Why Good Literature Still Matters
*Originally written: December 18, 2020 | Updated: August 7, 2025
Good literature invites us to think more deeply, feel more fully, and understand the emotions of others. It opens our eyes to new perspectives and transports us to different times and places, sparking thoughts and images that linger.
At its best, literature connects us to enduring truths—those shared beliefs, questions, and contradictions that have shaped human society across generations. Stories carry more than just entertainment. They hold the weight of history, culture, and collective memory. They allow us to walk beside others, even if we’ve never met.
Whether written today or centuries ago, great writing still resonates. It moves us, teaches us, and—above all—reminds us what it means to be human.
As C.S. Lewis once reflected:
“The good of literature is that we want to be more than ourselves.
We want to see with others’ eyes, to imagine with other imaginations,
to feel with other hearts as well as our own.” (paraphrased)
In a world flooded with distraction, the quiet presence of a good book remains one of the most powerful and generous acts of attention. When we read well, we live wider lives.
The Beauty of Rust: When Time Leaves Its Mark on Writing →
Rust stirs emotion. It signals that something once new is evolving—no longer pristine, but no less powerful. Writing can do the same. When time and experience leave their mark, our words often deepen. What was once polished may give way to something more textured, more real.
Like rust, aged writing has a certain honesty. It reveals what was, what remains, and what’s been weathered. The beauty isn’t always in the flawless draft—but in the worn edges and imperfect truths that endure.
Rust reminds us: meaning doesn’t fade with time—it forms because of it.
Rust is more than decay. It’s a passionate color—vibrant with warm orange, brick-red, mustard yellow. It stirs the senses and awakens memory. It reminds us that even things we think of as broken or fading can still carry beauty—and story.
Take the shell of a rusted-out car. At first glance, it may seem forgotten. But rust tells us it’s been somewhere. That car has lived. It has a history and maybe even a spirit—if you’re willing to look beyond the surface.
When you see a fully restored vintage car, you might think, “Wow, that era was so cool.” The shine and polish take you back to a moment, crisp and defined. But when you see the same model rusted out, your thoughts go deeper. The memory is softer, but somehow more profound. The rusted car doesn't smell new. The doors may groan when they close—if they close at all. The surface might crumble slightly to the touch.
Still, something remains.
The rusted car doesn’t just transport you to a specific time. It invites you to wander, to imagine, to remember—not only what was, but how it felt. Is it a car, or is it the spirit of a car?
Writing can be like that too. Over time, our voices shift. Experience adds layers. The words may not shine like they did when they were new, but they hold something richer: perspective, humility, and resonance. Rust doesn’t erase meaning. It adds to it.
Why I Write—Even When No One’s Listening A Reflection on Substack, Storytelling, and What Keeps Us Going
Why I Write—Even When No One’s Listening
A Reflection on Substack, Storytelling, and What Keeps Us Going
There’s a quiet question that often lingers behind any creative effort: What’s the point if no one is listening? It’s a question I recently explored in one of my first Substack posts, and it’s something that resonates with anyone who has ever written, shared, or expressed something into what feels like a void.
Yet the answer, for me, has always come back to this: writing changes me.
It’s how I process experience. It’s how I find meaning in the blur of events and conversations. When I write—even if it’s never read—I leave the page feeling more focused, more open, and more grounded in who I am. The clarity that comes from writing is its own kind of reward.
And now, with the shift to platforms like Substack, I’ve found a new kind of rhythm. Substack isn’t just a place to house content; it’s a place to reconnect with what makes writing feel human again. There’s no pressure to be overly polished or algorithm-optimized. Instead, it invites something slower and more reflective. A newsletter isn’t just about announcing something—it’s about building an ongoing conversation.
Maybe that’s why this approach has caught on. People are tired of noise. They want realness. They want something that feels less like a pitch and more like a presence.
