What I’m (sorta) reading now
I’m a streaky reader. I read several books in a row, take a month or two off and then read another several books, usually concurrently. It’s the way I’ve read for years and years. I typically don’t set a goal for how many books I’ll read in a year but I did for 2020 through Goodreads.com, a book cataloging and review social media site. On average, I probably read roughly 10 books a year.
But I felt ambitious for 2020. My goal: read 30 books. How far did I get through eight months? Three books. How many am I reading at various stages? Four. Where did I motivation go? No idea. Apparently I’m not alone. And the pandemic may be to blame.
The four books I am currently “reading” in various stages ….
“I have found myself oddly unable to read,” writes Quartz India reporter Manavi Kapur in the beginning of summer. “I stare at the large pile of unread books on my bookshelf and the two shiny tomes on my bedside table, but I haven’t been able to get through even a few pages every day.”
The culprit may be the pandemic that is piling stress and anxiety onto people and interfering with their ability to focus on reading, writes Kapur. Instead, some are watching on-demand digital content that allows people to passively consume information rather than engage their minds by reading books.
I don’t know why I haven’t cracked a book in a few months but I can attest that politics, streaming content, school and a few other stressors have left me a bit exhausted. Turning to a book hasn’t been top of mind. It will be soon enough because the stress, anxiety and the pandemic will pass and we can all get back to our cherished routines.
But 2020 hasn’t affected everyone the same. Hit the internet and there are plenty of people who are thriving on books. Christine Koh has read 13 books through the first half of 2020 and is recommending three dozen to get you through the pandemic. Here’s Bill Gates recommendations to help you through the pandemic. (Of course, Bill can hire someone to read to him.) And here’s a cool little read from Angelica Baker about reading every unread book in her library during the pandemic.
“Looking at them reminds me that I’m home, that I live somewhere I chose to live, with someone I chose to live with, surrounded by things we choose to love and cultivate and remember,” writes Baker, a novelist. “The bookshelves are the reason that sitting on our couch (“I like it,” a friend said when we moved in, “no TV, just sit there staring at the books”) feels safe. They are the reason that this one spot in the apartment feels most like home.”
