Ohhh Izzy I feel this!! Especially speed reading and how much you read, I'm a slow reader and I always have been, and sometimes I feel like I'm stupid because I don't read as much as others, which is obscene because reading is for fun!! I've let go of that now, thank goodness, and back to reading without pressure. Taking it too seriously sucked the fun out of it for me. Such a well written piece, I hope you're proud of this one!
This resonates in so many ways, thank you for putting these words all in one place!
This year, to reclaim my joy of reading, I've decided to focus more on paperback books and backlist titles to avoid getting caught up in the never-ending wave of new releases. I, too, have felt the pressure to keep up with the latest so while there are some buzzy books I do plan to read, I'm mostly focusing my energy on backlist books I can easily get from the library, Pango, or already have on my shelves and caring less about reading and therefore reviewing newer titles. This is sparking joy for me!
This is resonating a lot with me right now. I've been feeling burnt out with bookstagram lately and then I'm like: Why the hell am I allowing a social media website to damage the one hobby I love most in the world? Absolutely not!!
I just read a twenty year old book, second hand for a few dollars. This can cure the up-to-dateness malaise. I might add a reaction for it to my substack, or I may not.
Zamoyski, Adam. 2000. Holy Madness: Romantics, Patriots and Revolutionaries, 1776 - 1871. New York: Viking.
I'm rather uncomfortable with Amazon's control of the marketplace. Having said that, being up here atop the world with a long, narrow supply line I deal with them often.
Kindle publications though, no. I'll spend a fair amount of time looking elsewhere for .epub editions.
Ohhh Izzy I feel this!! Especially speed reading and how much you read, I'm a slow reader and I always have been, and sometimes I feel like I'm stupid because I don't read as much as others, which is obscene because reading is for fun!! I've let go of that now, thank goodness, and back to reading without pressure. Taking it too seriously sucked the fun out of it for me. Such a well written piece, I hope you're proud of this one!
Thank you so much Ella!! I'm glad you're enjoying reading again <3
This resonates in so many ways, thank you for putting these words all in one place!
This year, to reclaim my joy of reading, I've decided to focus more on paperback books and backlist titles to avoid getting caught up in the never-ending wave of new releases. I, too, have felt the pressure to keep up with the latest so while there are some buzzy books I do plan to read, I'm mostly focusing my energy on backlist books I can easily get from the library, Pango, or already have on my shelves and caring less about reading and therefore reviewing newer titles. This is sparking joy for me!
Thanks so much for your kind words! I love those ideas, and I too am focusing on my "backlist"!
This is resonating a lot with me right now. I've been feeling burnt out with bookstagram lately and then I'm like: Why the hell am I allowing a social media website to damage the one hobby I love most in the world? Absolutely not!!
YES!!!
I just read a twenty year old book, second hand for a few dollars. This can cure the up-to-dateness malaise. I might add a reaction for it to my substack, or I may not.
Zamoyski, Adam. 2000. Holy Madness: Romantics, Patriots and Revolutionaries, 1776 - 1871. New York: Viking.
I love buying books secondhand!
I'm rather uncomfortable with Amazon's control of the marketplace. Having said that, being up here atop the world with a long, narrow supply line I deal with them often.
Kindle publications though, no. I'll spend a fair amount of time looking elsewhere for .epub editions.
That is so true! Agreed on the ebooks
Loved this, so insightful!
Oh thank you! I was kind of nervous posting but it’s an important topic!