I’m not sure where this experiment will lead. But for now, it’s enough to know that sharing reflections in this way feels closer to the kind of writing that matters. Whether it’s read by one person or a hundred, the act of showing up and putting thoughts into words has value.
And if you're reading this, maybe you feel the same pull—to create, to connect, even when the audience isn’t guaranteed. If so, I hope you’ll follow along.
🖋 You can find my current Substack newsletter here: What Matters
When We Stop Thinking Consciously We Open Sensory Doors →
Imagine the pain of not being able to write or paint anymore. Vincent van Gogh once said, “I paint to stop thinking and to start feeling.” This idea of using art to transcend thought and tap into emotion is not just powerful; it’s powerful and transformative. It suggests that the things that help us stop thinking are not just about finding a state of mind but about opening other doors that lead to enhanced creativity and inspiration. This journey connects us deeply to our emotions and the world around us.
Stop Thinking Tree
The phrase "To stop thinking" denotes a deliberate act of quieting the mind and reducing conscious thought, ultimately reaching a state of mental stillness. This state, where one is not actively engaged in ruminating or analyzing ideas, often brings a profound sense of relief. It's about releasing the constant stream of internal dialogue and simply being present in the moment, a practice that can bring calm and tranquility to your life.
When we feel like our brain has stopped thinking, it still processes information, but our focus is on the present. When we think our brain has stopped thinking, we can direct our attention more fully to our sensory inputs. This shift in focus can bring a sense of liberation, a feeling of breaking free from the constraints of overthinking, allowing the words we pick to write with and the colors we choose to paint with to have more meaning. When we Stop Thinking Consciously, we open Sensory Doors, inviting a world of creativity and expression.
Anaïs Nin: Writing to Taste Life Twice →
“We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect.”
That single line by Anaïs Nin captures why her work has left such a lasting impression on writers and reflective thinkers. She believed that writing wasn’t just a form of communication—it was a way of processing the world, of reliving experience with greater clarity and depth. And for anyone who has tried to understand themselves through words, her perspective resonates on a deeply personal level.
Anaïs Nin was more than a diarist or author—she was a witness to the inner life. Her writing, often intimate and raw, blurred the lines between autobiography and art. She began journaling at age eleven and continued until her death, creating a body of work that chronicled the complexities of identity, desire, creativity, and emotional truth.
Another of her quotes says:
“We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are.”
This insight cuts to the core of self-awareness, revealing why reflective writing matters. It reminds us that our perceptions are filtered through our experiences, and that to write well—honestly and meaningfully—we must first come to understand ourselves.
Anaïs Nin’s life and legacy show us that writing is not just an act of recording life but of shaping it. Her influence lies not only in her bold content but in her fearless belief that the personal is also universal—that when we write from the deepest parts of ourselves, we often speak for others too.
“Cue Up The Confetti” and Bring on the Connected Events that Matter →
“Cue” typically refers to a signal encouraging someone to act. If you “cue” the confetti, you then take the action that stimulates your desired results.
You could find some confetti and toss it in the air in celebration. The word “confetti” might instead be a symbolic suggestion that what you will throw around will, for example, be compliments or kindness and that your efforts will cover everything.
58.7 Million Words Analyzed Over Two Years of Writing →
Grammarly's algorithms flag potential issues in the text and make context-specific suggestions to help with grammar, spelling and usage, wordiness, style, punctuation, tone, and even plagiarism.
Grammarly is a tool that helps writers, and it offers some AI functions, but I have yet to use them. Expecting AI to determine a topic or provide a complete overview of that topic leaves the author in the position of not being an author.
If, in order to be an author, you would have to be a perfect speller, always with perfect punctuation and perfect sentences, then authors wouldn’t need editors.
Editors analyze the clarity and flow of your writing, ensuring that ideas are communicated effectively and smoothly. They help improve sentence structure, paragraph transitions, and overall readability.
