How can you write, but you don’t read?

I came across this article about how 2008 was proclaimed the year of reading. In the article they said  Posh Spice (Victoria Beckham) has never read a book, but yet she writes them.  How does that really work? What about her kids? I think this occurs a lot today. Hell, we have a lot of “authors” who do not really write their own books. I mean, every time one of these “tell all” books comes out by these former video groupies, do people actually think they wrote them? No, they are more like dictations to a person they sold their story to.  Foolishness!

Anyway, the article asks, does reading make you clever? Not necessarily. Reading does stimulate the cortex, and does improve things like:

• vocabulary
• grammar
• spelling
• writing
• comprehension
• reasoning
• analytical skills

People seem to think that there is tangible knowledge in books, but its not measurable knowledge.  It’s not like needing to know something and googling it.  If you want an understanding of a subject beyond skimming it then yes read books.  Books go in-depth while the internet and other mediums give you only general ideas about things. And this is just non-fiction.

Fiction books are where imagination begins.  Why do we begin telling our children stories and letting them watch cartoons? To stimulate creativity and teach lessons.  Stories are oratory books.  By giving children books it internalizes their ability to engage in a fantasy whenever they want.  However, people aren’t creative enough anymore. Reading fiction requires patience. You have to let a story grow and develop and we are victims of an instant gratification society.  We want what we want and we want it now!  A good number of people in the younger generations (this includes me at times) have had their imagination muted by television , movies , and video games.

To answer the article, cleverness can’t be learned, its an innate ability, sort of like sarcasm.  You can’t train to be sarcastic. There is no google search for sarcasm or cleverness.  But you can draw inspiration from characters in books and mimic them. Learning does not just come from a classroom.  People need to step out of that box.  Lately, I’ve been slacking on my reading.  I’ve been trying to diversify the books I’m reading.  Read more non-fiction.  My book I just started today is a mystery.  I started trying to get back to where I read all day every day when I wasn’t busy.  To start I’ve been trying to dedicate at least one hour a day to reading.  Sometimes I’m not so successful.  🙁