#3: Don't Read Books

On Reading and the Discomfort of Not

Don’t Read Books by Yang Wanli Translated by Jonathan Chaves

Don’t read books!
Don’t chant poems!
When you read books your eyeballs wither away
leaving the bare sockets.
When you chant poems your heart leaks out slowly
with each word.
People say reading books is enjoyable.
People say chanting poems is fun.
But if your lips constantly make a sound
like an insect chirping in autumn,
you will only turn into a haggard old man.
And even if you don’t turn into a haggard old man,
it’s annoying for others to have to hear you.

It’s so much better
to close your eyes, sit in your study,
lower the curtains, sweep the floor,
burn incense.
It’s beautiful to listen to the wind,
listen to the rain,
take a walk when you feel energetic,
and when you’re tired go to sleep.

An article from The Marginalian by Maria Popova to complement the poem.

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Article I Keep Coming Back To

I came across this article on Farnam Street about Schopenhauer On Reading and what struck me most and stayed with me was this bit:

It would be a good thing to buy books if one could also buy the time to read them; but one usually confuses the purchase of books with the acquisition of their contents. To desire that a man should retain everything he has ever read, is the same as wishing him to retain in his stomach all that he has ever eaten.

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Prayers This Week

The faster we live, the less emotion is left in the world.
The slower we live, the deeper we feel the world around us.

- Stanko Abadzic

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You must allow yourself to outgrow and depart from certain eras of your life with a gentle sort of ruthlessness.

- Katy Maxwell

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Be who you are, even if it kills you. It will over and over again. Even as you live.

- Jay Harjo

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On My End

I started buddy reading a poetry collection with a writer-friend, and it was an impulsive decision of sorts, considering I haven’t ever buddy-read a poetry collection, and neither did I know how someone would do it.

But after a brief chat we were able to decide a process, and it’s so much more accessible to read poetry than a novel, which is very personal of course because I’ve only recently started reading more poetry than I am reading fiction or any other genre, which was a difficult place to get to and took me about two months to finally set a rhythm with.

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Happy to report that we have about a dozen subscribers on TRL and my warmest welcome to you all. All my love to all the friendly faces who are here supporting my work.

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Warmth & Speed
Yours Truly