Chapter 86: My two-year-old son on whimsical wonderings and wandering Waldos

Do you ever feel book guilt?   Do you ever feel book shame?   Do you ever feel bad when you quit a book?   Do you ever feel like the books you read aren’t ‘hard’ enough?   These are common feelings that I know I’ve had. I say we need to get rid of all the book shame and book guilt we learn as we grow up because there really is no right or wrong way to read. We need to escape the book exhaustion that can come with endless Shakespeare, mandatory classics, and piles of textbooks.   We need to tell kids that they can read whatever they want to read.   Picture books! Comic books! Young Adult!   Whatever.   Just follow your joy and keep the books coming.   I partly started 3 Books as a way to keep stoking the flames for that pure love of reading books.   For most of my adult life, I lost my love of reading. Loved books as a child! And yet somehow by my late 20s I had almost completely stopped reading books. What was it? I’m not sure if it was too many dry textbooks, the endless addiction of social media feed, or the false belief I just didn’t have time to read anymore.   How many times have you heard that?   Chapter 86 of 3 Books is a little different. It’s a mental intermezzo between deep dives.   It’s a way to hopefully remind us of the pure joy that comes from reading books. Of spreading books out on the carpet and playing with them and doing somersaults over them. This chapter is about tapping back into that childhood love of reading.   We are going to hang out on my bedroom floor with my two year old son …   Join me as we flip the page into Chapter 86 …   What You'll Learn:   Why are chapter books scary? What can books with flaps teach us about our cities? Why do so many people go to the bathroom in train stations? How does Waldo get around so much? How can sharks jump onto boats?   You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.3books.co/chapters/86    Leave us a voicemail. Your message may be included in a future chapter: 1-833-READ-A-LOT.   Sign up to receive podcast updates here: https://www.3books.co/email-list    3 Books is a completely insane and totally epic 22-year-long quest to uncover and discuss the 1000 most formative books in the world. Each chapter discusses the 3 most formative books of an inspiring person. Sample guests include: Brené Brown, David Sedaris, Malcolm Gladwell, George Saunders, Angie Thomas, Daniels, Cheryl Strayed, Rich Roll, Soyoung the Variety Store Owner, Derek the Hype Man, Kevin the Bookseller, Vishwas the Uber Driver, Roxane Gay, David Mitchell, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, Mark Manson, Seth Godin, Judy Blume, and Quentin Tarantino. 3 Books is published on the lunar calendar with each of the 333 chapters dropped on the exact minute of every single full moon all the way up to April 26, 2040. 3 Books is an Apple "Best Of" award-winning show and is 100% non-profit with no ads, no sponsors, no commercials, and no interruptions. 3 Books has 3 clubs including the End of the Podcast Club, the Cover to Cover Club, and the Secret Club, which operates entirely through the mail and is only accessible by calling 1-833-READ-A-LOT. Each chapter is hosted by Neil Pasricha, New York Times bestselling author of 'The Happiness Equation', 'Two-Minute Mornings', and 'The Book of Awesome.' For more info check out: https://www.3books.co