"Writing teachers hate this one weird trick..."😉

Jokes aside, today's post is about the best strategy for getting better at writing...without even writing anything!

One of my fondest childhood memories is when I read 51 books in the summer after 3rd grade. You see, whoever wrote the school newsletter made a typo in the June edition: intending to write, “Students who read FIFTEEN or more books this summer will receive an ice-cream sundae in September,” they wrote, “Students who read FIFTY or more books this summer will receive an ice-cream sundae in September.”

As a committed bibliophile (and ice-cream-o-phile!) I took on the challenge. I think I spent more time reading that summer than I spent playing, swimming, eating, and sleeping combined 😂. My 2001 summer journal documents this mighty feat:

Yup, I read and recorded all 51 books 🤓

(If you would like to see more cute summer and travel journal snaps, click here. And if any parents out there would be excited to follow in my remarkable mom’s footsteps in creating fabulous and fun reading, writing, and math summer journals for their children, I bet she can rustle up templates from her files—reach out to me to ask!

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While I have never repeated this improbable summer book tally, I continued to read voraciously throughout my childhood, and I am convinced that my obsession with reading is the root of my love for writing and skill as a writer today.

My experience as a teacher supports this hypothesis: after the first writing assignment each fall, I casually ask students who demonstrate superb writing skills whether they are big readers; without fail, they say yes.

Now, as the wife of a statistical geneticist, I am (overly…) aware of the need to avoid confounding correlation with causation. Of course, people for whom verbal skills come easily are more likely to enjoy reading and writing. That said, I am firmly convinced that EVERY person can develop a love of reading and would greatly benefit from doing so, not only to support their growth in writing skills but also to support life-long learning, positive mental health, the development of empathy, and connection to our global (and interstellar!) community, past and present, human and beyond.

Here are my “two cents” on how EVERYONE can learn to love reading:

1. If you or someone you love does not like reading, they might be facing an undiagnosed or undertreated language-based learning disability. Even the slightest concern about your or your child’s natural ease with reading and writing warrants asking questions. Check out this resource from the outstanding Landmark School on the North Shore of Massachusetts to learn more about this topic. Reading skills are eminently teachable AND there are additional options for those who struggle with reading words on the page, including listening to audiobooks—which absolutely DOES count as reading.

2. In addition, someone who does not like reading might not have found books and/or periodicals that interest them yet. Librarians and teachers are terrific resources for reading recommendations, are the resources listed in this NYT article (also summarized below). In addition, for reading suggestions for middle-grade students (the age when children often “fall out of love” with reading), I highly recommend the work of my oldest friend and fellow educator, Kara Rubino, who runs Riley Reads (also on Instagram here).

At last, to get back to my thesis, this is why I believe that reading often and well is the root of developing exemplary writing skills: as we read widely, we absorb the vocabulary, syntax, themes, tone, empathy, perceptiveness, clarity, creativity, and diversity of excellent writing. In a sense, we grow attuned to the rhythm of how truth can be told with letters, and in doing so, we are able to bring our own ideas and voice to life on the page.

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As I am an expert on writing rather than reading, I am not going to independently opine any further about how and why we read. Instead, I’d like to summarize and link several enlightening resources on the subject.

1. Definitely check out this recent NYT article entitled “How to Be a Better Reader." The tips in the article are quite pithy, but I’ll summarize just the titles here:

   1. Choose the Right Book

   2. Make a Reading Plan

   3. Read More Deeply

   4. Read More Critically

   5. Explore Different Formats

   6. Read More Socially

2. Curious about the latest (and very promising) movement in teaching reading? This overview of the new “Science of Reading” movement is fascinating. The key takeaway: phonics is back, with ample research to prove its effectiveness.

3. Looking for a deep dive into the work of perhaps the most eminent expert on reading today? Check out this episode of the Ezra Klein Show featuring Maryanne Wolf (also a personal friend of my mother-in-law and by all accounts an absolutely delightful person).

Finally, I’d also like to share the challenge that I am posing for myself this summer and invite you all to join me: I will admit, the hectic lifestyle of middle-school teaching has gotten me out of my old reading habits; I think I’ve only read about five books since September, and my news consumption has shrunk to reading the New York Times Morning Newsletter daily (a highly recommended resource, though!).

As such, I am committing to this summer challenge:

1. I’ve resubscribed to the print edition of The New Yorker, and I intend to read at least two pieces from each magazine.

2. I am also going to spend 30-45 minutes before bed each night reading OFF my computer/phone, whether using my Kindle, listening to an audiobook (which DOES count as reading!), or reading a printed book/magazine.

Leave a comment below if you are going to join me in this challenge, and share what you will be doing to enrich your life through reading this summer! 📚😎