One thing I enjoy about difficult, dense books is how I feel my mind adapt to their rhythm. I recently picked up Nietzsche’s Human, All Too Human after last reading one of his books in college. At first it was a struggle, like the first miles of a long run you’ve not trained for. Before too long, though, I felt my mind settle into its pace and quirks.
This adjustment to rhythm is one of the things I like most about reading. If I vary the topics and density of what I read, I can try on different paces and depths of thought. My mind may have its default state, but if I force it to engage with and understand something like 19th-century German philosophy I also force it to challenge and test those defaults. Do they still serve their purpose? Or can they adapt to what’s present in what I read?
I’d like to do more of this next year as it’s a welcome antidote to the pinball-like pace of too many things.
