Restoring Sanity, One Book at a Time

Written By: Shivansh Shandilya Civil | B.Tech. III

What is your average reading speed? If it’s 200 words per minute (wpm), congratulations! You are officially an average reader, according to readingsoft. com. When I found this website a few years ago, I was excited. Finally, a parameter to gauge my reading prowess. When I took the test, I expected to kill it, clocking 700 wpm at the very least. After all, I had been regularly reading my Blytons, Christies, Kings, Sheldons, Rowlings, Grishams, Greens, and Browns since childhood. That should be enough to create a world of difference, right? Needless to say, I didn’t fare much better than the average reader (with a pathetic 200 wpm and 60% comprehension). I was devastated. I didn’t dare question the credibility of the test or the authenticity of its pattern. It’s incredibly convenient to undermine the authority and shift the blame. Classic. Human. Nature.

Instead, I succumbed to another example of classic human nature — pessimism. Contrary to what most pop culture and social media influencers would have you believe, the world is not filled with Chris Gardners in their Pursuit of Happyness — fighting against all odds, smiling in the face of adversity, and emerging victorious. Most people, left to their devices, spiral down the rabbit hole of negative thoughts and emotions. It’s the ‘Default Factory Setting’ in the Human Machine.

So, I wallowed in self-pity. I selfdiagnosed a possible learning disorder, some other cognitive issues, and possible aphantasia (definitely worth a google search). At the end, I concluded that my life is screwed and I will never amount to anything — all at the ripe age of 17. These are all perks of being a ‘Freelance Overthinker’, in case you were wondering if I was being dramatic. It’s a fine line.

Resultantly, I pretty much stopped reading anything that was non-academic (also, unconsciously, everything that was academic) for the next two-odd years in my involuntary quest to crack a tough competitive exam (and get out of the poop-hole for good). One can imagine how well that must have gone. At the end of the torture session, I felt like my brain had been put through a blender. So, like most self-respecting daydreamers seeking imaginary glory, I invested my time in YouTube for help. And eventually, it came through. I realized that reading helps the brain grow and that it was a mistake to have stopped in the first place. I figured I would have to retrace my steps. And I did.

My reading habits have improved dramatically, thanks to a conscious, concerted effort on my part to not be a loser and a victim. Discovering classics like Wodehouse and Bond, rediscovering forgotten, old titles like Three Men In a Boat, and contemporary writers like Karan Bajaj and Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni helped set the wheels in motion. In these times of despair, when news is overwhelmingly negative and life seems to have come to a standstill, I realized that I could at least get lost in the fantastical worlds of Gaiman and Zusak and forget about my problems for a while. It also taught the reader in me an important lesson — maturity is knowing that it doesn’t matter how fast you read, but how often.