Read Personal Development Books Until You Find and Become Yourself →
Professor Harold Bloom’s book offers a deeply considered response to the question of why he reads. He insists that reading is far more than a pastime—it is a vital practice that preserves our ability to think independently and to form our own judgments and opinions. Even the act of carefully attending to a book’s Preface or Prologue, he argues, matters in cultivating this discipline.
Throughout the rest of the book, Bloom illustrates his perspective by drawing on the works of authors he knows intimately, weaving their voices into his own reflections. His central answer to why he reads is simple yet profound: it matters. If individuals wish to maintain their capacity for genuine thought, he warns, they must continue to read for themselves.
While what a person reads and how they read it may be shaped by many influences, the reason they read should always remain personal—rooted in their own growth, curiosity, and self-interest.
READING CHANGES OUR VIEW OF THE PATH TAKEN THROUGHOUT OUR LIFE →
Reading is never the same experience twice. Each time we return to a book, it reveals something new—reshaping how we see ourselves and the path we’ve taken. Literature expands our vision, giving us fresh eyes for the journey of life.
Read moreWhat is the Good of Literature →
C.S. Lewis said, “The good of literature is that we want to become more than ourselves; we want to see with others’ eyes, to imagine with others’ imaginations, to feel with others’ hearts, as well as our own.”
He also said we become a thousand men and yet remain ourselves. When it happens, you will feel renewed and reinvented.
Common Reasons People Read
It helps gain valuable knowledge and learn about new things.
It exercises the brain and improves cognitive skills, such as comprehension, memory, and focus.
It provides entertainment and stimulates the imagination.
It improves the ability to empathize and communicate with others.
The State of Reading Today: What the Numbers Reveal →
Reading shapes our culture and our future. In the U.S., literacy rates still show major gaps, with many adults reading below a sixth-grade level. Globally, countries like India, China, and the U.K. lead in reading time and book consumption. These numbers remind us how powerful—and how essential—reading remains.
Read moreWriting in the Moment: How Fiction Shapes Memory and Identity →
Writing in the moment sharpens our focus on life as it happens, but fiction takes us further—transporting us into new worlds, voices, and perspectives. Each story we read not only entertains us but also reshapes memory, self-image, and the way we understand our place in the world.
Read moreA Jumpstart to Life Experience can be gained through Reading →
Many book lovers write about their lifelong love of books. I didn’t start my love affair with books until I finished college. I remember a family of one of my Uncles and what seemed to be an absolute devotion to readers when the cousins were growing up. The books I saw in the girl’s rooms during our visits over the years impressed me.
I recall seeing an interview conducted by Prince Harry with President Obama. He asked him many questions, some seeming insignificant. What kind of boxer briefs do you wear? Obama said that was off-limits. Good for him. Who cares? Questions about Royal Weddings were attractive to many. The comments on social media were good ones.
These men have had exciting lives, but they have some insight beyond their path of experience. Wouldn't it be interesting to know what books had been essential and of interest to either Obama or Prince Harry? What books influenced Gandhi, Lincoln, Putin, and maybe my father and their fathers?
The books with the most significant impact on our lives change and evolve, but so do we. Some books may always make our top list. Some new ones have come. So, this year, I had several new ones that will likely stick with me. "American Wolf by Nate Blakeslee and Nothing to Envy, Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick came to mind and impacted me, but many others did.
Recalling what books I read when I was young is challenging. Unfortunately, I only read books with deeper meanings and influence once I was almost out of high school.
One time in my early teens, I recall visiting my uncle’s family on a trip our family took. He had a large family, and the two girls that were the closest to me in age were sharp. Socially, probably ahead of me at the time and perhaps even a little brighter (I can't believe I said that). Walking down the hall in their home, I remember seeing many books in the girls’ rooms. So I asked them to show me what they were reading, and they were books with more profound meaning and influence than I was used to.
This wasn't my life a-ha moment for loving books, but it was an important one, and I did up my own game and added some better books to read.
