I went through phases with ebooks, and though I've never used one of those readers that are trying to mimic the experience, I can't imagine how any of that would ever replace the tactile experience of holding a book in your hands, flipping the pages with your fingers, etc.
With that said, have you considered how many articles you read online? I tend to consume a bunch of those
Someone's said that before, but to be honest, even if I did consider it...I've always been a consumer of fiction. So even if I am still reading, albeit in a different medium...it's not the same, and I do sometimes lament an aspect of myself that I've lost. Hmm, damn, this conversation is making me feel like trying another shot at reading daily. I have such a reading queue going on, like my movie queue lmao. I have a few books from trading, and several books I've purchased in the past year or so. Ugh, still need to reread the ender's game series because I bought the final book when it came out lol recently.
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Ace_Spade (9411)
2 years ago
I've found it's a habit and a muscle and the more you do the easier it gets to slide back into it.
The real trick is to either never think of it like an obligation, but remember that it's something you want to do, and/or "trick yourself" into forgetting that you have an agenda. Just grab a tome and slide into a chair and start reading.
Avoid "obligation reads". Like, people tell you that you have to read A Tale of Two Cities or War and Peace - screw them. Read Harry Potter or Danielle Steele. Whatever. Just start reading and you'll get around to the classics.
I like to mix up the types of books I read. So I'll read a classic and then a short story collection and then a modern book, etc., etc.
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acidraindrop (3055)
2 years ago
Hmm, I guess it's like anything else. Going to the gym or eating healthy. Just gotta normalize it for oneself; and just do it, until it becomes natural. Glad we had this conversation. I just remembered there was a book I was finally making progress through on my last trip, but I haven't picked it up since I got back home XD
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Ace_Spade (9411)
2 years ago
Grab it and crack that sucker!
It's just my experience, of course, but I've found that it is like going to the gym or eating healthy. It's mindset, willpower, and eating the first couple days of suck to get to the good stuff. Once you feel healthy or get into the habit of reading, it's just joy, but it can be rough for a day.
To beat that hump, my exercise philosophy has always been that I work out until I don't want to any more. Now, obviously I'm not quitting with one rep, but just not beating myself up for not doing five sets of twelve reps (or whatever). I do three sets, feel the light burn, I'm getting bored, and I do something else. Then I do it again the next day and I always have fun, feel good about the workout, and want to do it again the next day.
Same with reading. If you're cruising your streaming service of choice looking for something to watch, just grab a book, read a couple pages. See how you feel. Stop when you want. But you'll find you read more pages every day until a couple weeks have gone by and you're starting to munch down multiple chapters per day.
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acidraindrop (3055)
2 years ago
Alright, that's the plan. When I get some downtime tonight, I'll pick up the book. It's nestled in a pile of clean laundry. I ought to move it anyhow. I'd like to get back into the flow, and maybe it would stimulate my writing interests too.
I like how you described your exercise philosophy. I think in the past, I had these strict goals, and it wouldn't end up working out. My most successfully consistent work came from organically just doing as much as I can, and eventually, that led to a cycle of motivation where I would continue to work out more effectively than using those strict goals. (maybe discouragement from failure, maybe inappropriately established goals, etc.)
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Ace_Spade (9411)
2 years ago
I did some reading tonight, how about you?
Yeah, the exercise thing I got from a workout guy talking to Joe Rogan. I don't know what your views are on Rogan, but you can love him, hate him, or be totally ambivalent, this guy makes excellent points about working out more often, not putting your body through the wringer to get fit, and keeping things light and fun. Here's the clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fbCcWyYthQ
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acidraindrop (3055)
2 years ago
I failed to do any reading. Got home very late and just passed out without even touching the previously mentioned clean laundry.. :D Gonna try again tonight before bed assuming I don't fall asleep immediately again. Gonna put the book out so I have it at the ready.
I don't really like Rogan, but I'll take a look at the clip when I get off work later. Thank you!
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Ace_Spade (9411)
2 years ago
That's another good key element to my "don't beat yourself up" philosophy: if you need to just crash, don't worry about it.
Ultimately, to me, it's leisure time, so if I want to do it, then that's how I'll spend it. I push myself to do certain things (exercise, read) because I know how rewarding they are, but if I truly don't want to do something (that is just for fun), I'm not going to waste time doing it.
Yeah, Rogan's hit or miss with people. I can respect that, I get it. It's not really about Joe, though, it's the stuff the other guy lays out.
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acidraindrop (3055)
2 years ago
Thanks for that reminder. Same thing goes for the exercise. You do what you can, but you should never beat yourself up when things get in the way, esp for reading since as you said, it's leisure. I appreciate this dialogue. Cause I do beat myself up sometimes about it, but of course, I also need to take the steps when I'm able to do so.
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Ace_Spade (9411)
2 years ago
I've done that with a lot of things over the years, and it took me a long time to get out of that rut. It was stuff like, "Oh, I want to read, but I don't have a lot of time to read, so I *should* read something important that I'm supposed to read." And what I really wanted to do was zonk out with some fantasy lit or something, but I wouldn't and feel bad. Or I'd draw and hate that I couldn't draw tables and houses and stuff before realizing that I don't like drawing those things and I'm only doing it for fun, so the heck do I care if I suck at some stuff? I don't need to work on my chair-drawing ability. I need to get back to drawing trees or whatever else I feel like.
I think this is basically a near-universal problem. Snootyboots people beat up on other people for liking certain things. I'm not saying there isn't a chain of interests where I might start to suspect that somebody wasn't a great individual, but just that I try not to judge others or myself for how I want to spend my fun time.
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acidraindrop (3055)
a year ago
FYI, I've succeeded in being able to read more. Still not as much as I'd like, but I think the reframing of things has definitely helped. In general, I'm currently in a better space with organizing my life, and maintaining the reading has been a part of that. Cheers!
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