Analog Renaissance: Why Novels Are More Important Than Ever in Our Digital Lives
Telling a story becomes more important in modern era and reading novels is arguably the best long-term method for developing storytelling skills
If you regularly read books, but feel that reading for recreation, especially reading novels is a sign of escapism, wasting of time, and not having any benefit, or anyone affected by this saying and is hesitant to read. I want to have a small chat with you.
The goosebumps of reading for recreation
When I was a child, my father kept his Wuxia1 novels on the top shelf of our bookcase, making them difficult to access. To reach them, I had to drag over the tallest chair in our home and stand on my tiptoes. Once I managed to grab a book, however, my father would allow me to read it as long as I had finished my homework early.
I vividly remember one Friday night when my parents went out with friends. Seizing the opportunity, I retrieved an entire series from the shelf and hid the books under my bed. When my parents returned home, exhausted, they didn't bother to check the bookcase. This allowed me to stay up all night, hidden beneath my blanket with a flashlight, completely engrossed in the novels. Even now, I can recall the goosebumps I felt when the main character became entangled in a serious plot.
The next morning, my parents discovered my little adventure. Instead of scolding me, my father seemed quite pleased and asked, "It's a good book, right?" I nodded my head vigorously, unable to agree more.
The sudden storm called Shantaram in my high school classroom
Why did I find myself sneaking Wuxia novels at night? It wasn't just childish rebellion. Something magical was happening behind the scenes, something glaring and powerful that drew me into these stories. But then a question arose: was I alone?
Although I knew I wasn't—there were countless readers around the world whom I'd never met—I felt connected with them when I read these tales. Yet in my daily life, I seldom had the chance to discuss these novels with others. The stories I read back then were usually translated works, not in the sight of the general public.
That is until one thing happened in my high school class that, in hindsight, changed many of our lives.
Roberts was an Australian, once a well-respected philosophy teacher. He descended into alcoholism and drug addiction, eventually robbing several banks while wearing a suit. This earned him the moniker 'the suited robber.' After his capture, he was sentenced to 19 years in prison. However, he managed to escape and fled to Mumbai, India.
In Mumbai, Roberts' story transformed into the tale of Linbaba, and the book 'Shantaram' became a phenomenon in my high school class. Initially, only my close friends and I were reading the series, but with a little encouragement, many of our classmates either borrowed the books from us or purchased copies. For that particular month, they were reading this book everywhere and at all times - on the school bus, in class, and even during science experiments while waiting for reactions to occur.
It was the first time in my life that I witnessed the people around me engrossed in novels. They were overwhelmed, constantly sharing how the story transformed them, what they learned from Linbaba's legendary tale, his love for Kala, and most importantly, how they felt about the experience of 'reading a novel' itself.
For some, it was a brand new experience; they had never read a novel with such passion. Some had never even read a novel in their lives. They constantly shared their feelings with others about how reading novels transformed their thoughts.
However, the fervor faded quickly. Like a drug dealer, I would ask, 'Do you want to read other great stuff?' They would usually smile sheepishly and say, 'Maybe next time.'
I'm certain that my classmates were happier and we formed stronger connections during that period. But they abandoned this habit as quickly as it had formed, making me wonder why.
The surface-level answers were easy to interpret: 'I need to prepare for exams,' or 'I have something else more important to do.' But there was something deeper at the core.
My classmate's waning enthusiasm for reading "Shantaram" made me realize that reading novels is an activity that struggles to meet the entertainment threshold demanded by modern society2. It's slow, effort-intensive, and it's harder to find companions or communities around it. Yet, in my mind, reading novels is more beneficial and important than ever before.
Tell me more about the novels you read recently
Asking deep questions by telling a story - The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
In the brutally cold, quiet, thin air, the sharp ring of a telephone suddenly breaks through the silence. It sounds like something has finally broken free from its prison, yelling in celebration of newfound freedom. The man closes the stove, leaving the pasta still cooking, as he needs to answer the call. He picks up the phone. At first, there's no sound from the other end, only gentle, slow, and steady breathing.
"Ten minutes, please," says a woman on the other end.
"Excuse me?"
"To you, of course. Ten minutes, please. That's all we need to understand each other."
Toru Okada is a middle-aged man working as a lawyer's assistant. He's very good at his job, and the company values his ability, but he finds the work becoming less attractive over time and tries to find a way out.
At the beginning of his newfound freedom after leaving his 9-to-5 job, he doesn't have a plan yet. His daily routine consists of washing clothes, cooking for himself, and reading novels. Several weeks later, his wife asks him to look for their missing cat, which soon becomes part of his daily routine. He enters the closed alleyway behind their house, searching for the missing cat.
He can't find the cat. His wife thinks it might have been brutally murdered, and he notices some strange signs from her. There's a gift from another man, a perfume, which his wife applies before going to the office. He is surprised by his wife's behavior, but he can't find a proper moment to ask about it.
In his mind, life should be peaceful after he left the company, things always surprise us.
One day, Toru Okada's wife disappears without leaving any message.
We live in an era where, for the first time in human history, we have an abundance of information—so much so that people often feel fragile and overwhelmed by it.
"The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle" is a beautiful story that will leave you pondering its meaning for weeks, even months after finishing it. Like most great stories, it doesn't just tell a tale; it poses questions. The extraordinary achievement of this novel, like many other great novels, is its ability to make complex, difficult-to-grasp questions more accessible by presenting them through a narrative.
