Retreat - Reading & Research

Part 3 in our mini-series on "retreat"

Photo by Josh Applegate on Unsplash

Usually my December Unschool posts are three in number: the usual mixed-up first of the month post, followed by two on the 7/8th and mid-month. Then I take a break.

This year I’m doing something different. The first of the month post—always, yes. But then I started to write about writing “retreat,” and realized it would turn into a book, so am now working on a short-ish post every few days to add to thoughts on this topic (this one is on the long side! I apologize!).

This post will be about reading, and its role in retreat; I brought up focus in the opening post, and focus is central. Core. In the second post, I questioned the “retreat to” and “retreat from” qualities of the word.

I’ll go on with the series to look at elements—the Ws of the thing, where, when, and more, trusting they’ll weave together into something useful. Hoping it’ll be a direction to ponder in the coming year, or a touchstone through the madness of holiday times.

Reading—mostly for pleasure

I have memories of being a kid on a bike—purple, with a large basket—going to rummage sales and filling the basket with books, and heading home. A summer day meant one book. A perfect day was ended with starting yet another. I slept outside and read until the sun went down. Amazing how once your eyes are focused on the words you can read into the dark.

That was the beginning of writing though I didn’t know it at the time.

The element of reading for sheer pleasure—as I did then—evaporated once I began to write, once I began to scrutinize pages and sentences to learn how. Of course, I’d been learning about writing all along. But it wasn’t a conscious thing.

Now I read for three reasons: research for a project or because I’m interested in something (which usually turns into a project); fiction or memoir to learn from another’s process; and pleasure.

Why does “pleasure” come last?