Reading, Reading, Reading...

Ah, reading. If there is anything journalism students hear over and over and over again, it's the importance of reading.

As many of my journalism professors have said, every good journalists reads. To be a good writer, you must be an avid reader.  Sadly, I find it's the easiest thing to skip in a busy schedule.

It's logical, though. How are writers (specifically me), supposed to improve if they don't read other writing?

So, you ask, what do I read? 

I've become a feature writer, rather than a news writer. It didn't necessarily start that way, but I soon found that I had no desire to pursue anything other than writing. I like stories that allow me to be creative, and stories that tell of something or someone special and stories that make a difference.  Because of that, I try to read a lot of feature stories. I read the news, but I only read it to be informed of the world around me.

One of the series I like is The Neediest Cases  in the New York Times. The Neediest Cases stories are about different New York families that are helped by the New York Times Neediest Cases Fund. The feature stories written about the families are similar to the stories I like to write, so I enjoy reading them not only for pleasure but also to learn.

I also try to read The New Yorker. I like to read some of their essays and feature stories when I can, although I don't get the chance very often.  I keep up with Christianity Today, as well.  Not only do I really like there stories (for myself, mostly), but I also want to work at a Christian magazine when I graduate.

For news, I read the USA Today. I don't really look at anything else, except the Wall Street Journal occasionally.  Like I said, I read the USA Today to stay informed, and it's easier for me to persuade myself to sit and read the news than to sit and watch the news.

I also prefer to read books rather than a bunch of articles. I have a long list of summer reading books, which includes British classics, American favorites, historical books (like David McCullough's "1776") and literary journalism. There's more literary journalism on the list than anything else.

I think reading is something that's sometimes taken for granted. I think it's very easy to skip a day's reading, especially considering everything each of us has going on in our lives. However, I also think if we make a commitment to read every day, then we will see our writing improve tremendously.