your friendly film person :)

This is the first year in a while I’ve had time to myself, to live my life in all the ways I can. See friends, create things of my own (like this blog), and still work but not overwork. With all these newly freed-up hours in my week, I have gone back to many hobbies/activities I loved in the past but had no energy to pencil in as a working woman. Reading was something I only ever did when traveling once a year, and even then it wasn’t particularly easy for me to do if I had a stressful journey. It is more of a peaceful activity for me, kind of like meditation, it’s been wonderful to incorporate it in my routine again.

That being said, I have a bone to pick with the people that advertise books. Bestseller lists, dedicated social medias and other forms of promotional content. Most people, myself included, do not have the time nor energy for novels the size of bricks – let alone book series!! It’s ridiculous that even in grocery stores there are two forms of reading material advertised: magazines and 300-page novels. As a person who genuinely enjoys all sorts of books but is also a slow reader, I wanted to put out a PSA: NOT ALL BOOKS ARE HUGE AND BORING. In fact, the best books you’ll read you will probably find by accident, not on a bestseller list, and definitely not in the grocery store (I mean it, put that book back on the shelf, take your cart full of cheese, crackers and chocolate and walk away).

My least favorite interactions have in the past been with avid readers. Not because I don’t like them as people, but because any time books were mentioned they became insufferable.

“It took you a month to read that? I could read that in one night!”

“Once I read the entire *insert big classic book here* in one day.”

“The series is so amazing, I know it’s a big commitment but trust me you can totally read it in a week if you like it.”

Please, hear me when I say this: I don’t care. Neither does your friend who is trying to share something fun with you.

There has always been this type of attitude surrounding the book community, this need to brag about how many pages you can read and how deeply you know literature. No wonder people who read casually are repulsed by the act after a few years. We grow up, the book community seemingly stays in middle school, pointing fingers and proclaiming “I’m better than you”. What is it with every recommendation on any social media platform being 500 pages long with no end in sight? Don’t get me wrong, novels are incredible. The world building, the characters, it’s a beautiful thing to find novels you like and connect to… but it’s also impossible for most of us after high school.

They’re called Young Adult novels for a reason, you need lots of free time for them. In school we could use books as a way to productively procrastinate doing our school work. It was relaxing and creatively engaging cause we had room in our mind for it. When I only have time to read while commuting to work, or a couple hours before bed, I am not going to gravitate towards books that require me to read a few pages and remember 1/10th of a storyline for next time. It gets exhausting for someone who doesn’t have the quick-reader gene.

Come to think of it, very few kids actually read for fun once high school began. School makes you get really sick of books regardless of whether you liked them before, after a few years spent forcibly consuming classics and academic papers anyone could use a break. If I didn’t have a teacher that was willing to show you the magic of reading non-mandatory literature, it’s near impossible to see reading as “fun” once you’re an adult. I got lucky, I had the greatest L&L teacher of all time. He sent us weekly emails containing an article that, at the beginning of class, we would casually discuss. His creative assignments were also super fun, he was always encouraging and open to listen to ideas, but still incorporated and taught us everything he needed to. The way he showed us reading was through the eyes of a man with a lot going on, but always taking a few minutes for himself to read something cause it’s informative and conversation-worthy. Reading was not just a solitary activity or for homework, it could also be a way to connect with people. I will forever love him for that.

(Mr. Papatassos, if you’re reading this, you rock. I still don’t know how to continue that short story about the Bolshoi Ballet Theatre I started in 9th grade, but if I ever do I promise you will find it here eventually. )

I know first hand that the search for good reading material can get overwhelming. If you’ve gotten this far, I think you’re ready to rediscover the joys of a good read so I’ll tell you what’s worked for me: collections. Collections of short stories, poems, essays, anything. It’s bite-sized stories you can easily finish on a short metro ride, they’re thought-provoking and make for good conversation. I won’t tell you which collection to read (maybe in another post if you’d like), think of something you like to ponder or want to learn more about and I bet you will find a few choices online. That’s how I found a couple fun contenders.

If you do start reading something and realize you’re not into it, don’t force yourself to finish the book. No one is grading you, no one will judge you. That doesn’t mean you should give up either, there are billions of books out there. Explore, go into a friendly bookstore or a public library and read bits and pieces of things until you find a writing style you like to read.

If you want someone to share your book thoughts with, you can always come to me. Maybe if there’s enough of us I’ll start a small online book club on here!

Give books another chance, I promise it’s both enriching and worth it.