Challenge Accepted
By Daniel Stallings, East Sierra Branch
Writers should read. That’s a rule touted across the ages and all the way down the publishing chain. Reading, I always think, functions like refilling the wellspring of your imagination. You are absorbing new ideas, new words, and new ways of telling stories. And usually, there are no issues in convincing people who love books to read more. However, sometimes it’s nice to give yourself an extra incentive to read new things. I’m not talking bribery, but the thrill of achieving an accomplishment.
My best friend is a total film buff. So, several years ago, he took on the challenge of watching every Best Picture Academy Award winner. That’s not as simple as it sounds. Even though we live in the age of streaming, it gets more complicated the further back in time the movies were. Some of the older ones that have gained little to no traction in modern times he had to find on YouTube. But last month, he announced he had done it. He had watched every Best Picture winner—from 1927/28’s Wings to 2020/21’s Nomadland. I wish he blogged about the experience a la Julie and Julia, but that’s a story for another day.
I have been feeling rather listless in my reading in recent months. Pandemic woes have made reading mysteries not as enjoyable as years past, and I wanted to do something fresh and different. Modern mysteries in the style I enjoy most haven’t lived up to their Golden Age predecessors. If you ever knew anything about me, know that I love theatre beyond just attending plays and musicals. I also read scripts and librettos often, enjoying what the actual words and ideas set down by the authors were. Inspired by my best friend’s challenge, I am going to read all the Pulitzer Prize winners for Drama starting from 1918’s Why Marry? by Jesse Lynch Williams to 2021’s The Hot Wing King by Katori Hall.
And I think this is a great thing to do for us word-lovers in the world. Challenge ourselves with something fun. I was told one member planned to read biographies of all the U.S. presidents. A wonderful reading challenge. You could read one novel from your favorite genre set in each of the seven continents. A mystery in Africa? A romance in Antarctica? You could read all the National Book Award recipients. You could read all the non-fiction books written about your favorite historical figure. Reading is vital to our learning and understating as human beings. By giving yourself a fun challenge, you will feel like a champion when you finish. Who doesn’t love the feeling of accomplishment? Do you accept the challenge?
Daniel Stallings wrote “Challenge Accepted”
as his president’s message for
Writers of the Purple Sage,
newsletter of the East Sierra Branch.