When I was about 3 or 4, my parents would take turns reading to me at bedtime. They read kid books, probably from the Little Golden Books series. At about eight years old, I started reading funny books. Superman, Batman, Spiderman, Donald Duck, and Uncle Scrooge. At about ten years old, I began reading Boy's Life. At around 12, I started reading movie magazines. I read the TV guide, Reader's Digest, Popular Mechanics, and everything around the house.
After about the 9th grade, I became interested in well-known dystopian books such as 1984, Brave New World, and Animal Farm. By the time I started college, my interest in philosophy had led me to The Republic by Plato, Aristotle and The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli, to name a few.
After High School, I read Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie, and many self-help books.
When I finished college, I began reading many business books. Robert Ringer's book "Winning Through Intimidation" impacted me. I also started reading church books. I have read the scriptures over and over throughout my life.
I have read Ulysses by James Joyce several times to determine if I could understand it. I have read War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy and most of what Shakespeare wrote. Moby Dick is a book that I read several times and started out hating, but after the last reading, I saw it as a great book. Henry David Thoreau's Walden and Civil Disobedience are books I have read several times.
My love of these books led me to pick the authors that stood out. Edgar Allan Poe, Steinbeck, J.D. Salinger, Virginia Woolf, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Charles Dickens are all authors I like. Hemmingway and Mark Twain are authors I have read but don't care for. I have read great books, such as Faulkner, Nabokov, T.S. Elliot, C.S. Lewis, Toni Morrison, Walt Whitman, and Franz Kafka.
I love the authors but love the poets even more sometimes. Robert Frost is a favorite poet, and a new poet I like and want to hear more from is Amanda Gorman. Her inauguration day poem for President Biden, "The Hill We Climb," is amazing.
Ok, I have some fallback favorites. Stephen King always gets my attention. There are several dozen authors I should have included. (Apology to Maya Angelou, for example) There are lots of modern and exciting authors.
“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.”
~ George R.R. Martin.
What to Read Next and Why →
The question of what to read next comes up over and over throughout our lives. Some offer answers but don’t explain why their choices should be of value to us.
A successful fiction and fantasy writer, Neil Gaiman doesn’t hesitate to suggest an answer and offer a why. He said, "Fiction is the gateway drug to reading.” He added that fiction drives us to want to know what happens next. It becomes exciting and satisfies the excitement as we turn the pages.
When we read fiction, it increases our imagination and results in our finding something new of interest. The new things we find may lead us in a direction such as science, history, or art. So we could look for a biography of a person with an area of similar interest to our own.
The path to the next book, or even choosing one to re-read, is often built on past choices. Years ago, I watched the movie “Apocalypse Now.” That led me to reread Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness,” set in Africa with the same basic plot. The book was considered one of Conrad’s best.
Some criticized Conrad’s book for having a white man’s perspective on life in Africa. I wanted to find another view. I wondered if there were good African writers that I could read. At that point in my life, I had never looked for African writers. I looked and found many good ones who were respected for their work. I found several authors of interest. At the time, Chinua Achebe emerged as a well-known African author for his book “Things Fall Apart.”
It seemed to be the perfect “other point of view” I was looking for. This book is indeed something that should be read by anyone who reads “Heart of Darkness” and wonder if they have seen Africa correctly.
REVIEW OF "THINGS FALL APART, by CHINA ACHEBE
HEART OF DARKNESS BY JOSEPH CONRAD
Why You Should Read Before Think
I wish I had a better list of books to show for my younger years →
Looking back to my childhood to recall what books I read is challenging. First, I don't remember many of them, but then I know I didn't read many books of any importance until my mid-teens. I don't understand why that was because I thought I was a pretty smart kid. I got good grades, and school was just easy for me.
