When did I stop reading?

I Read a Lot as a Child

My mother often tells a humorous anecdote from when I was a child. One day she was looking for me but couldn’t find me anywhere in the house. After a thorough search, she finally opened the door to my closet where she found me sitting in the dark, holding a torch and reading a ‘Whizzer & Chips’ comic book.

I don’t remember the incident but I do remember the comic books. Two rival gangs called the ‘Whizz-kids’ and the ‘Chip-ites’ competed against each other in far-fetched and often humorous ways.  There were various comic strips in each magazine. My favourite was ‘Store Wars’, where a big chain store competed against a small local shop to attract the most customers. At the end of each story, the little guy always managed to win because he had the friendliest service.

Along with the comic books, I checked out a steady diet of ‘Asterix’ and ‘Hardy Boys’ books from the library. The combination of humour and action kept me enthralled for hours. But the one book that stands out as my favourite was ‘The Silver Sword’ by Ian Serraillier. It was about a Polish family being separated during the second world war and eventually being wonderfully united. I must have read that book at least 20 times.

The Introduction of the Screen

Then one day, I remember having a Playstation. I can’t remember if my parents gave it to me or whether I bought it with my own money. What I do remember is that my reading drastically diminished. Instead of my mind being activated with the thoughts of rival store owners, mighty Gaulish armies and Polish children escaping the Nazi’s, my thoughts were dulled by pixellated soccer players, pimped out racing cars and farming gold chocobo’s.

After high school, I went to University. There was required reading books for my classes, but these were stale and lifeless compared to video gaming. By now I had a computer and discovered Starcraft and LAN battles, where I could play in the same game alongside or against friends.

Compared to this, books were boring.

Discovering an Incredible Book

Then at the age of 24 something drastic happened. I gave my life to Jesus. I knew nothing about Jesus apart from his name being used as a swear word by many and that now I had accepted him as my saviour. I started attending a church and one couple gave me something that changed my life. A Bible. A simple paperback, NLT Bible made of recycled paper which probably cost the grand sum of $10.

I started reading it. I didn’t know then that the Bible is the most widely read book in the history of the world. I read it like I was the first person to discover it. Like I’d found hidden treasure.

Slowly my worldview changed. Now the video games started to feel stale and lifeless compared to the wonders I discovered in my Bible. I hungered to learn more so I enrolled in Bible College for a year.

Enjoying Learning

Once again there was the required reading, but this time it was different. At University I drudgingly went through the readings so I could earn a piece of paper to say I was smart. This time, I wasn’t interested in the piece of paper, I was genuinely interested in the content. I learned about Old Testament times, Church history, how to study the Bible and much more. I was like a sponge soaking up all the information I could. My only regret now is that I didn’t branch out to explore the many other books in the College library.

After graduating Bible College I went on a mission trip to Thailand for one year. Even though I lived in Western accommodation, the house I lived in had no books. The only book available to me was the Bible I brought with me.

What if There are No Books?

What was available in the house were an abundance of DVD’s. In my spare time I made the choice to watch movies. A lot of them. I didn’t make a conscious decision to stop reading or blob in front of a screen. It was simply the path of least resistance. I couldn’t read, so I blobbed.

After getting back from Thailand, I had unknowingly trained myself to be a couch potato in my spare time. My initiation into becoming a non-reader wasn’t final, as I do remember reading some life-changing books during this time. The one that stands out is ‘Making Champion Men’ by Billy Graham. Not Billy Graham the American Evangelist but Billy Graham the boxer from Naenae. Reading how he was able to influence boys so strongly through boxing made a big impression on me. I thought to myself, “somebody should do that in my neighbourhood.” Then I answered myself by saying, “I’m somebody.” That led me to starting a boys boxing academy in a rough Waikato neighbourhood. I’m not a boxer by any stretch. I was so impacted by reading this book that it lead me to take action.

Becoming Hooked on Screens

Then a few years later, Covid hit. The mandates kept us locked at home. I went back to staring at a computer with my spare time. My indoctrination had started in Thailand and was being re-introduced in New Zealand. I was a willing lamb to the slaughter and this time the training was finished. Spare time equals screen time. Reading a book was simply no longer a consideration.

Fast forward to 2023. An opportunity comes for me to run a bookstore. Do people still read books? It seems like a no-brainer for me to say no. Yet I get the nagging feeling that this might be needed. I was starting to wake up to the dreariness of living in a screen world. I wonder if other people are feeling the same way? Maybe books are the way out.

I say yes to the bookstore.

Books Galore!

I never would have imagined in my wildest dreams that I would be doing this. Now, I am constantly surrounded by brilliant literature and I have re-discovered what a joy it is to read. I now read incredible books like God’s Smuggler, The Cross and the Switchblade, Unlocking the Bible, A Better Way to Pray, One Thing You Can’t Do in Heaven. These books bring me understanding and comprehension about God in a way that staring at a screen will never be able to compare with.

However, the battle for my spare time still rages on.

Spare Time = Screen or Book?

My default setting if I have spare time now is to go to the screen. If I want to read, I have to make a conscious decision to do so. If I pick up a book to read now, any book, my mind wants to go back to the screen. After reading a page or two, I get bored. Sometimes I fall asleep. Often, I’ll put the book down and do something else. I find it hard to read more than a chapter at a time. My indoctrination will take hard work and perseverance to undo. Unfortunately, I’ve trained my brain to receive gratification from a screen, which never really satisfies. 

Evenings are the hardest. My children are safely in bed and all is quiet. What am I going to do with my spare time? I can choose to blob in front of a screen or I can choose to redeem the time God has given me. Like Cain, sin is crouching at my door. It desires to have me, but I must master it. If I win the battle and read a book, my mind seems more rested in the morning. If I lose, I wake up and my mind feels like lazy mush. I have lost an hour or more to the screen. I tell myself tomorrow will be different.

I don’t have to look far for inspiration. My children are constantly reading. They don’t have personal devices and there is no flickering screen in our lounge. What we do own are a multitude of quality books. These take pride of place on bookshelves covering one wall of our lounge. They’re accessible and they’re not in competition with anything else. 

What ADHD?

My children have learned that, if they have spare time, they read. A lot. None of them suffer from ADHD and they’re no-where near the ‘spectrum’. They’re constantly learning and growing through reading good books.

My bedside dresser currently has around 7-8 books on it. My office desk has another 3-4. I might not finish all of them, but I’m ok with that. I’d much rather be surrounded by books than DVD’s, social media, YouTube or any other screen based distractions.

Start Reading Again

If you’re wanting to rediscover the joy of reading, I’ll provide tips in future blogs/videos. Getting back into reading should be as simple as picking up a book. However, there are steps you can take to make sure you are making the most of your reading time.