8 Meaningful Reasons I’ve Read 1,825 Hours In 1,825 Days

Why — and how — I began, and how you can gain all the same benefits if you show up.

Over the last 1,825 days, or 5 years (ignoring the extra day in a leap year), I’ve read 1,825 hours.

This has strictly included non-fiction books spanning a broad spectrum.

I want to shine a bright light on what led to me picking my first paperback up. Then, I will describe why I’ve managed to stay loyal to this activity (my personally experienced reasons for staying the course), racking up all these hours.

I will explain these in an oversimplified manner, sans the fluff and habit-based psychology.

To end, I will provide a few friendly recommendations for the eager/curious individual.

Genesis

Many people who enjoy reading do so after being exposed to books by their parents, or through childhood conditioning. A child in a house full of colourful books may have a head start with reading.

I wasn’t gifted that lottery ticket.

My folks weren’t — and still aren’t — readers. They enjoy the front page of the physical newspaper, and they also relish long forwarded messages on WhatsApp (mostly arriving from other family members), all of which have an embedded positive message, or a heartfelt story.

But this is the ceiling of their relationship to reading.

I was first exposed to a Harry Potter book at age 17 — gifted to me by an aunt. I was in grade 12, and one summer, while visiting my grandmother in Bangalore, India, I devoured the book in a fortnight.

My mind ran wild with an artistic imagination, and with vivid dreams, for the next few weeks. I was consistently dreaming of the characters in the book. And when I wasn’t asleep, I would picture them through the day. This initial — and inadvertent — brush with a book left a lasting impression on my fluid, teenage mind.

I distinctly recall feeling enhanced concentration, an elevated ability to focus, and an easier access to descriptive words in my speech after my first encounter with an entire book, cover to cover.

At that unstable age, I wasn’t able to take inventory of that meditative experience. And so I let it pass. I didn’t touch a book for 8 years after that, until the ripe age of 25.

I had just moved to London, England, and was looking for a permanent job. My academic experience was marketing-oriented, and so I scavenged the web for suitable marketing-related roles.

Most of the job descriptions, for most of the roles, looked like mirror images, as though one person had pasted the same cookie-cutter description across multiple job boards.

It was incredibly mundane, text-heavy, and utterly boring.

But while I was applying, a peculiar job description caught my fleeting attention. It was a marketing-based role, but in the requirements for the qualifications, it said, “A large part of this role involves digging beneath the surface and exploring the customer’s mindset. Be prepared, in your interview, to be questioned about books by Malcolm Gladwell and the like.”

This stumped me completely. I sat up in my chair and reread the Greek.

Not only was I unaware of who Malcolm Gladwell was, but I immediately moved on to the next job, blinded by the assumption that I lacked the intelligence to qualify for even a first round interview at this job, which was clearly designed for the highest echelons of humankind.

I was consumed by impostor syndrome, and suffered from insomnia that night.

But the next morning, I mustered the courage to visit a local bookstore, in the meagre hope of locating a book by this unknown man named Malcolm Gladwell.

I saw it leaning against the corner of the bottom aisle in the “Smart Thinking” section of the store. Reluctantly, I bought it and read 5 pages a day. I was a slow reader. I still am, though I now read significantly more than 5 pages a day.

Every time I laid the book down (it was Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell), I noticed myself descending into deep thought about what I’d just read. The residue from this analysis would last for up to a few days.

But what had me hooked was the notion that I could elevate myself above the material world I inhabited, peering with curious eyes into authors’ interesting lives, their well-earned observations of the world, and the earnest advice they transmitted through their books.

This new world was suddenly so accessible. It was conveniently portable. It amplified my heretofore narrow paradigm, and the prism I used to guide my life. It was breathtaking and world-shattering, and this timely exposure to my first, proper non-fiction book will always be remembered as one of the top five “hallmark moments” of my life.

Here I am, recording it. And it feels tremendously wonderful.

My novel reading habit helped me secure my job in London because of my newly enhanced learning skill, which was made evident by my superior test-taking ability, as a prerequisite for the job I landed.

I didn’t apply to the job that required me to read Gladwell.

But I am eternally grateful to that employer for the sparkling job description. It literally changed the direction of my life.

8 Reasons I Persistently Read An Hour A Day

Stimulating exchanges

Some of the most interesting and thought-provoking conversations I’ve had in life have been with people who’ve read from an extensive library of books.

In my opinion, these people are not just able to clearly articulate their points of view, but are crisp in their communication, tight in their descriptions, and often display radical candour because of how broadly they’ve travelled the world through the page.

They illuminate alternate ways of thinking and living that aid me on my undying quest for wanting to unpack the contents of the world.