One time in my early teens, I went to Salt Lake on one of their regular trips with my parents. At that time, my Uncle’s family lived in the North Salt Lake area, and we stopped for a visit. He had a large family, and the two girls that were the closest to me in age were sharp girls. Socially, probably ahead of me at the time, and perhaps even a little brighter. I remember as I walked down the hall, seeing in each of their bedrooms that they had books by their beds. The idea that having books to read at that age was good did occur to me from this experience. Nevertheless, I didn't just change my habits and start reading things. I wish I had.
When I was about 3 or 4, my parents would take turns reading to me at bedtime. They read kid books. Probably from the Little Golden Books series. At about eight years old, I started reading funny books. Superman, Batman, Spiderman, Donald Duck, and Uncle Scrooge. At about ten years old, I started reading Boy's Life. At around 12, I started reading movie magazines.
I read the TV guide, Reader's Digest, and Popular Mechanics. I suppose I read everything that was around the house.
After about the 9th grade, I became interested in some well-known dystopian books such as 1984, Brave New World, and Animal Farm. By the time I started college, my interest in philosophy had led me to The Republic by Plato, Aristotle, and The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli, to name a few. I read Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie, and then a lot of self-help books.
When I finished college, I began reading a lot of business books. Robert Ringer's book "Winning Through Intimidation" impacted me. I also started reading church books. I have read the scriptures over and over throughout my life.
I have read Ulysses by James Joyce several times to find out if I could understand it. I have read War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy and most of what Shakespeare wrote. Moby Dick is a book that I read several times and started out hating, but after the last reading, I saw it as a great book. Henry David Thoreau's Walden and Civil Disobedience are books I have read several times.
My love of these books led me to pick the authors that stood out to me. Edgar Allan Poe, Steinbeck, J.D. Salinger, Virginia Woolf, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Charles Dickens are all authors I like. Hemmingway and Mark Twain are authors I have read a lot but don't care for. Faulkner, Nabokov, T.S. Elliot, C.S Lewis, Toni Morrison, Walt Whitman, and Franz Kafka all have many great books I have read.
I love the authors but love the poets even more sometimes. Robert Frost is a favorite poet, and a new poet I like and want to hear more from is Amanda Gorman. Her inauguration day poem for President Biden, "The Hill we Climb," is amazing.
Ok, I have some fallback favorites. Stephen King always gets my attention. This shortlist is top-heavy for what I have read as an adult. There are probably several dozen authors I should have included. (Apology to Maya Angelou, for example) Lots of just modern and exciting authors.
Is The Target Market Always Obvious →
Sometimes the goal you are seeking needs research. Perhaps your writing a book or looking for a job. Reading about those goals will give you direction. You will want to make sure your reading targets your goals.
A target market is the specific group of people that you want to reach with your message. They are the people who are most likely to need to hear your message and buy your products or services.
Their behaviors, demographics, and as much information about them as possible are needed to find these people.
When you write and market a book, you want to provide the answers your potential readers wish to. For several of the books I have written, I found the information needed because I was with those people working one-on-one, observing whether they had the skills and available networks that would fit the goals they were seeking.
When these things are understood, finding strategies and insights coupled with some fundamental analysis of the personal values, skill sets, and networks becomes easier to identify.
Many of my books address those questions because the source for these books was not just a list of questions that came from understanding how the questions were the core of the challenges faced.
I worked one-on-one with hundreds of job seekers and people needing a career change over several years.
These books can be found on my Amazon Author page at https://amzn.to/3NNUhd6.
Is there a point to writing if no one ever reads it? →
About Writing
Writers often ask themselves, “What is the point of writing if no one reads my work? Okay, yes, this sounds like the beginning of a pity party, but it is a valid question. Even so, there are a lot of high-sounding reasons why the answer is that I should indeed continue to write.
What I am looking for, however, is something original that goes to the heart of this question.
One answer, for example, is that the point of writing is to “think deeply and to inform, entertain, and communicate your insight with your readers.” Yes, I found that answer by googling this question, so okay, it still is a starting point for the question.
