me to the library in the next town and check out books – every two weeks. I would get the maximum number of books, take them home, and read them – usually in the first day or two. Then it would be an impatient wait till the next library trip.

Reading is a passion I treasure, and one that I am thankful my father instilled in me.

The library habit of my boyhood stuck with me through elementary, junior, and high school; it remained in college and graduate school and post-graduate specialized studies. Each of my vocational roles since school “ended” have included reading as a part of what I brought to the task. It continues to this day, with a weekly visit to my local library to drop off books read and pick up books on hold – usually three or four in each category.

Every year on August 9, bibliophiles around the world unite in celebration of National Book Lover’s Day. This special occasion honors the profound impact that books have on our lives, cultivating imagination, expanding knowledge, and fostering personal growth. As we mark this day, it’s an opportune moment to reflect on the enduring value of reading and explore ways to enrich our literary experiences.

Book Lover’s Day is a great day to celebrate. Just grab an interesting book, find a quiet, cozy place, and crack open the cover. Celebrating Book Lover’s Day in August is pleasurable on the deck, under a shady tree, poolside, or in a cozy hammock. If you fall asleep while reading, that’s okay. It’s all part of the relaxing benefits of being a book lover.

The “WHY” I read so much is covered above. Here’s a clue of the “HOW” and “WHAT” of my reading, and why Book Lover’s Day is important:

I love (and practice) the 4 different levels of reading as espoused by Mortimer Adler in his great book, How to Read a Book, but I really like to latch onto a topic and practice synoptical reading. Also known as comparative reading, it is where many books are read, and placed in relation to one another and to a subject about which they all revolve.

For decades, an ongoing topic of synoptical reading has been about Walt Disney and the “kingdom” he founded. My current Disney library is over 500 books, dating from 1939 to current releases – and I’m still actively researching the subject, and discovering new authors and books regularly. Here’s a few of my latest or soon to be acquired Disney books:

In addition to the pure enjoyment of reading on the subject, these books provide a constant reference for illustrations when I’m writing about hospitality, planning, vision, and other topics that Walt Disney lived out – and to some extent – the Disney organization still practices.

In addition to Disney synoptical reading, I’ve always got small threads of other, diverse, synoptical reading going on, often spurred by long-running interests and subsequent book searches.

Here are a few recent ones:

I am very fortunate in that reading is a part of my work role. As Digital Engagement Leader for Auxano, there’s current reading for our monthly themes and daily social media posts (X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook), other internal Auxano writing projects, research for Navigators, and believe it or not, reading just for the pleasure of reading – a nightly occurrence.

In addition to the above images, here’s a few topics I’ve been reading in the past few months:

  • Ongoing research into the concepts of hospitality in the home (what I’ve termed,”First Place Hospitality”)
  • Tracking the development of hospitality in the U.S. – especially in the food services area
  • Exploring the journey of becoming a “modern elder”
  • Shepherd leadership (biblical concepts relevant for the 21st century)
  • Leadership lessons from the book of Nehemiah

Of course, there’s always some new Disney history coming off the presses that I include in the mix!

So, on Book Lover’s Day, and in memory of my father, I’m trying to emulate Thomas Edison, who believed that voracious reading was the key to self-improvement. He read books on a remarkable range of subjects to address his endless queries.

As Edison noted, “I didn’t read a few books, I read the library.”

How are you celebrating Book Lover’s Day?

On August 9, take time to honor your love of books in meaningful ways. Gift a book to a friend, donate to literacy programs, or simply indulge in an afternoon of uninterrupted reading. Share your favorite quotes or book recommendations on social media using #NationalBookLoversDay to inspire others.

Consider revisiting a beloved childhood story or finally tackling that classic you’ve always meant to read. Organize a book swap with friends or host a literary-themed gathering. Whatever form your celebration takes, use this day as a reminder of the transformative power of books and the joy they bring to our lives.

As we commemorate National Book Lover’s Day, let’s reaffirm our commitment to the written word. In a world of constant digital stimulation, books offer a unique form of engagement – one that nourishes our minds, touches our hearts, and expands our understanding of ourselves and the world around us. So pick up a book, turn the page, and embark on your next literary adventure. After all, every day is an opportunity to celebrate the enduring magic of reading.

If you want to know more about my dad, here is the eulogy I gave at his funeral. After the funeral, while my sons and I were moving some things around his gas station, I discovered one reason I am so passionate about guest experiences. And read this post to find out why readers are leaders.

Discovering the Joy of Reading: Insights from “Why We Read”

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Most weeks on Wednesday you’ll find posts about books here, part of an ongoing series entitled Wednesday Weekly Reader.

