Reading – the everyday luxury that opens hearts and minds

LAST week, just an hour before I had to leave my apartment for the airport, I was still frantically packing. It was a short trip with a full schedule, but I spent about 10 minutes deciding which of the three books I was reading to take with me. I knew it was unlikely I’d have time to turn more than a few pages, but it never occurred to me to not take at least one book.

Reading has always been such an important part of my life that I can easily forget what a privilege it is, a luxury even, not only to be able to read but to have access to so many books across different genres and subject matter. When I stop to think about the value of reading, it strikes me that maybe it’s a luxury we can’t afford to not take advantage of, however busy our lives might be. I don’t think we can overestimate the role that reading plays in shaping our lives, especially when what we read invites us to reflect on unfamiliar stories and perspectives, those we have yet to make room for in our imagination, alongside the familiar.

I love François Boucher’s 1756 painting of Madame de Pompadour, which is housed in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich. Gold curtains are pulled back as though to reveal Pompadour, mistress of the French king Louis XV, lounging on her chaise, centrestage. Her dress is almost a character in its own right, and seems to take over the canvas, yet her figure is in no way diminished. Behind her is an ornate bookcase with full shelves. An obedient dog sits at her feet, beside strewn flowers on the floor. A side table is arranged in the foreground of the painting, with its drawer open to reveal an inkwell and quill, while on the shelf beneath, books pile up and spill over. Placed right at the centre of Madame de Pompadour’s body is an open book, which she holds in her hand.