Open the door to better reading—and more powerful writing 

BY CHRISTINA MYERS 

Here are your instructions: head to your local library and wander into any row of the fiction section. Grab the second blue book from the left, top shelf. Yes, that’s right: the blue one. Then the first book on the bottom row with a “Canadian Author” sticker on its spine. Now, off to the graphic novels, the poetry, the memoirs, or the history books––choose a section at random––and find one written by an author with whom you share the same initials. Turn around and pull out the biggest (or the smallest) book at eye level. Finally, head over to whatever themed selection the library has on display, close your eyes, and point. 

What you’ve gathered is a stack of reading that has zero curation or filtering; nothing in this pile might fit your usual preferences, your favourite genres, the types of stories that appeal to you. And you’re going to bring them home and read them. Sounds weird, right? It is––but it’s also an opportunity for better reading and, ultimately, more powerful writing.  

A few years ago, I discovered that my lifelong passion for books, along with my ability to inhale them at a dizzying pace, had almost disappeared. I had less free time to read, and when I found the time, I was easily distracted, or I’d lose interest. 

In retrospect, I was burnt out by the combination of being a busy parent with a busy career in a busy world. Compounding this, I was living through the stress of a global pandemic, and I had an ever-shorter attention span thanks to the endless stream of information on my smartphone. I also had some strongly held beliefs about what I liked to read—and worse, what I thought I should read. 

On a whim, after a morning of writing in the library, I wandered into the fiction section and started choosing books based on random prerequisites (like being the second blue book from the left, top shelf). This became a regular habit, with varied methods of choosing titles. If there was a special display—local Indigenous authors, Black History Month, International Women’s Day, Diwali—I always grabbed a few from there, too. 

There was only one rule: I didn’t have to finish every single book, but I had to read at least ten pages, after which I could set it aside if I wasn’t sucked in. In the coming months I read—devoured, inhaled, absorbed, and adored—books I’d probably never have picked up otherwise. And even the ones I returned unfinished gave me glimpses into fascinating ideas, worlds, characters, and concepts. 

But there was an unexpected bonus: it also improved my writing, which had fallen into its own rut. Reading outside my usual genres and styles opened the door for new inspiration and more creativity in my own work. 

And I believe it will do the same for you—if you’re willing to pull down that blue book, second from the left—and give it a shot. 

Bio: Christina Myers is a writer, editor, and former journalist, and the author of Halfway Home: Thoughts from Midlife (House of Anansi Press 2024) and the novel The List of Last Chances (Caitlin Press 2021), which won the Canadian Book Club Award for fiction. She is a member of Da’naxda’xw First Nation, grew up all over Canada, and now lives in Surrey.