Borges exhibited during this interview, long before I was born, a reflection that managed to open my eyes. I understood, thanks to the words of the Argentine genius, that during my journey to become professional writer he had lost focus. What I mean by this? Well, he had made reading (and by extension writing) an obligation, a work. Maybe a nice one, and one that I was willing to undertake, but I work at the end of the day. If I read it was to improve, to learn to build interesting characters and plots, to obtain material for my reviews, to soak up good literature, or to avoid making the mistakes of the bad. But I had forgotten the most important thing, the reason why, as a child, I began to read: because it made me happy.
Pleasure is not mandatory
«I think that the phrase required reading is a contradiction, reading should not be compulsory. Should we talk about obligatory pleasure? Why? Pleasure is not mandatory, pleasure is something sought. Mandatory happiness? We also seek happiness. »
The problem for those of us who are dedicated to literature is that the border between our work and our hobby is very fine. In my case, literature is my hobby, but also my job (as the Japanese writer Nisio Isin once said), and that's why I take it very seriously. To the point that (now I realize it), I have forced myself to read books, and to write about certain topics, just because, perhaps at a subconscious level, I thought that readers, the world, and ultimately the society expected that of a writer. And in this way, everything that was playful, exciting, in short, intimate, joyful and fun in literature was slowly dying within me.
Some of us were brought up to think that work must be boring, and that there is something unseemly and disgusting about enjoying it. Perhaps this is the reason why, when it comes to reading and writing, I have sabotaged myself. And what have I gotten out of all this? Readings that have not made me happy, wasted time, the fruitless search to fulfill the expectations of others. I have understood, after much thought, that the writer-reader (Well, I can't conceive one without the other) can only be fulfilled through an almost hedonistic pursuit of happiness. That he must read the books he wants to read, and write about what he wants to write, to the best of his ability, so as not to feel how his art, his work, and his life, sink into the most absurd nonsense.
We read to be happy
«If a book bores you, stop it, don't read it because it's famous, don't read a book because it's modern, don't read a book because it's old. If a book is tedious for you, leave it… that book has not been written for you. Reading should be a form of happiness. "
Ultimately, I think that this whole issue is summed up in a matter of priorities and time, because all of us will die one day. Although from this lapidary statement we should not extract any nihilistic message. Unlike: we must be aware that life is very short, that years come and go, and that it is absurd to cling to vain appearances. For my part, I don't want to look back and regret my past. Today I pursue pure art, the childish joy of discovering new worlds in reading, the immeasurable pleasure of creating my own stories. That, for me, is literature. That, for me, is life.
However, these are my conclusions, which certainly do not have to agree with yours. I have failed in my attempt to behave in a rational, responsible, and adult way; to turn my job as a writer into that of a civil servant or clerk. I am only happy when I listen to my heart, and my heart tells my mind that it is wrong. So, for once, I will listen to him. I do not want to serve as a model, nor do I recommend that you follow in the footsteps of this immature and incorrigible dreamer; But allow me the arrogance to recommend to you, who are a reader, and to you, who are perhaps a writer, that you remember Borges's words: "Reading should be a form of happiness".