I often post about books on Instagram, and from time to time I will write on the topic of books about reading and books. For example:

Here’s a view of my “books about books” bookshelf:

You are probably getting the picture that books and reading are not just pastimes for me – they are my passion.

Today’s post is about a book that beautifully captures the passion of reading.

We read to escape, to learn, to find love, to feel seen. We read to encounter new worlds, to discover new recipes, to find connection across difference, or simply to pass a rainy afternoon. No matter the reason, books have the power to keep us safe, to challenge us, and perhaps most importantly, to make us more fully human.

Shannon Reed, a longtime teacher, lifelong reader, and New Yorker contributor, gets it. With one simple goal in mind, she makes the case that we should read for pleasure above all else.

In this whip-smart, laugh-out-loud-funny collection entitled Why We Read, Reed shares surprising stories from her life as a reader and the poignant ways in which books have impacted her students. From the varied novels she cherishes (Gone Girl, Their Eyes Were Watching God) to the ones she didn’t (Tess of the d’Urbervilles), Reed takes us on a rollicking tour through the comforting world of literature, celebrating the books we love, the readers who love them, and the ways in which literature can transform us for the better.

Listen to Reed’s passion for reading:

I have never lost my affection for and dependency on books. This is where I pull away from the pack of fellow bookworms, I sense. Much as I like videos and reels and whatever new thing has been invented by the time this goes to print, I’m always reaching back to the OG form, the book, looking for what I can read to help me understand.

Reading a book is quiet, clear, and organized. It’s not hard.

It waits until I am ready, pauses when I need a break, and is still happy to repeat. Reading absolutely never says “Just forget it” when I need clarification. It doesn’t care how I pronounce the words in my head (or aloud, for that matter). It never makes me feel worse and rarely makes me feel lonely.

Reading gives me the world.

And that, friends, is why I read.

If you are fortunate to be inspired to buy and read Shannon’s book, you will enjoy the closing chapter as she pays homage to the amazing literary journey she is on. I won’t spoil your reading pleasure by quoting any of it – except the last two sentences:

Without ever really experiencing any of it, I know it all.

Because books taught me.

Part of a regular series on 27gen, entitled Wednesday Weekly Reader.

During my elementary school years one of the things I looked forward to the most was the delivery of “My Weekly Reader,” a weekly educational magazine designed for children and containing news-based, current events.

It became a regular part of my love for reading, and helped develop my curiosity about the world around us.

Remembering My Father, Celebrating Book Lover’s Day

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August 9 is birthdate of my father, H.D. “Doc” Adams, who was born in 1927.

It’s also Book Lover’s Day.

Those two seemingly incongruent circumstances actually have a powerful connection for me.

After suffering a major stroke on February 10, 2012, my father passed away on February 25. By the time I was able to get back to Tennessee to see him, he had lost motor functions and speech capacity. Over the few days I was there, the slow but steady decline continued.

I had last seen him during the previous Christmas holidays. While there, I spent some time alone at home with him. After suffering a series of strokes over the past several years, he could no longer read – but the legacy of his reading lined the bookshelves all over my boyhood home. In the quiet hours when everyone was asleep, I scanned the shelves and remembered hearing him talk about this book or that one. I pulled a few off the shelf, and opening them, was instantly transported back in time to a conversation about the subject, or to memories of the event itself.

I’ve been a reader of books since, well, before I can remember. My father was an avid reader, and he passed that passion along to me at an early age. Even though he worked 6 days a week, 12 hours a day as a gas station owner, he often spent several hours reading each night. A recent revelation from a book brought his actions sharply into focus:

The manual labor of the past that allowed a human being to work in an embodied way, and to contemplate in heart and mind while working with one’s hands, encouraged the desire for reading after the physical exertions were completed. One can imagine why a farmer might kick off his boots after a day of sweat and dirt to read a good book.

Reading for the Love of God, Jessica Hooten Wilson

That was my father.

He insisted my mother take my brother and me to the library in the next town and check out books – every two weeks. I would get the maximum number of books, take them home, and read them – usually in the first day or two. Then it would be an impatient wait till the next library trip.

Reading is a passion I treasure, and one that I am thankful my father instilled in me.

The library habit of my boyhood stuck with me through elementary, junior, and high school; it remained in college and graduate school and post-graduate specialized studies. Each of my vocational roles since school “ended” have included reading as a part of what I brought to the task. It continues to this day, with a weekly visit to my local library to drop off books read and pick up books on hold – usually three or four in each category.

Wednesday August 9 is Book Lover’s Day – not an official holiday but one I eagerly celebrate. Book reading is a great hobby. It’s an important one, too. Employers look for it on resumes. Reading is educational, informative, and relaxing. It makes us both smarter and happier people.

