I love you. Reading and Relationships.

What's the relationship between Reading & Relationships?

If you can approach a relationship the same way you approach reading a book. You will not only succeed but enjoy it tremendously.

Hence the saying; 'you can read a person like a book' 

Doing both well simply requires only one thing - Paying Attention. 

My obsession with books heightened when I spent some time working and travelling with the world's largest retailer of analogue books. I enjoyed every moment of the job. I especially loved the view from my office which overlooked the cavernous book warehouses on the premises. I felt cocooned, coddled, and privileged to be in the presence of millions of books. 

When not in the office, we took the show on the road traversing the region bringing stories, delight, and knowledge to the far reaches of Indonesia, Philippines, Pakistan, Myanmar, the Middle East, Sabah, Sarawak, Taiwan, Korea, and also throughout Malaysia.

Perhaps the best part of the job was when all the books we ship are finally sorted, catalogued, and displayed in the huge halls we occupy for ten days in each location. I get to feast on the thousands of titles on display and even browse titles of interest and later purchase them for my collection. Also equally delightful is when I get to chat with people of all ages, vocations, and sizes about what's happening in their part of the world. Made many friends and book recommendations that way. 

It must be said that when our book sale comes to town, things get pretty frenetic and even chaotic. 

It is an event much anticipated as no other can bring this many titles at such rock bottom prices. 

Taipei has got to be one of the most intense cities in my experience. This very aggressive Asian economic powerhouse is mainly driven by tiger mums fighting for a better life for their young ones. 

They know it is books that will determine a better life for their future. Especially English books.  

I observe the same sentiment exists in most locations we traverse to.

 

Mothers and parents of this age realize the immense power of analogue books in the digital age. 

Go figure.

On a similar tack, building relationships in the digital age must also harness the power of tangible, physical presence called the human touch. No one can deny that human beings need physical proximity, interaction, and touch. That is what separates us from mere interactions in the virtual space. 

Just as online books and audio editions of books can deliver the message, the printed form takes a physical shape that rests in the palms of our hands. We gently caress the cover and the pages, turning them over and over with our fingers with each page and each chapter, allowing the words to flow from each page of printed ink across the paper transforming the message and meaning into our eyes, through our senses, and into the mind. 

The message sinks in, we sit back and reflect upon the subtlety of the story or severity of the sentence. 

We remember to catch our breath and along with it, the scent of the wood in the paper upon which the entire book was printed. Suitably aroused and intoxicated with the physical ritual with good amounts of dopamine and endorphins produced, we dive in for more. This sequence of love-making to a book can also be applied to that of a lover.

The act of reading a physical book or the act of interacting with a person in person is different from an online experience simply because the online experience restricts communication only to the mind level. Whereas physicality engages our whole being, our human experience is a totally physical one that engages all of our body parts, mind, heart, and life energies.

This is probably what it means to have a human experience with all our sense perceptions. 

What book/s are you reading now? 

Or are you currently in a relationship?

 

Remember... to enjoy them just pay close attention.