In defense of the novel

I subscribe to the 1440 email newsletter. Every day it gives an unbiased look at the news of the day, simply telling the reader what occurred the day before, no bias included. I highly recommend it.

Along with the daily email, the 1440 has a weekly distribution about society and culture. Recently, that newsletter was about the novel. 

You remember novels, right? Your English teachers would make you read them in school. Many of you did not do that. And yes, I know that some of my students don’t always read what they are assigned.

According to a 2022 poll, many of you still avoid the idea of reading a book. Only 17% of American adults said they had read a novel in the year before. This is an all-time low. That makes me sad.

Let’s say that 75% of my 7th graders actually read “The Outsiders” every year. I hope it’s a higher number, but let’s start there. This year, that would be about 38 kids. Let’s say that, of those 38, 30 of them said they really enjoyed the book. The hope is that the enjoyment of that book would lead to them wanting to read more.

But that’s not the case, clearly. I’m sure that number steadily decreases every year. Even if a teacher finds an engaging book, fewer and fewer kids will maintain the momentum gained through that experience to continue reading. Once you become an adult and have more responsibilities, it’s easier to let go of that good habit.

Admittedly, at the beginning of college, I did not read much more than the comic books I bought and what I was assigned for my classes. During my junior year, I finally picked up a book again to read. I’ve never looked back.

What are the reasons for not reading as an adult? Let’s explore them.

I don’t have enough time. None of us do. It’s about making time. Do you have time to play games on your phone? Do you doomscroll on social media for a long time? If you answered yes to either of those questions, you have time to read. Make it a point to read for at least 15-20 minutes before bed each evening. It’s better for your sleep cycles than watching something.

I have too many shows in my queue on Netflix. So do I. I will never catch up because new shows and seasons come out all the time that I want to watch. And yes, it makes me a bit twitchy at times when I look at it. But I choose to read instead. After all, where do you think a lot of these shows got their ideas? (Psst. The answer is books.)

I don’t like to read. That’s a fallacy. I firmly believe that there are two reasons people don’t like to read. One is that they struggle reading and it’s hard to enjoy something that is hard. The other reason is that they haven’t yet found the right type of book. There’s a style and genre for everyone.

I have solutions for that last one. If you struggle to read, try graphic novels. It doesn’t have to be super heroes, though it can be. There are a plethora of great books with pictures that are realistic and fulfilling. If you haven’t found the right type of book, just think about your favorite shows. Find a book in the same genre or with a similar type of story and away you’ll go! 

A novel is considered to be any book that is at least 40,000 words long, though there are some shorter ones out there that fit the bill. My first two novels were each about 51,000 words, the equivalent to a book a tad over 200 pages long. Read twenty pages a day for ten days, and you have it done. 

This is what I ask my students to do. Break down how many pages you need to read a day to meet the checkpoint sheets I have, and that’s usually a small number. It’s much more manageable that way. Otherwise, you might look at a 200-page book and blanch a bit. Though as Master Yoda once said, “Size matters not.” When you discover an enjoyment of reading, a big book will not intimidate you. Look at how many people have read the Harry Potter series, some of them clocking in at over 700 pages!

Novels and shows might both tell stories, but there is a unique experience when reading a book. According to the 1440, it helps you build empathy and is a really cool way to realize what it means to be alive. Plus, you can pause reading even easier than you do a streaming show!

Reading doesn’t just have to be novels. I still love comic books. Listening to audiobooks can be just as much fun, and it’s still a novel. Heck, remember when you used to read the back of the cereal box when you were a kid? That’s reading. And if you have time to read through the paper, and I’m glad you do, you could fit some novel reading in as well.

If you are part of the 17%, hurray! If you’re part of the 83%, give it another shot. You never know when you’ll have a truly novel experience!

Word of the Week: This week’s word is hypnagogia, which means the moment between being asleep and awake, as in, “As she entered hypnagogia, she realized she had fallen asleep while reading the night before.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!