I recently read a three non-fiction business books that I would generously characterize as “crummy.” They weren’t awful, and I did finish them all, but none were particularly good. The writing styles were flat, they lacked a real sense of humor (or wonder or passion) and the insights were a notch or two below what I’d call inspiring or insightful.
You may wonder why I bothered to finish such tepid books (and I hope you understand why I’m not mentioning their titles). Here’s the reason: while the book’s contents were mediocre at best, they nevertheless sparked a reaction in me. They got me thinking about how I would address the subject, if I was the author. I found myself spurred on to imagine a better version, one with humor and heart and surprises.
The truth is, despite the meh reaction, I couldn’t put them down.
And to be clear, I wasn’t hate-reading them, picking apart each paragraph or chapter, piling up angry critiques or assembling my arguments against the author’s message (that’s a topic for a whole other blog post!). I also wasn’t finishing them out of a sense of obligation to finish what I started. The list of books I’ve started but never finished is vast! Instead, I finished reading these books because I was genuinely appreciating what they were doing for me. They sparked ideas, and isn’t that the reason we read in the first place?
Author Richard Rohr writes “the best criticism of the bad is the practice of the better.” As I read these books, I found myself spurred on to “practice the better.” I read them all with a pen in hand, sketching outlines and excerpts of books I may write someday, doubling down on my commitment as a writer to bring humor and humanity to the things I write, to offer surprises instead of clichés.
One of the practical results of those books was… reenergizing this blog. It’s a handy way to stretch myself as a writer, to play with words and hopefully produce something worth sharing. Watch this space for the experiment to continue…