We all have our comfort zones. From choosing where to hang out to a certain way of approaching work, there are habits we’ve grown accustomed to, styles we feel at ease with. This can also reflect in our taste of movies, food, even books. We can tend to gravitate towards a specific genre. That’s not a bad thing at all, especially if it fuels an interest beyond reading. A colleague loves reading maritime books because of his love for sailing. A friend dives deep into stories set during the medieval times, fascinated by life during that century. Sometimes we like a particular genre because it’s simply stress relief. That would be chick lit for me – my version of the light, romantic comedy.
One of my mentors advised me though that to be better at what we do, no matter what profession you are in, you not only have to read more but to read wide. This means picking up a book or a magazine you normally would not go for, but reading it anyway. The purpose? To expand your knowledge, and perhaps even expand your interests. What can happen for sure is that you have handy information when striking up conversations with friends and strangers too. Because you have read wide, you have more to talk about.
How exactly do you read wide though? There may be initial resistance to reading a book outside your comfort zone genre. How exactly do you choose what other genre to go for?
If you always go for style magazines, move a little to the left or right and try a different magazine topic.
An initial hesitation to expanding your reading fare would be “I don’t want to spend on something I might not like.” That’s a fair reason, but it should not ultimately stop you from reading wide. Pick up a random magazine or book – in the waiting areas of a clinic, at home, in the library, at the bookstore. Choose reading material you would not normally pick. If you always choose books from the biography section, move a little and go for the travel section. If the magazine before you at your doctor’s clinic is a celebrity magazine and that’s not up your alley, go pick it up anyway. You may find yourself forcing yourself to read at first, but trust the process. Flip through the pages. Read the blurbs. You may pick up some interesting tidbits. You don’t have to read the whole reading material just yet, but to simply get a feel for it. But if you could read the whole book or magazine, go for it!
You’ll be surprised at the little pieces of information you pick up. I don’t read men’s health magazines, preferring to leave that reading to my husband. One time, I picked up one his magazines though and stumbled upon an article on Green Juice recipes – something we’re both interested in. It made for another source of conversation for us, and we eventually prepared one of the green juice recipes together. Now, when we buys his men’s health magazines, I thumb through the pages and see if any articles stand out again that can benefit both of us.
What is your favorite person reading?
Another way to expand your reading fare would be to check out what your favorite personalities are reading. Who is your favorite actress? Do you follow a certain blogger? Do you want to learn more from your company’s CEO but are too shy or don’t have the connection with him? Make a mental list of the people you look up to. Then find out what their favorite books are. Celebrities are easy – they’re just a Google search away. Oprah has a piece on “12 Celebrities on their Favorite Books”. If you like Daniel Radcliffe, know that his favorite novel is “The Master and Margarita” by Mikhail Bulgakov. Rachel McAdams laughs out loud to David Sedaris’ “When You Are Engulfed in Flames”.
For writers you look up to, why not drop them a note? Leave a comment on their website. For bloggers you admire, they would most likely love to engage in a conversation with you too – leave a comment on their blog. For your colleagues and even your CEO, asking about what they’re currently reading makes for a great conversation starter.
Ask for recommendations. A straightforward way of expanding your reading fare is to simply ask for reading recommendations. Ask your friends, your officemates, the customer service attendant at the bookstore. They will throw various titles at you, and not all will be from the same genre. If they are, pick the title that’s outside your comfort zone genre and give that a go.
If you’re shy about approaching others, you can review what’s recommended on the Bestsellers List of the week. These are often posted in bookstores and you can take your cue from there.
Screen shot from TED talks on “Books”.
Finally, read about reading. Better yet, listen to or watch talks about books. TED has a section on its website that is a collection of TED talks on the topic of books. Watch Ann Morgan’s talk on “My year reading a book from every country in the world”. Check out Karen Thompson Walker’s talk on “What fear can teach us”. How about Benjamin Wallace’s talk on “The price of happiness”? Some of these talks may not be about reading specifically, but they offer insights and information that pique your interest in another genre.
There are many benefits to expanding your reading fare. There’s more ammo for small talk. You can learn a lot more than just the usual twists and turns you’ve grown accustomed to. Reading more is a wonderful thing, but reading wide is a lot more valuable. Go for it! Step outside your reading comfort zone and see your world become bigger, deeper, richer.