Exercising Your Mind

Happy Sunday and I know it’s late, but I just finished reading an amazing book about the Comanche warrior Quanah; in Empire of the Summer Moon. There are really some great books out there that need to be read and I can’t even remember how I came across this one. I’m pretty sure that it was the cover. It had a picture of a Comanche warrior that looked like he was ready to kill and take over any white men that wanted to step to his tribe. I read this thing in a week and leisurely reading for me that is fast! I usually leave all of my intense reading back to my days in grad school, but this was definitely grad school reading material. Not only could it have been a history text book on the American West it also told a great story that kept me interested.

So Ahmad, what the hell does this have to do with me? Well, I’m glad you asked! Most days are spent watching television by most Americans and all we ever do is listen to cable news or sports stations babble about how in some crazy way they are an expert on the government shutdown or the next Super Bowl winner. In other words, they exercise their minds to twist some angle to justify their stupidity of consciousness. They crazy thing is we watch it everyday! Yes we are all suckers for the same thing and the producers know it. It’s our crack!

With this knowledge I took the opportunity to do something new this final quarter of the year. I plan on reading 50 books. Not just some comics, but 50 real books. As a writer it is a rule of thumb that we all read four to five times more than we write in order to stay sharp. And it works! Reading just makes you smarter. It stirs creativity, expands vocabulary, and creates new ways of wanting to live. I can’t explain the feeling of turning on the Easy Listening station on Pandora and sitting back with a great book to read. It really does slow down the rest of the world and really makes you feel a sense of accomplishment once completed. How much better can life get? So the next book I have on the list is The Red Rooster by Michael Wallace. Nothing like a great thriller novel to read.

But all in all, get your brain turned up. We only get one and it’s one of the best ways to keep yourself sharp into your older years. Happy Reading and see you next Monday.