Are Books a Thing of the Past?

Somebody said this the other day. On a virtual call of course. And it made me so sad. And I said, no, no, no! But now, as I sit here, doing pretty much anything, to avoid actually reading a book, I’m beginning to wonder.

I am an avid reader.

Or at least I used to be.

Pre-pandemic.

I’m not sure I’ve read any books in their entirety since the Pandemic started.  I’ve had major things going on in my personal life as well, so I tell myself it is just stress. 

But it’s become way too easy not to read books anymore, hasn’t it.  

Bored?  Uncomfortable feeling you would like to avoid?

Netflix. Amazon Prime. Hulu. And more.  There’s some series or movie to escape into.  Or if you do not have that long of an attention span, do the mindless scroll.  Or text someone meaningless snippets back and forth.

So I’ve been forcing myself these past few days not to turn to an electronic escape. 

It’s cold and rainy, and I’ve been making myself do what we’re supposed to be doing this time of year. 

Pause.

Only I feel like I am my children.  Twenty minutes in.  ‘Okay, surely that’s good.’  I paused.  Let’s get going again shall we.  Facebook.  Instagram. Texting.  Netflix.  Amazon Prime.  We live in the candy store nowadays.

Okay, so I got on the internet to write this blog.  But now I am off again.

Read. Journal. Create.

Face what you are feeling.  Dive into it.

Just received three books in the mail:

“No matter how it looks,
you and everyone you know
have hourglass figures.
Each breath, a falling
grain of sand.

To truly live is to see
right through the skin
to the avalanche.

If we never deny
the inevitable end
of the story,
we will write it
more beautiful
while we’re alive.”

–You Better Be Lightning by Andrea Gibson

‘The antidote to overconsumption of art and images and feeds and everything coming at you is creation:  to turn the phone off and get tangible or messy, to keep writing, to sit at the sewing machine, to go outside, to swim, to be with friends, to chop a vegetable, to return to daily habits lost.’

Getting to Center by Marlee Grace

And the Divinity Journal by Ravynne Phelan:  beautiful pictures with lots of writing space.

All three of these I admit I found through online friends or sources.  All about balance. 

I’m off to read.

Really.