Hi everyone! Today I am back with something very special. I wanted to start a new series on my blog called “Why Do You Read?” As the title suggests, I am asking people why do they read or, in some cases, why they don’t read. I want to hear what makes other people pick up a book because every time I’m around someone who is asked, “Do you read?” or “Do you like reading?” they always say no and my heart breaks a little inside. But I’m a part of online communities where reading is really big, so I get that it’s an acquired taste. I, personally, have surrounded myself with a lot of people that love reading. Not everyone is going to like it, but like I said, I think its interesting to hear about what other people like to read. I also believe reading is so so so so so important. We spend so much time on a screen in our day-to-day lives that it’s nice to get away from that. By picking up a book you are giving you eyes a break from that nasty blue light. Books are also a great source of information; there is always something you can learn about literally anything, and I don’t just mean reading textbooks. Reading also keeps your mind active and is a great way to get some stimulation going on. Sometimes, I even read before bed because it can make me super tired.
So, I came up with about ten questions to ask people about their reading habits. I wanted the questions to be engaging and to really make the person think about their answer. Since I already had my first interviewee in mind, I catered my questions towards what I know he likes to read. Without further ado, let’s get into it!
Interview with Dan McIntyre:
To preface, Dan McIntyre is my dad. He is a Navy Veteran, and is retired from being a correctional officer (long story short, you don’t want to mess with him). He loves taking care of his dogs, Panda and Taya, and spends his days working out, being a fixer upper, and reading!
So far, he has read nine books this year and is working on his tenth. The book he’s reading right now is actually a book a lot of people my age should recognize from high school, All Quiet on the Western Front. It has been a really long time since I’ve read it, but I do remember it being very sad and it really pulls at the heart strings (obviously).
Dan usually reads historical non-fiction/fiction or sci-fi. I know he has read a lot of books on really crazy scientific theories. But the main focus is on WWI or WWII books. He said the reason he finds World War books so fascinating is because they are based on real accounts. They are usually of reporters, soldiers, or the bomber crew members. He particularly likes the bomber crew ones because if you didn’t know being on the bomber crew means you had a 25% of survival and the average age of a bomber was 24 years old! That’s crazy to think about. To think about going into a position where you most definitely probably weren’t coming home. The books the reporters wrote, though, are very realistic, according to Dan. They are very descriptive. And it makes you ask yourself if that is something you could do. Or if anyone today would be able to fight in wars/battles like in WWI and WWII.
He was especially drawn to the book, Battle of the Bugle featuring Rosco Blunt as the main story teller. He really liked this “character” because this guy was goofy. He would look for souvenirs when he was supposed to be on the night shift watching guard. Dan even said, Blunt fell asleep in a foxhole one time and another solider (on his side) found him and the soldier Blunt was talking to ended up getting shot in the head by the enemy. They never shot Blunt because they thought he was already dead. He made it out of the war and became a reporter. This was also his favorite book because of the descriptions and the adventures Blunt went on.
On the flip side, his least favorite book was Serenade to the Big Bird because he said the narrator got off track a lot. He would talk about his life, teachers he had growing up, girls he met, etc. This book was more about the narrator’s home life and not the battles. Also, the wording of the book was a little weird, according to Dan.
Now since these are all WW books, I was wondering how he had found all of these or if he was just browsing in the bookstore. But actually, Dan said he was watching “World War II in Color” on National Geographic. The show would highlight books when certain people would talk on-screen about their experiences o ra certain event they were at. The show would also show real footage of the battles, the aftermath, etc. A show like this is right up my dads ally, so it’s no surprise to me that he found most of the books through here.
When asked, “Do you like reading?” Dan simply said, “Yes.” For further elaboration he said that he never really like reading until he retired. He watches a lot less tv. He also said that there is nothing good on tv anymore; there’s nothing that interests him. He’s not going to sit down and binge watch some weird Netflix show. And because he is retired, he has a lot more time.
Now, we have been talking about war books, and as I said in the beginning, he’s a Navy Vet, so is there any connection? Yes. He respects the soldiers and what they had to go through. If you think about it, nothing like that will ever happen again. Technology is way too advanced now.
While Dan has been reading a lot lately, he hasn’t grown tired of the WW books by any means. He may slow down in the future, but as for right now he is still going strong.
Lastly, I had to ask, “Why do you read?”
Dan said things on tv are boring. Even when he is watching tv, its always National Geographic, Discovery, or the History channel. He doesn’t like just any ole tv off Netflix. And like I’ve been saying, he’s really into the WWs and learning about those periods of time. Nothing like that will ever happen again.
I think reading is something everyone needs to do no matter how much or small you do of it. Learn something. Get out of you comfort zone. Anything. If you don’t have time to pick up a book, listen to an audiobook on the way to work. Read more.
Well, that’s all today folks! Thank you for reading if you made it this far. I hope you were able to take away something from this interview. I had a blast interviewing and writing this! I would love to interview more people, so if you’re interested please let me know! You can be an avid reader, someone who picks up a book every once in a while, or don’t like reading at all. I want to cover all areas. You can comment on this post, email me through my blog on the main page at the bottom, or DM me on social media! Also thank you dad for letting me interview you! 😊
See y’all next week!
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