… a novel, a book of poems,
nonfiction, creative nonfiction,
or maybe a memoir? Reading and
social media aren’t mutually
exclusive, right?
Are we still readers? Articles abound on this subject, don’t they? We’re fascinated by this gauge for some reason, and it’s not uncommon to find ourselves saying: “Just not enough time to read anymore.” Or “my attention span has changed … it’s more geared to social media now … quick one liners … twitter-speak … endless posts that draw me in and ask little of me.”
So what was the last book you read? How did you select it? Did you love it or simply tolerate it?
I continue to read each day. A lifelong habit for me, it’s something I love to do. Social media has its place, but I think it can co-exist with reading. I don’t feel the need to choose, or to neglect one because of the other. But I do have to remind myself to keep talking about the books I’m reading. Why?
Because if we grow silent about the books we read (thinking that no one reads anymore), we only fuel a false reality. I don’t know many people who have simply quit reading because the world continues to toss new alternatives and time pursuits at them. Bookstores have changed, yes, of course. Audio continues to grow in popularity. Authors can now publish whenever and whatever is important to them … on their own schedule without waiting for a traditional publisher to wave a magic wand.
I think most of us who spend time with social media because of personal or professional reasons realize that flexibility exists. We can continue to be “readers” and do other things, as well. So keep talking about the books you’re reading and/or writing. Surface statistics rarely (if ever) tell the whole story, and superficial information seldom illuminates.
I also gift books whenever the spirit moves me. It doesn’t matter where the book winds up. In a closet, on a shelf, donated to a hospice or a favorite used bookstore. But to stop giving books as gifts because some cold and sterile statistic claims that fewer people read these days is just plain wrong.
Keep doing what is important to you when it comes to books. Many of them will outlive us; many are responsible for most of what we’ve learned and come to accomplish in our lives. Many have inspired us to get up the next day.
So what was the last book you read?
“I cannot remember the books I’ve read any more than the meals I have eaten; even so, they have made me. -Ralph Waldo Emerson
FOR more about my memoir, THE SILENCE OF MORNING: A Memoir of Time Undone, click here, or to find my book about prairie wisdom and how to tap into your own wisdom via experience and life surroundings, click here: ALWAYS RETURNING: The Wisdom of Place. If you enjoy poetry, ANCIENTS OF THE EARTH: Poems of Time, is also available on amazon. Thank you!
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