Empathy 101

Reading is an act of empathy. It's all about imagining what it's like to be someone else. And it can be very powerful! Let's celebrate #BookLoversDay by thinking about how & why we read.

@crashcourse

So yesterday was #BookLoversDay and I realized that that quote by @crashcourse is totally true. We used to joke that we would never, ever, fuck anybody who didn't have books at their house when we were TAs, but it became a real mantra even after I finished school. I've never fucked anybody who did not show signs of reading at least a little or was interested in some kind of activity that would help them be in touch with themselves to a certain extent. 

There's something about somebody who can get lost in a book -be it a work of fiction or non-fiction- that makes you think that they can, indeed, make abstractions and be able to reason at a different level to someone who gets their news, from, let's say, Facehook or that 'News' channel. Yeah, I'm looking at you, MAGAts, Repuglyclowns and anti-vaxxers. So yes, based on my spotty (yet slightly prolific) experience, fucking someone who reads is much more entertaining than fucking someone who cannot think their way out of a paper bag. 

So in honor of #BookLoversDay I'll share that I just started reading The Greatest Place on Earth, by Jeff Weisman. Because one, I have more time in the summer and can spend some hours a day just chilling and reading and two, I know the author (isn't that fun to say that we know the author of the book we're reading?). I think it's super cool to be able to actually WRITE a book or a story and I really tip my hat off to people who can do it. People like our very own Dave or Rick Reed, who have their own books (I think that Big was thinking about publishing something, too). Or like Upton, who gets us all riled up with his reviews of fantastic vintage erotica and Bob, who gives us little reading treats once in awhile. 

Truly, I'm really not picky about what you read as long as you read something. From serious books and biographies to fanfic or erotica, reading literally fulfills the need to satiate a sense of curiosity and lets us see the world in a different manner every time we open a book. Also, men like John Green here give me the tingle to mingle. Yeah, I may be a closet sapiosexual.  

I definitely agree with the assertion that reading (and writing) does help us understand other people's experiences and the way other people imagine or see the world. That's why I am so surprised when I find out that somebody who appears to be a good reader actually shows a narrow view of the world and little empathy for other human beings. It's rare but it happens. Surprises are bound to pop up when we talk about people. Many of us got the hang of reading early in life or through schooling but we always have to remember that books exist just for us. We, as readers, are their raison d'être. Reading is an ongoing conversation between a writer and a reader, between two people's worlds. And it's a conversation always worth having. 

So go grab a book. And enjoy being empathic and looking sexy.

Happy reading!

XOXO