By Michael Glenn
I always try, as the old saying goes, to learn something new every day.
Whether it’s a historic fun fact, a useful skill in journalism or simply the answer to a question I couldn’t think of, I try to never stop being curious about the world around me.
Good journalism often starts with a question. If that question cannot be easily answered, you ask more questions. I learned quickly that journalism is surprisingly creative in the fact that you have to think and ask questions about multiple different topics to different people about different things.
This can be tough at some times, especially when there’s little to talk about. There’s never no news, but sometimes it just makes you work a little harder to get to it.
This week has been no different. With the Fourth of July being on a Friday, our news team had to be flexible in finding sources to speak with and work extra hard to produce content this Holiday weekend. I’m proud of the work we’ve been able to do and am looking forward to what we are able to pick up on past the holiday.
So with the extra time I’ve had waiting on phone calls back to me this week, I picked up an old habit I used to be more fluent in when I was doing it daily for nine months out of the year: reading.
I used to only want to read one book at a time, all the way through. However, my reading tastes have evolved from shorter books to long biographies, political commentaries and historic periods.
There’s something intrinsically valuable about reading a physical book rather than something on your phone or tablet. I know that’s ironic coming from the teenager who writes for a living online, but I digress.
I think we can all agree that taking our eyes off screens for a while is a good thing. It allows our eyes to rest and our minds to recharge. I’ve also found that reading books can help with attention spans, critical thinking and always asking more questions.
This summer, I’d encourage all of our readers to pick up a book. Regardless of its content, whether it be fiction or nonfiction, historic or science fiction, liberal or conservative, music or fantasy, read its contents and reflect upon how it can be of benefit to you.
I’m trying this myself, reading for 30 minutes out of the day, uninterrupted. I’d challenge you to find some quiet time, relax and unwind in literature.