06: Buy Your Mom A Book Today [Coffeecast]

Today I’m going to mix it up a bit and do what I call a “coffeecast.” It’s just going to be me and the microphone. 

 

I thought I’d talk about a topic that is not exactly about writing, but is definitely relevant to writing.

 

Reading!

 

Yes, reading. Reading is so important to becoming a good writer.

 

I was reminded of this yesterday when I read an interview in the latest issue of TIME magazine with Harold Bloom, a Yale professor and literary scholar recognized as one of the foremost experts on Shakespeare. 

 

Something he said about the importance of reading struck me as being so important and so true.  Here’s what he said:

 

“Writers are, in the first place, readers. I tell every writer I’ve ever known, either they are deep readers or they cannot become real writers. Read only the best and most challenging and traditional. And reread it.”

 

One of the questions I like to ask all of my guests on this podcast is what book  - or author - influenced them the most. The answers are always illuminating, because what they are doing is sharing a very pivotal moment in their careers as a writer. 

 

That one book, or one author, who made them pause and think, “Hey, this is really fantastic. I want to do this. I want to be a writer too. How can I do what they do? How can I become what they are?”

 

So, reading is important to becoming a writer. Which leads me to the topic of today’s podcast. 

 

Reading.

 

And since it’s Mother’s Day this Sunday, May 10, I thought I’d take this opportunity to reflect on how mothers are so instrumental in teaching their children how to read, and how they inspire children to become lifelong readers.

 

So I wrote a blog post about this which I’m going to read right now.

 

You can read the text of this post on my website at writewithimpact.com/read