Read More in 2012

by Monty Hagler

Happy New Year and welcome to Juicy Bits, RLF Communications' e-newsletter for clients, partners and friends! Between issues, members of the RLF team are active posting content, advice, strategies and engaging perspectives on our blog — Orange Slices. (Click here to sign up for our RSS feed!)

One recent post by David French provided a top 10 list for becoming a better writer, and I was particularly intrigued by tip #9. Read. David encourages us to "Read a lot. Read a lot of different kinds of writing. You'll be surprised at what sticks with you and how reading will make you a better writer."

I've taken that tip to heart over the past six months. I've gorged myself on a blend of diverse, interesting and thought-provoking literature. In the fiction aisle I've read State of Wonder by Ann Patchett, The Disappeared by Kim Eichlin, Ten Thousand Saints by Eleanor Henderson, Iron House by John Hart, The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta and the two stellar works by Johnathan Franzen The Corrections and Freedom. In the non-fiction section are That Used To Be Us by Tom Friedman, The Greater Journey by David McCullough, The Information by James Gleick, The Big Thirst by Charles Fishman and Break Your Own Rules by Kathryn Heath, Jill Flynn and Mary Davis Holt. I recommend them all!

Without sounding like a Luddite, the driving reason beyond my increased consumption of literature is the abandonment of my Kindle. After two years of trying to adapt to an e-reader, I've gone back to printed pages that I can feel between my fingers, turn down page corners and make notes in the margins. In short, I've rediscovered the joy of reading, even if it means stuffing clunky books in my briefcase. I will also admit that taking frequent, long airplane flights certainly helps carve out time for uninterrupted reading.

I suspect my return to the printed page is an aberration, and I'm sure that one day I will give technology another shot. But right now, I'm enjoying the art of reading because of the conversations it creates with family, friends and clients, and the questions raised that need further exploration.

Regardless of how you read (the old fashioned way or the technology enabled way), I firmly believe in sharing what motivates, captivates and engages you. I've always been a big proponent of ripping articles out of magazines or newspapers, jotting a note on the thought or idea an article inspired and shooting it off to let someone know I was thinking about them.

Take a moment to reflect on a book or an article that grabbed you recently, compelled you to read part of it again, to slowly savor it and reflect on it as you drift off to sleep. That is how reading transforms us, takes us up and beyond the issues that narrow our lives on a daily basis. The trick is to bring those 20,000 foot views back down to reality and use them to navigate new ways forward.

As we head into 2012, we will all need the ability to see the big picture and execute on the details as our economy continues to weave an uncertain path.