One hobby I have enjoyed immensely during my lifetime is reading. Nowadays it is easy to spend a large portion of your leisure time in activities that do not really teach you anything new. Video games, YouTube, and social networking are fun, but not necessarily helpful. Few things are better than reading a great book.
The books I read changed over the years
I used to read books of all kinds in order to figure out what interested me. Nowadays, I mainly focus my reading in areas that give me new insight, teach me new things, or are fun to read. Specific topics that I enjoy include military history, theology, leadership, and poetry.
I do not read much fiction
It is hard to explain exactly why, but I read mostly non-fiction these days. Perhaps it is because I am a big learner. New ideas stimulate my mind. Or maybe I prefer to read about real people and events to gain perspective, rather than made up places and faces. The more I think about it, I should probably read more fiction, especially the classics.
“Personally, the books by which I have profited infinitely more than by any others have been those in which profit was a by-product of the pleasure; that is, I read them because I enjoyed them because I liked reading them, and the profit came in as part of the enjoyment.”
Teddy Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States
Great leaders were big readers
I like the quote by Teddy. He is one of my favorite Presidents. A real character and a man of action. Several leaders that I admire were voracious readers which inspires me to want to read more. Saying it is easy. The hard part is actually carving out the time to open up a book today. I am going to make it happen. I hope that you do too.
I am Doug Keating and this is my letter to sons.