The beast of impostor syndrome

Reading has eliminated the curse of impostor syndrome I was plagued with a mere 5 years ago. This effect has had an infinitely skyward expression, and like the miracle of compound interest in finance, this gift of learning forever expands in concentric circles to satisfy more of my thirst for knowledge. I don’t feel like an outsider in any circumstance, anywhere.

Nurtured human bonds

My relationships with my kin have grown deeper because of my devotion to books. Because I naturally think of most subjects from multiple perspectives (attributed to the consumption of books), I subconsciously leverage that to read between the lines of what someone is trying to communicate.

This has led me down a road to unbreakable — and heartfelt — links with people I hold dear.

Love and passion

I’ve attracted into my life a girl who loves to read just as much as I do. We share books.

But crucially, one of our first conversations also centred on books — and the virtues they engender, the wisdom they gift, and the freedom they enable.

Pointed articulation

I’m more direct in my written and verbal expression. I know what I aim to say, and for the most part, am able to say it without hesitation or confusion — even without confounding the person I’m directing it at. The entire credit for this lies with the books I digest.

Desirable empathy

I can listen to people for long stretches of time without being distractible, because when I launch my day with an hour-long, dedicated reading session, it promotes a sturdy attention span that’s at my beckon call all day. This has improved the quality of empathy I’m able to offer to people, thus enlarging the surface area available for strong bonds and mutual trust.

Words are like musical notes

Writing long and short-form articles seem incredibly easy and enjoyable. And this doesn’t spring from an overconfidence in my skill level, nor am I suggesting that reading necessarily makes writing simple.

In my case, the opportunity to apply myself to a piece of writing (even high-quality emails) excites me. It doesn’t scare me, or put me on the back foot.

I view the task as a chance to engage unencumbered joy, and to deploy all the juicy words I’ve learned over the years — in order to get my stated point across, based on the audience I’m writing for.

My reference for comparison is my thesis from my Master’s degree, a decade ago, when I hadn’t read more than a single book in my life. Although I managed a high distinction, the quality of my writing from that period makes me queasy and uneasy. But that’s what we can call progress and growth.

Wrote my way to career growth

Because of all the books — and hours — I’ve read, I’ve called into my life a plethora of enthralling work opportunities, all of which have been related, in some way or another, to writing exceptionally well — displaying a command of the language beyond a baseline conversational style.

Even being invited to apply for such opportunities, 5 years ago, would’ve been an untouchable fantasy for me. I would never have placed a bet on myself obtaining such projects if I hadn’t picked that first Gladwell up.

That simple decision — one that has stood the test of time — transformed the course of my life.

This is why I’ve read 1,825 hours in 1,825 days, and why that number will be dwarfed by a healthy five-figure digit at the end of my life.

How you can gain all of the benefits above, and more

I pray that you glean some valuable information from this post. Reading books — and reading in general — is the cornerstone of success of some of brightest and most accomplished people currently living. And even if we don’t read for “success,” a good fiction book offers a promising escape, and the potential for a new lens with which to experience the world.

I know I will begin reading fiction at some point. I’m just waiting for the perfect story to call — and hold — my attention.

Reading doesn’t have to be limited to physical books. The advent of technology has given rise to various other forms for consuming the knowledge of the world. These include —

• online courses (Coursera/Udemy — these will help you learn useful new skills, in addition to expanding your knowledge)
• digital books (read on your smartphone or other digital devices)
• social media (you can tailor your respective feeds to reflect the knowledge you’re seeking, as opposed to mindlessly using it to satisfy an instant feedback loop through likes and comments)
• audio-books (listen on your morning commute)
• live seminars and conferences (once they’re permitted again)
• webinars

My own preference in this lifetime sides with the crisp white pages of a pristine hardback, or an ergonomically-designed paperback. It’s a one-on-one relationship that reserves a sacred and intimate chamber in my heart. I love not only the knowledge I gain through reading, but the act of reading, too, and my time spent disengaged from everyday life.

But for you, based on your view of the utility of such an activity, you may value live seminars above all else — enjoying learning with other, equally enthusiastic people by your side. Or you may relish listening to audio-books at 2.5X the regular speed, because your goal may be to acquire vast quantities of information in the least invested time.

Whatever your goal is, my friendly recommendation, from having ploughed through 1,825 hours in the same number of days, is to show up no matter what else is unfolding in your life — positively or negatively skewed.

Two plus two equals four. But five thousand plus five thousand equals ten thousand. This is the quantum leap my simple — and daily — act has endowed me with, and now I hand the flame to you.

Read to explore new perspectives. Read to learn more about yourself and your decisions. And read to connect with the world, because that is all that all of us are — a part of planet Earth.