Book Lover’s Day is a great day to celebrate. Just grab an interesting book, find a quiet, cozy place, and crack open the cover. Celebrating Book Lover’s Day in August is pleasurable on the deck, under a shady tree, poolside, or in a cozy hammock. If you fall asleep while reading, that’s okay. It’s all part of the relaxing benefits of being a book lover.

I love (and practice) the 4 different levels of reading as espoused by Mortimer Adler in his great book, How to Read a Book, but I really like to latch onto a topic and practice synoptical reading. Also known as comparative reading, it is where many books are read, and placed in relation to one another and to a subject about which they all revolve.

For many years, an ongoing topic of synoptical reading has been about Walt Disney and the “kingdom” he founded. My current Disney library is over 450 books, dating from 1939 to current releases – and I’m still actively researching the subject, and discovering new authors and books regularly. Here’s a few of my latest acquisitions:

In addition to the pure enjoyment of reading on the subject, these books provide a constant reference for illustrations when I’m writing about hospitality, planning, vision, and other topics that Walt Disney lived out – and to some extent – the Disney organization still practices. With 2023 being the 100th anniversary of the founding of the company, there’s a lot to choose from!

In addition to Disney synoptical reading, I’ve always got small threads of other, diverse, synoptical reading going on, often spurred by long-running interests and subsequent book searches. Here’s a current one, entitled #BurgerQuest: a literary, culinary, and arbitrary journey in pursuit of America’s iconic delight. True to my nature, over the years I’ve built up a research library on the burger; here’s just a sampling of the texts dealing with the history of the hamburger:

As I continue to develop #BurgerQuest, I will be diving into the history of the restaurants who have brought the burger from the lunch wagons of the 1890s to today’s wide range of options.

One of the greatest contributors to my synoptical reading was an Auxano project, 8+ years in the running, that ended in 2021. It involved researching 574 books to produce 227 issues of a book excerpt project. For those of you who are curious, that’s a book stack over five stories high. You can read about it here.

Even with that big change in my reading habit, there’s always a book at hand!

There’s current reading for Auxano social media (Tweets, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook posts), other internal Auxano writing projects, and believe it or not, reading just for the pleasure of reading – a nightly occurrence.

Currently a few topics I’ve read for pleasure in the past few months include: ongoing research into the concepts of hospitality in the home (what I’ve termed,”First Place Hospitality”); tracking the development of hospitality in the U.S;  exploring the idea of the “modern elder”; select works about small town America, both past and present; the friendship of Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and  Harvey Firestone and their contribution to America’s development in the early 20th century; and shepherd leadership (biblical concepts relevant for the 21st century).

Of course, there’s always some Disney history coming off the presses that I include in the mix!

So, on Book Lover’s Day, and in memory of my father, I’m trying to emulate Thomas Edison, who believed that voracious reading was the key to self-improvement. He read books on a remarkable range of subjects to address his endless queries.

As Edison noted, “I didn’t read a few books, I read the library.”

If you want to know more about my dad, here is the eulogy I gave at his funeral. After the funeral, while my sons and I were moving some things around his gas station, I discovered one reason I am so passionate about guest experiences. And read this post to find out why readers are leaders.

How are you celebrating Book Lover’s Day?

Part of a regular series on 27gen, entitled Wednesday Weekly Reader

During my elementary school years one of the things I looked forward to the most was the delivery of “My Weekly Reader,” a weekly educational magazine designed for children and containing news-based, current events.

It became a regular part of my love for reading, and helped develop my curiosity about the world around us.

I Read to Cheat Old Age – What About You?

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It is my habit to make my lunch hour my own personal “Lunch and Learn” activity. As I work from an office in my home, I typically take a break from work to enjoy lunch seated at my kitchen island, reading a book.

So it’s appropriate that, while reading Curious, by Ian Leslie, I came across this information:

Being epistemically curious is a crucial condition of feeling fulfilled and alive.

Science supports this intuition. Neurologists use the term “cognitive reserve” to describe the brain’s capacity to resist the ravages of old age. For a study published in 2013, a team led by Robert Wilson at the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago enrolled three hundred elderly people and tested their thinking and memory skills each year. The participants were also asked about how often they read, wrote, and engaged in other cognitively demanding activity, not just currently, but in childhood and middle age.

Following each participant’s death, his or her brain was examined for evidence of dementia. It was discovered that, after taking into account the physical effects of dementia on their brains, the subjects who made a lifelong habit of a lot of reading and writing slowed their rate of mental decline by a third compared to those who only did an average amount of those things.

In other words, those individuals cheated old age.

 – Ian Leslie, Curious

My lifelong, and ongoing, investment in reading is really an investment in my future.

What will you be reading today?