WEBVTT - Second Cup: Start a reading project

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio.

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<v Speaker 2>Good Morning. This is Laura.

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 2>Today's tip is to start a reading project. If you

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<v Speaker 2>read just a little bit of something every single day,

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<v Speaker 2>you can make it through something big in a year.

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<v Speaker 2>All you have to do is just keep going. Long

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<v Speaker 2>time Before Breakfast listeners know that in recent years I

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<v Speaker 2>have pursued a few long term reading projects to help

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<v Speaker 2>me make it through some classic works of literature. Many

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<v Speaker 2>of us don't read the great books after we leave school,

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<v Speaker 2>but great books are considered great books for a reason.

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<v Speaker 2>They are often really great. So in twenty twenty one,

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<v Speaker 2>I read through War and Peace at a pace of

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<v Speaker 2>one chapter per day. War and Pieces three hundred and

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<v Speaker 2>sixty one chapters are all very short. By reading a

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<v Speaker 2>ten minute chapter each day, I could savor the book.

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<v Speaker 2>I felt very little resistance to reading, and I didn't

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<v Speaker 2>feel pressure to read fast to make it through. There

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<v Speaker 2>were a few slow moments, but in general I loved

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<v Speaker 2>this tale of Pierre and Natasha and Prince Andre, set

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<v Speaker 2>against the backdrop of Napoleon's invasion of a Russia that

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<v Speaker 2>was slowly lurching toward modernity. Having enjoyed that reading experience,

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<v Speaker 2>in twenty twenty two, I read through all the works

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<v Speaker 2>of Shakespeare. William Shakespeare was an incredibly prolific playwright and poet.

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<v Speaker 2>Even so his lifetime sum of play and poems all

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<v Speaker 2>fit in a oneenty twenty four page anthology. Doing the math,

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<v Speaker 2>I figured that was about three pages a day, spread

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<v Speaker 2>over three hundred and sixty five days. So at that

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<v Speaker 2>pace I read through Twelfth Night and Macbeth, and Romeo

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<v Speaker 2>and Juliet and Midsummer Night's Dream and all the other

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<v Speaker 2>famous plays and then not so famous ones too. Reading

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<v Speaker 2>all the works of Shakespeare only took me about fifteen

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<v Speaker 2>minutes a day, and honestly, that is a fascinating number

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<v Speaker 2>to think about. All that kept me from reading all

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<v Speaker 2>of Shakespeare's work in the past was fifteen minutes a day.

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<v Speaker 2>It turned out to be a very doable project, and

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<v Speaker 2>now I have done it, and I'm really glad I did.

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<v Speaker 2>This year, I planned to read through all the works

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<v Speaker 2>of Jane Austen, well known novels, to be sure, but

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<v Speaker 2>also her Juvenilia and the half completed works from the

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<v Speaker 2>end of her life. By reading her work in its

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<v Speaker 2>entirety at a very slow, doable pace. I hope to

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<v Speaker 2>get to know this author whose works have stood the

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<v Speaker 2>test of time. If any of this sounds appealing to you,

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<v Speaker 2>then now is a great time to start your own

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<v Speaker 2>reading project. Think about what might be worth reading at

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<v Speaker 2>a slow pace over a long period of time. My

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<v Speaker 2>criteria is that it be doable in a few minutes

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<v Speaker 2>a day, spread over a year, and be worth doing.

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<v Speaker 2>That is, the person's work needs to be the sort

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<v Speaker 2>of thing that classes are taught about. Worth doing. Is subjective,

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<v Speaker 2>to be sure, but I think the few minutes a

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<v Speaker 2>day is a wise move. If you bite off too

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<v Speaker 2>ambitious of project, to say, reading war and Piece in

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<v Speaker 2>two weeks, you will probably fall behind, you will have

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<v Speaker 2>a busy day, or you'll get stopped by a slow

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<v Speaker 2>part of the story. Let's just say that the whole

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<v Speaker 2>Freemason plot part sidelines a lot of folks and you

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<v Speaker 2>won't pick it back up. A few minutes a day,

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<v Speaker 2>on the other hand, won't inspire much resistance. Even if

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<v Speaker 2>it is a boring part of the story or an

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<v Speaker 2>annoying part. It is only a few minutes. Even if

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<v Speaker 2>it is a busy day, it is only a few minutes.

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<v Speaker 2>You can do it, and since you can do it,

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<v Speaker 2>you stand a better chance of actually doing it. So

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<v Speaker 2>consider whether there is a book or an author you

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<v Speaker 2>have always wanted to read. Could you make a reading

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<v Speaker 2>project out of it? What would happen if you spread

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<v Speaker 2>the reading out over a year? How much would you

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<v Speaker 2>need to read each day? Does that sound feasible? When

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<v Speaker 2>would you generally make the time? How would you make

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<v Speaker 2>it work on a day with travel or lots of

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<v Speaker 2>other things going on. If you can answer these questions,

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<v Speaker 2>you will be well on your way to finishing something big.

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<v Speaker 2>A year will pass one way or another. You can

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<v Speaker 2>get to the other side of the year having read

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<v Speaker 2>all the works of Shakespeare or the Bible, or War

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<v Speaker 2>in Peace or Jane Austen or anything else. Or you

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<v Speaker 2>can get to the other side of the year not

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<v Speaker 2>having done any of those things. But all that differentiates

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<v Speaker 2>one outcome from the other might be a few minutes

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<v Speaker 2>a day. Small things done repeatedly really do add up.

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<v Speaker 2>If you decide to start a long term reading project,

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<v Speaker 2>I would love to hear about it. You can reach

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<v Speaker 2>me at LEAs Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. In

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<v Speaker 2>the meantime, this is Laura, thanks for listening and here's

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<v Speaker 2>to making the most of our times.

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you. You can

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<v Speaker 1>send me your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just

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<v Speaker 1>connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before

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<v Speaker 1>Breakfast Pod. That's b E the number four then Breakfast pod.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled

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<v Speaker 1>out with all the letters. Thanks so much.

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<v Speaker 2>Should I look forward to staying in touch.

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts

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