Kurt Vonnegut's idea, which Grant shares, that reading is a form of meditation: sit, breathe, focus intensely on the words, finish calm and happy. Tamir adds that the happiness comes because reading is work, like exercise.
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- Seeing Vonnegut speak in Toronto
In the 1990s Grant saw Kurt Vonnegut speak in Toronto: animated and full of warmth. Vonnegut said when his wife and daughter took up meditation he replied that he reads, which is his…
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He said, well, I read. I sit, I breathe deeply, I focus very intensely on these words that I'm reading, I feel calm, and when I'm finished reading I feel happy.
- Reading satisfies because it is work
Like exercise, reading releases its pleasure because it is effortful. It is an active activity, not a passive one, which is also why it meets more resistance.