I Hate Reading…There I Said It

A lie I have been convincing myself doesn’t exist

‘’You can always lie to others and hide your actions from them…but you cannot fool yourself.’’ — Abraham Lincoln

Yes, I own a publication on Medium, I have more than 200 stories on my reading list, and I have even subscribed to the Medium membership program.

But that doesn’t change the fact that I hate to read.

Ever since I have joined Medium, the one tip that every great writer has sworn by is to read the work of other people. Doing that apparently gives us a new perspective, a new approach, or even better — a new topic idea.

But I don’t think I am ever looking for a topic idea in someone else’s story and I am too lazy to read stories just to find a new perspective. I would rather snuggle with my pink teddy bear in a cozy blanket and binge-watch some series on Netflix.

So what is it that makes me read on Medium, every day?

I mean if I see my reading patterns, it has improved tremendously in the past year. Earlier, I would struggle to read even for five minutes, and now I gobble down 6–10 stories per day, and each being on average, a five-minute read.

Medium’s Symbiotic System’s is the Key

When I was relatively new on Medium, I didn’t have many people to follow. Terry was one of the first people to read and comment on my stories and I kind of read his stories to understand how writing on this platform works.

But now when I think of it that I was trying to learn the rules — said and unsaid from Terry Mansfield, I feel what a great start I had.

He was the first person I had spoken to via comments and I was thrilled to call him by his name, something I never thought I would.

Terry wasn’t just someone who was reading and responding to all my stories, he also taught me a lot through just his comments or private notes. He inspired me without knowing what would inspire me to go the right way.

And to tell you the truth, I first got hooked on his articles more than anyone else’s. I mean can you blame me, even a non-reader like me can get engaged in his stories, especially when he presents his entire life in front of us like a comprehensive map.

One of his stories really gave me that push I needed. And that story was about reciprocity. A story that changed me and my reading patterns.

Simply put, the idea was to reciprocate what you expect from people. I would watch him reading everyone’s stories and leaving such a beautiful comment which I thought was sure to make that writer go back and do the same for him.

He made the art of reciprocity so beautiful, I still can’t believe it.

Then came others like inspirations in my life like Dr. Preeti Singh, Dr. Fatima Imam, Trista Signe Ainsworth, Upasana Sharma, Dr. Amy Pierovich, Josh Balerite Acol, Brajendra Kumar, amongst many others (Sorry I haven’t listed them all) who reinstated the importance of reciprocation on Medium for me.

It started with reading one person’s articles and with time this habit kept multiplying and now I am reading stories of even those who don’t even follow me, let alone reading my work.

And I feel so amused that I have come way above the reciprocity thing and I am getting hooked onto reading just for the sake of it and not in the hope that the writer will visit my profile and clap and comment on my latest stories.

I can vouch for this because sometimes I don’t even clap or comment on their stories, I just read it in silence, appreciate their work in my heart and leave. Sometimes, it feels right to not engage in any kind of exchange of words and just read and leave.

Starting Moon Light Confessions Was the Best Decision Ever

Can you imagine the horror of a non-reader to have decided to start their own publication?

Having my own publication meant, reading, reading, reading, and then editing, and editing, and then some more editing, and then some more reading.

You see there?

That’s a lot more reading than I would actually be comfortable with but you know what, it isn’t as terrifying anymore as it used to be.

I love to see when I get an email that someone has submitted to Moon Light Confessions. All I think of is to get their work published at the earliest.

Yesterday, I remember switching off my laptop and checking my emails to ensure I hadn’t missed anything and as a matter of fact, I had. I had forgotten that Rebecca Warfield had sent a submission and it already had been six hours since her submission.

And stalling it further would mean her story not getting published for at least another 8 hours or so which was way too long. It would also exceed the 12-hour turnaround period I had mentioned in my submission guidelines and I didn’t want to break that rule.

So I quickly switched on my laptop, went to the story submissions, and published her work.

Now what’s interesting is how one thing led to another.

I know how it feels if an editor of a certain publication publishes your work but doesn’t comment or clap for it. It feels weird and not good at all.

In fact, I felt about it so strongly that I had even written a poem about it.

Sometimes, I am not able to follow up with the story immediately and I feel terrible about it, but my highest priority is to get the story out and about. And also because I don’t want to just skim the story but actually read it with full engagement.

It means a lot to me to read, clap, highlight, and comment on each of the stories sent to Moonlight without fail.

It’s like welcoming guests to my home and being the sweetest host ever.

In Closing

I am not saying that I am the best reader out there, but yes, if I am reading and commenting on your story, that’s because you are very special to me and that your story connected to me in a very special way.

Thank you every one for being so sweet to me all along.

I really appreciate this gesture. And I promise to read more of your work, not just as a matter of reciprocity but also because I really want to take away something new from you.

Bhavna Narula, 2021. All rights reserved. Thanks a lot for reading. :)