To make your voice penetrate this mist of information and illuminate the path for others, you need the ability to convey ideas through storytelling. Like what Murakami Haruki did in "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle".
Persuasion-less communication
Often, we encounter people who speak fluently in specific fields. They communicate and act quickly, using jargon and specialized terminology to expedite information transfer. They define the properties of specific concepts and employ them throughout the conversation.
Their apparent intelligence often leads us to consider them skilled communicators. They may function smoothly in corporate or bureaucratic systems where goals and rules are clearly defined, and persuasion is unnecessary because everyone operates on the same foundation.
I call this "persuasion-less communication." When you ask these persuasion-less communicators "Why," they often stumble. They're initially surprised by the question but quickly adapt to provide a clear, logical response. It's due to technical reasons A, B, and C, so we need to do D. However, they fail to answer the deeper question: "Why do we need to do all of these things?" Not the technical reason, but the true purpose behind why we gather as a group, share common goals, and strive to achieve them.
Indeed, they rarely need to practice this skill; most of the time, everyone is aligned, and there's no need to constantly focus on company culture, morale, or planting seeds in people's subconscious.
However, when the time comes—perhaps when they plan to start a company, initiate a movement, or create something different—the ability to engage in "persuasive" communication becomes crucial.
One of the compelling arguments that Yuval Noah Harari presents in "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" is his explanation for why Homo sapiens became Earth's dominant species: our ability to tell stories and believe in them. For instance, every country begins as an imagined concept; the fiat system is not a tangible entity but is backed by the faith of those who use it daily. These people-reliant systems are all built upon layers of stories. There are no concrete facts or objects behind them, just humans finding them useful and believing in them.
Storytelling is one of our most powerful methods of persuasion. When we engage in persuasive communication, the message and the story behind it become paramount. However, crafting an engaging story, controlling its length to suit modern attention spans, addressing tone and pacing, and crucially, using the story to provoke thought—these are all skills that require conscious practice.
Practice the storytelling skill
Learn how the best storyteller tell their story
Reading novels is arguably the best long-term method for developing storytelling skills, for several reasons:
It withstands the test of time, especially for novels written decades ago that are still widely read. These novels possess unique qualities and have profoundly influenced many others. The "why" they choose and the "hooks" they use have proven to be effective.
Reading novels is enjoyable. When you embark on a task that brings you happiness, you're more likely to follow through.
Research has shown that reading novels can increase empathy and Theory of Mind (understanding others' mental states). I view this as the most crucial skill in telling a good story. Empathy is where the connection begins, and the story serves as a bridge. 34
All it takes is a visit to your local library. Go to the literature section and browse through the books on the shelves. Pick the first book that catches your attention and read it as you normally would.
There's just one additional step to incorporate during your reading, which I call "Close and Ponder."
Ponder!
Good authors excel at hooking readers. They use subtle questions and information imbalance to keep readers engaged. However, we need to resist the temptation of non-stop reading. Whenever we encounter a pivotal event, like Toru Okada's wife disappearing in "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle," we should close the book and ask ourselves several questions:
What happened here? Go through all the known facts and unknowns, and try to guess what will happen next.
If you were the author, what would be the next scene you'd write, and why?
Don't spend too much time on this exercise; in my experience, 3-5 minutes is enough to think through a valid explanation of the current situation. Once you have your opinion, continue reading and validate your assumptions.
The reason for practicing "Close and Ponder" is that if we just keep reading due to the carefully arranged hooks by the author, we'll miss many opportunities to think from the author's perspective. At that very moment, we can consider why they made certain choices and what their thinking process might have been. "Close and Ponder" can help us achieve this goal and, even more importantly, sharpen our storytelling instincts.
Build up your story vault
The next step is enriching our story vault. We need ingredients to tell a good story. Everyone will have their way of building up this vault; I'll share mine here:
Observation: During my daily life, many small aspects and viewpoints attract my attention. I will record these in a notebook or on my phone.
Exploration: The rise of Large Language Models (LLMs) has changed many things, including the efficiency of self-conducted exploration. For example, before LLMs, I needed to go through all my notes or books to find appropriate stories for a writing topic. Now, we can discuss my starting point with an LLM and ask it to provide stories from any given era. The beauty of this approach isn't in getting what we want on the first try ("One-Shot"), but in how it can expand our perspective and inspire more possibilities during the discussion, helping us find more stories that might be useful in the future.
Crystallization: Whenever I find a story, I will ponder it briefly. I ask myself, "Where and why would I use this story?" As with "Close and Ponder," I won't spend too much time on this.
Tell it
The final and most obvious step is to "Tell it." You can do this through any medium, in any circumstance. For example:
On your social media account, share a story without any call to action; use the platform as an opportunity to practice.
Write an essay about a topic that has been lingering in your mind for a long time, starting it with a story.
In your daily conversations with colleagues or loved ones, tell them a story. Don't hesitate to tell a story during casual conversation.
You'll find beautiful things arising from this practice.
End note
I tell a reason why we need to read from a practical standpoint, but buried in my heart, what I believe is the same as what Neil Gaiman wrote ten years ago. 5
I believe we have an obligation to read for pleasure, in private and in public places. If we read for pleasure, if others see us reading, then we learn, we exercise our imaginations. We show others that reading is a good thing.
I truly do. And I hope you can feel the same.
Thanks
Thanks Jonathan, Lucy, Shaka for reading the draft of this article. I can not make this far without your help.