Man! I went through the same kind of reading regression. I learned to read at a young age, I was in advanced reading starting in 1st grade, that unlocked higher levels of the library for me. It made me feel special. Then there were the book clubs in the library. The 50, 100 and so on. Complete with stars. There were these big huge notepads on the top shelves that displayed who was in what club. I loved to dominate that arena.
Even in the military I read a lot. On deployments in the barracks. When I deployed to Iraq there was a program called Soldiers ANGELS and you could make a request for a book and they would mail it to you. I read tons of books. It was amazing. After my first tbi it became harder to focus. Eventually I stopped. Until a few years ago I picked up my favorites again. Each author led to another and another. I also started listening to books, which has its challenges. I rarely listen to music, I’m usually listening to a book. When I have time I sit down and read, when I’m cleaning or walking or running I’m listening.
But I had and still have all the same challenges as anyone else with social media. I do like to come here and read articles. Reminds me of readers digest that we had in our draw in the bathroom back in the days.
Thank you for this! The great reading falloff happened for me when I took a job as a writer and editor at a weekly paper (and had young kids, too). Suddenly all reading was work reading (w attached performance anxiety ;/ ). It’s taken years to get back to reading for pleasure without feeling guilty. I’ve made progress by reading physical books again, out of reach of my phone, preferably outside, and by reading before bedtime as an intentional lark. I really look forward to that time before I turn out the lights now - just like when I was a kid.
Wow did this resonate. Agree completely on intentional reading and consumption of culture being the answer. I find I'm much more engaged, when I have a reading project (e.g. currently reading a lot of German lit in translation -- Mann Brothers, Roth, Zweig, Musil) or a watching project (all of Ingmar Bergman's films or all of the Radiance BluRay label releases). It both scratches a completist itch - but also feels like a deeper and more satisfying project. And yeah - it makes for more interesting pieces to write on Substack.
Algorithmic media -- whether streaming TV, IP-driven cinema, all of social media (including Substack Notes, sadly) now feels very liminal by comparison. Easy to zone out, but ending up nowhere and no place.
Hiding The Republic under The Red Pony in middle school! Love it. Reading as something you have to smuggle past the world. The fact that it never fully stops feeling that way, even when nobody's watching anymore, is the part most people won't say out loud. Really glad you did.
Great piece. A lot to relate to in it. Just as a comparison, my reading (as an activity) has evolved like my physical exercise has. Both remain great joys, but these days I have to force myself to do both of them and I set goals so that I do them well. As a kid I just liked to run around—cycle down to the ball field, cycle back, run to school, run home, so I could have more time running around in recess. Non-stop. Same with library books. Every week a new batch. Pure diversion. Now I read and run and go to the gym to keep in shape, and for the thrill of feeling my body and mind at work, and those moments remain some of the best moments of my day. Social media is a distraction, but I always feel like such shit during and especially after dipping into it that it remains more like annoying background noise than something truly competing for my time.
Man! I went through the same kind of reading regression. I learned to read at a young age, I was in advanced reading starting in 1st grade, that unlocked higher levels of the library for me. It made me feel special. Then there were the book clubs in the library. The 50, 100 and so on. Complete with stars. There were these big huge notepads on the top shelves that displayed who was in what club. I loved to dominate that arena.
Even in the military I read a lot. On deployments in the barracks. When I deployed to Iraq there was a program called Soldiers ANGELS and you could make a request for a book and they would mail it to you. I read tons of books. It was amazing. After my first tbi it became harder to focus. Eventually I stopped. Until a few years ago I picked up my favorites again. Each author led to another and another. I also started listening to books, which has its challenges. I rarely listen to music, I’m usually listening to a book. When I have time I sit down and read, when I’m cleaning or walking or running I’m listening.
But I had and still have all the same challenges as anyone else with social media. I do like to come here and read articles. Reminds me of readers digest that we had in our draw in the bathroom back in the days.
Thank you for this! The great reading falloff happened for me when I took a job as a writer and editor at a weekly paper (and had young kids, too). Suddenly all reading was work reading (w attached performance anxiety ;/ ). It’s taken years to get back to reading for pleasure without feeling guilty. I’ve made progress by reading physical books again, out of reach of my phone, preferably outside, and by reading before bedtime as an intentional lark. I really look forward to that time before I turn out the lights now - just like when I was a kid.
Wow did this resonate. Agree completely on intentional reading and consumption of culture being the answer. I find I'm much more engaged, when I have a reading project (e.g. currently reading a lot of German lit in translation -- Mann Brothers, Roth, Zweig, Musil) or a watching project (all of Ingmar Bergman's films or all of the Radiance BluRay label releases). It both scratches a completist itch - but also feels like a deeper and more satisfying project. And yeah - it makes for more interesting pieces to write on Substack.
Algorithmic media -- whether streaming TV, IP-driven cinema, all of social media (including Substack Notes, sadly) now feels very liminal by comparison. Easy to zone out, but ending up nowhere and no place.
I vastly prefer a quest.
If you'd ever like to submit a review of one of these books for Non Grata please do let us know
Hiding The Republic under The Red Pony in middle school! Love it. Reading as something you have to smuggle past the world. The fact that it never fully stops feeling that way, even when nobody's watching anymore, is the part most people won't say out loud. Really glad you did.
Great piece. A lot to relate to in it. Just as a comparison, my reading (as an activity) has evolved like my physical exercise has. Both remain great joys, but these days I have to force myself to do both of them and I set goals so that I do them well. As a kid I just liked to run around—cycle down to the ball field, cycle back, run to school, run home, so I could have more time running around in recess. Non-stop. Same with library books. Every week a new batch. Pure diversion. Now I read and run and go to the gym to keep in shape, and for the thrill of feeling my body and mind at work, and those moments remain some of the best moments of my day. Social media is a distraction, but I always feel like such shit during and especially after dipping into it that it remains more like annoying background noise than something truly competing for my time.
Yes. On board.