I heard this line at a writers group, no less. This line is turning into a common remark that I hear each and every time I appear somewhere.

I’ve heard it from people you’d never imagine, too. Teachers, librarians, parents who wonder why their children don’t read, and, yes, other writers.

Who has time to read?

The remark stuns me each and every time. You make time to read. Like you make time for anything else important. If your job involves books, reading, or learning, why are you holding yourself back? Why are you refusing to better yourself? Why set the bad example? Why don’t you want to read?

Not to read tells yourself and those around you (ahem, parents and teachers) that it isn’t important. You are setting the example that books are what you do when you don’t have time for anything else.

My grandson asked me just yesterday why I was reading a different book that day. We were on our way to Ju Jitsu and I read in the lulls between lessons. I told him that I finished the last one. He asked how many books I read, and I said I try for one book every week or two. He was impressed. This is the child in our family who didn’t take to reading easily. Made my day to impress him . . . about reading.

If you hold a career or responsibility that should speak books, and you aren’t actively practicing the art of reading books, you are telling the world (and yourself) that you do not take books seriously. You make time for what is important. And writers . . . you ought always to be reading a book. Even when you are writing. Especially when you are writing. It greases the skids, so to speak.