Exercise for your right to read. For fun

A few weeks ago I attended the Manchester Literature Festival event ‘Bio Punk’ in an attempt to inspire a friend who loved writing to not succumb to the apathy that so often hinders those who love writing from becoming the authors they want to be. The event was based around a book of short stories, BioPunk, written by authors who had talked to scientists working on a variety of projects to get inspiration for their work, a few of whom (both involved parties) were at this event. Instead I found that not only had my friend been inspired to write, but I had been inspired to read again…for fun.

This is unfortunately a concept that had long since been lost to me. Since starting university and a humanities course, I have been reading chapters of theory and practice so often that the thought of reading in general sends a chill through my bones (a reaction common to many other students I have spoken to). Yet I ended up at an event that reminded me how, in so many ways, fiction is not just escapism, but offers so much more (emotion, inspiration, dreams and ideas) so much more immediately than academia ever could. Fiction brings to life ideas and emotions in a way that I had forgotten about: it inspires action; it can challenge ideas of how the world should be, and allow our imagination not to be hindered by ‘reality’ (the daily proximity of which so often cripples the creative spark).

It took three scientists and two authors debating the role of literature, to challenge other subject areas and open them up to a wider audience, to remind me of what I have been missing out on in the last three years. As fantastic an experience this was, I felt compelled to write this for those of you who haven’t yet remembered the joys and intrigues of reading a book for fun, rather than for an essay. Since the event I have been reading Terry Pratchett’s Carpe Jugulum, and What on Earth Happened: The Planet, Life and People from The Big Bang to the Present Day by Christopher Lloyd – which is a fantastic book that you can dip in and out of, and all the history of the world you could need, plus great diagrams and explanations.

I want to remind you: Reading is not all about work. Fiction is inspiring and empowering. And above all, DO NOT let academia kill this for you. So go out to your library, bookshop or just to your local Amazon and enjoy the empowerment of reading what you choose, for your own benefit rather than what academia tells you to.