Why we all should have reading lists.
(and why not liking someone else’s is okay.)
If you already have a reading list, I commend your sagacity. If you do not, I hope by your reading of this post you will consider starting one. A reading list is a wonderful insight into why someone is the way that they are. It should be that everyone cultivates a reading list throughout their life, as it would offer far greater understanding between the increasingly tribalized groupings that have risen with the fast-paced and exacerbating medium of the internet.
We hear of the pivotal books that inspired celebrities, and gifted them the lessons to ultimately succeed in their careers. George Lucas has talked of the importance of The Hero with a Thousand Faces in his creation of Star Wars. Warren Buffet cites The Intelligent Investor as imparting the investing principles which created the foundation upon which he generated his billions. Although these are individual examples, reading these books do give us a valuable insight as to how the successful have done what they did. By expanding this from one book into a list, the knowledge we gather only compounds.
Do not assume, however, that you have to be a celebrity or an author in the spotlight to cultivate a reading list, or to assign importance to certain books in your life. Even if only for your private use, thinking hard about what books are most important to you is an essential exercise in self-awareness. It leads you to reflect on the ideas that influence your thinking, to understand what sources sowed the seeds in your mind that subsequently germinated into ideas and beliefs you hold today. Not only is this practice great to help you further understand yourself, but it can give others an appreciation of what you value and who you are.
If you are doubtful as to the insight a reading list can give, one reason as to why it reveals more than first believed is because we develop what is known as ‘cognitive rigidity’, where our opinions on a variety of subjects harden into firm-set beliefs. We accept theories — plausible explanations for the world around us — that act as a mental framework for all subsequent knowledge to be stored and processed around. By seeing a list of someone’s cherished books, and understanding what these books argue, we can recognise theories that someone has based their worldview on; theories that have constructed the framework about which they process everything thereafter.
A reading list is also an invaluable tool in helping avid readers decide which are the next books they want to purchase. Looking for recommendations online, as many of us know, can be unexpectedly challenging. In fact, finding books you really enjoy from the internet can be downright hard. The reason for this is twofold.
The first challenge comes from the subtle social-pressure we feel from our human-nature in conforming to the views of the many. It is becoming common knowledge that rather than our true selves being shown on social media, we instead lead a performance in what we show to others. To some extent, the same is true of book reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. Goodreads even classes itself as a ‘social cataloguing’ site, highlighting how there can be a performative aspect in aligning your rating closer to the ratings of the many on that platform.
From my own personal experience, I have felt this pressure to conform to what many tens of thousands of other reviewers have said. We often find that we are subtly influenced to change our star rating by small degrees in the direction of the majority, to conform with what our brain indirectly believes would have been members of our tribe in the distant past whom we were dependent on for social approval. This is why so many ratings coalesce together into an inaccurate skew as to the quality of a book. Unless ratings are given independently without any knowledge of what others have rated it, we are immediately biased as to what we will rate the books ourselves. Thus we find the online ratings of promising books often belie their actual quality.
Second, with this abundance of deceptively high-rated books, the reason why deciding between all these books is hard, and why we are often left disappointed with what we eventually choose is due to what Barry Schwartz describes as the paradox of choice.
Schwartz argues that with any abundance of options, the more there are available, the more likely we will be paralysed by such choice. With the proliferation of 4.5 and 5 star-rated books, we face overwhelming difficulty in deciding between them. Furthermore, we are less satisfied with our result, as not only do we compare the book to another book that we might have enjoyed more (leading to regret), but we find our expectations heightened, and then let down. Our intuition expects us to have chosen anamazing book when we have been given unparalleled access to so many choices, and when the book does not live up to hype, it leads to further disappointment.
Reading lists help overcome these difficulties. From a source you respect, perhaps an author you like, or the bibliography of a great book you have finished, you will find the list-maker has already done the lion’s share of hard work for you by filtering down thousands of options to offer a curated selection. Furthermore, in your preference for the list-maker, you will be more likely to resonate with the book and find it enjoyable — perhaps as it complements the mental framework with which you store information — compared to a random book that has gathered a congregation of 5-star reviewers, but does nothing to excite you.
An added bonus in finding an author you appreciate and enjoying the books they recommend is that affiliate schemes now offer the ability for the list-maker to profit from your interest. If they utilise an Amazon affiliate link, you can both profit; a way for you to purchase an interesting book, for them to gain a small commission from the sale, a win-win situation (win-win-lose if you count local bookstores, don’t forget them!)
What happens, however, when we discover that some people find the books on our reading list lacklustre, or that we find someone else’s choices to be wanting? I know that one of my favourite books, Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson, is not as widely appreciated by my friends in their reading of it as it is in mine. Indeed, something that has shaken another to their very core and changed their life may hardly register on the Richter scale for others. How can this be understood?
In answering this, it is worth remembering Louis Pasteur’s maxim,
“Chance favours the prepared mind.”
Originally, Pasteur stated this with regard to how genuine scientific insights do not occur randomly, but from intense mental preparation before the insight arises. I draw a different message from the phrase. When it comes to reading, I believe preparedness is the combination of our pre-established cognitive rigidity with more recent experience or ideas influencing our current thoughts and interests. The ‘chance’ of finding a book you love therefore, ‘favours’ a mind that has been ‘prepared’ in a certain way.
Take for example the book Lost Japan by Alex Kerr. The ‘chance’ that someone will enjoy this book will almost definitely depend on the extent of how ‘prepared’ their mind is towards the subject. Perhaps they are travelling to/through Japan, which would gird their current thoughts (as I did), or perhaps they have a deep-held mental framework that finds beauty in traditional cultures, and resonates with Kerr’s description of how Japan’s traditional beauty is being lost to the neon-clad pachinko arcades of modernity. Either mind would be suitably ‘prepared’ with a good chance of enjoying the book, whereas someone with little interest in the subject is far less likely to resonate with Kerr’s message.
With this understanding, it is clear that we should not take offence if someone does not appreciate a book we adore, or when a friend’s recommendation falls unreciprocated unto our deaf ears. Similarly, it is wrong to feel guilty in failing to appreciate the ideas presented in a book featured on a favourite author’s reading list. For if everyone has a mind prepared differently, each with visions uniquely framed, then it bears to reason that we will all fundamentally differ in what we appreciate in a book. Our mindset directly impacts what books we enjoy, how we read them, and what we take away from them.
A reading list is a tangible expression of our view of the world. They are the books that make us, speak to us, and impact us deeply. By not creating one you miss the opportunity to self-express, to be understood by others who don’t ‘get’ you, and to connect with someone over a shared passion.
If you haven’t already, start thinking about the books that have left their impression on you. You will find it an enlightening process.
OCM