I can go with “thinking deeply” because just pulling sentences together requires that, and, as far as I can tell, the more we do this, the better we become. However, this benefit’s point isn’t to communicate with readers, since that is the problem. There are no readers!
We can inform and entertain ourselves, but the real problem becomes apparent when readers are required. As I previously said, there aren’t any readers.
Another point for writing is to seek the truth. It doesn't matter how you do that or whether you're writing thrillers, detective stories, comedies, website posts, or picture books for children. When you write, you often must validate what you say, which is a worthy goal for someone who writes. As Stephen Pressfield writes in The War of Art, “We must do our work for its own sake, not for fortune or attention or applause.”
Writing also forces you to open your eyes to the world to ensure your story makes sense. When you open your eyes to all around you, your ideas find new connections. You can catch up on lost time and gain insight beyond your capabilities by reading more. This opens you to new feelings and experiences. The more you learn about this world, the more you realize how much you don't know. In this way, writing keeps you humble and open to more knowledge.
Author and marketing guru Seth Godin produces blog posts daily, saying, “Even if no one reads your blog, the act of writing it is clarifying, motivating, and (eventually) fun.” He adds that “after people get to posting 200 [posts] or beyond, they uniformly report that they’re glad they did it.” (Taken from Why Writing Content Is Useful, Even If Nobody Reads It - Forbes
Even when no one will likely read it, the real point of writing is that it is clear evidence for you to know that you are a writer. Writers write because they must write.
Did you really mean what you wrote and does the message come through clear? →
Good writing stands out; you hear a distinct voice when you read it. The agent is just right, meeting the needs of the story. The paper stays within the reader for a while and makes the reader feel richer when reading. Good writing makes the reader want to read more.
The verse below from Ecclesiastes 9:11 was used in George Orwell's book Why I Write as an example of "good writing." Then, Orwell wrote a more modern approach to the verse, saying the same thing: the current is not better.
The Ecclesiastes verse stands out as well written compared to what Orwell presented as a more modern approach of that day. It was a rewritten version written as a parody of the original verse designed to ridicule the bloated writing of his day. The important message is that simplicity is better, and it helps if you know what you mean so you can clearly say it.
See Both Verses Below.
Ecclesiastes 9:11, King James Version
“I returned and saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.”
George Orwell’s parody in what he called more modern prose. (not a compliment)
“Objective considerations of contemporary phenomena compel the conclusion that success or failure in competitive activities exhibits no tendency to be commensurate with innate capacity, but that a considerable element of the unpredictable must invariably be taken into account.”
The original verse is well written and says what it says so very, very well. Then, on the other hand, is what this verse says correct? Is it true that here on earth, under the sun, the efforts of men are dependent on chance and time for those efforts to make a difference? Is it logical to draw any conclusions from “objective conclusions about contemporary phenomena”? Are not those conclusions and phenomena aggregates of experience, and do they even exist in singular form?
Many whose "stars shine bright" and who have the limelight are no better or wiser than many who do not. Some luck and timing make a lot of difference. On the other hand, so many define their journey through life as part of a "plan.” Trials are part of the plan. Setbacks are thought of as part of the plan. So what about time and chance? Does the fact that the original verse suggests that everyone will get time and chance make it all ok?
Did the writer of Ecclesiastes successfully communicate what was meant? Does it mean the writer failed if it is interpreted differently by different readers?
Quotes from Authors about the Meaning of Their Writing
“I didn't fail the test; I just found 100 ways to do it wrong” -Benjamin Franklin, 1706 -1790. Based on the quote by Franklin, I would suspect that he would come down on the side of "a plan" rather than feeling that time and chance rendered the 100 failures of no worth.
“In the depths of winter, I finally learned there was in me an invincible summer." -Albert Camus, 1913 – 1957. It looks like Camus figured there was a plan since his challenges were labeled "depths of winter," which seemed to prove something of worth to him.
The difficulty of literature is not writing but writing what you mean."
-Robert Louis Stevenson, 1850 - 1894.
