On the joys of getting lost in a book in the era of performative reading. Plus a reading challenge to celebrate World Book Day and The National Year of Reading.
Oh loved everything about this, Cristina! Hilariously last year I posted or maybe restacked that photo of Bill Nighy captioned 'the dream would be doing the same thing on the table next to him' and some bloke commented surely I'd want to be sat with him talking. Point missed altogether (and also he's marked his territory with the spare book--read the outdoor seating area). And when you mentioned everyone reading the same book on the tube my brain immediately went to the Callum and Dua meet-cute so laughed out loud you'd gone the same way. My reading is WAY slower than usual this year, but I love your list and will see how many of this year's reads I can inelegantly shoehorn into your suggested categories!
Great minds think alike, Claire! It was so nice to see people enjoying the same book at once, the original "as seen on your commute" recommendations that caught your eye.
The inspiration for trying to give some structure to my reading this year has been that notebook and reading my entries about books I bought and why and where and what I thought of them. It was like a time capsule! I thought I should probably resume that and go back to writing about books more. And to encourage me to keep on reading, setting up a goal that makes it fun seems a good idea. I'll tell you more by the end of the year, when I've probably read 12 books with any luck 😅
Really enjoyed this article Cristina. I was pondering as to what you meant by 'performative' reading. Is everything we do now a form of performance, I wonder 🤔😁
Thanks Lucy! I was confused when I first came across the performative reading trend. Why would anyone want to carry a book around and pretend to be reading it instead of just reading it escapes me but maybe that's because I actually love reading 🤷♀️
"If you must by all means be impregnated, choose at least someone who has great taste in books. Men, like trends, come and go but good writing and stories stay with you forever and can nurture you back to life." 😂
The analysis paralysis from platforms like Netflix is real. After a long day at work the other and feeling pretty brain-dead, I turned on Netflix and found myself scrolling for about 10 minutes. When I 'woke up' to what I was doing, I turned off the TV and picked and read up a magazine that I had bought at the weekend. By the time I went to bed, I felt far more nourished than I am sure I would have done if I had been scrolling for much longer.
Glad you enjoyed it reading it, Sarah. It's interesting how we now have so many options at our fingertips for entertainment and and yet they often fail to be as stimulating (in a good way) as we expect.
Over the past few weeks I noticed how different I feel after spending less time watching a series at night as a way to unwind and going to bed with a book. My mind was more alert and I felt more rested even though reading is by nature a more demanding activity than simply watching something.
It's reminded me that I don't need to default to digital entertainment to dissociate myself from the world for a few hours 😅
It’s so interesting you feel that “It was so good indeed that it left me reaching for another novel almost immediately, which is the highest praise I can think of for a book.” Whereas for me the opposite is true. If I’ve read a book that fully sucked me in and I’m blown away by it to the point I purposefully slow down my reading, I find it so hard to pick up another book. I just finished human acts by Han Kang last weekend which is supremely well written but achingly sad and as soon as I finished I knew it would take a while before the next book. I just started one today finally…
That too happens to me and I may need a moment after a book that has particularly resonated with me. But even then I also feel an urge to carry on reading, it's a powerful momentum that I can’t fight and it's only appeased by finding a good follow up book. I don’t know how to explain it other than by saying it’s like getting high and feeling fantastic and needing another fix immediately to prolong that sensation. Probably not the best analogy 🤣 I loved The Vegetarian, I need to read Human Acts now if I can find my copy...
What a lovely... not story, but a bunch of stories. Reading life is *the* life, why isn't there a degree for it or something? Or why wasn't I born rich so I can lounge about and read all day long...?
Some nice inspiration for my out-of-hand TBR pile in your photos. I'm adding The Idiot to the list. Would you recommend any (all?) or those 3 books in your first photo? Never heard of them, but all titles sound appealing.
Monica you share my puzzlement at how it is possible one can't make a living just by reading, not reviewing books, only enjoying them 😂
From the books in these pictures Wendy Cope is a poet and I'd highly recommend it to anyone who believes poetry is not for them. In particular Serious Concerns, which is the first collection of hers I read and loved. She's very witty and funny.
Shaun Bythell is an equally witty writer and he owns a second-hand bookshop in Wigtown, Scotland. Diary of a Bookseller (the previous book to Confessions of a bookseller) is fantastic and full of bookish facts and recommendations.
And finally In Love by Alfred Hayes is probably one of the most beautifully written books I've read in the past few years. His style is a mix of F.S. Fitzgerald and Hemingway, if that helps.
Thanks so much for all the recs! I got more than I asked for, and all got added to my TBR list. Now God help me with timing or other necessary life activities :))
Here’s to brain-melting books! Your accidental foray into Oedipus Rex made me laugh.
I'm still traumatised by the way I plunged into that story without warning 😂
I studied it in university. I don't think I would have read it in my teenage years 😂
You were definitely more prepared for it than I was 😂
Oh loved everything about this, Cristina! Hilariously last year I posted or maybe restacked that photo of Bill Nighy captioned 'the dream would be doing the same thing on the table next to him' and some bloke commented surely I'd want to be sat with him talking. Point missed altogether (and also he's marked his territory with the spare book--read the outdoor seating area). And when you mentioned everyone reading the same book on the tube my brain immediately went to the Callum and Dua meet-cute so laughed out loud you'd gone the same way. My reading is WAY slower than usual this year, but I love your list and will see how many of this year's reads I can inelegantly shoehorn into your suggested categories!
Great minds think alike, Claire! It was so nice to see people enjoying the same book at once, the original "as seen on your commute" recommendations that caught your eye.
The inspiration for trying to give some structure to my reading this year has been that notebook and reading my entries about books I bought and why and where and what I thought of them. It was like a time capsule! I thought I should probably resume that and go back to writing about books more. And to encourage me to keep on reading, setting up a goal that makes it fun seems a good idea. I'll tell you more by the end of the year, when I've probably read 12 books with any luck 😅
Yes those categories open up a whole vista of imaginary reading 😉
Really enjoyed this article Cristina. I was pondering as to what you meant by 'performative' reading. Is everything we do now a form of performance, I wonder 🤔😁
Thanks Lucy! I was confused when I first came across the performative reading trend. Why would anyone want to carry a book around and pretend to be reading it instead of just reading it escapes me but maybe that's because I actually love reading 🤷♀️
Seems like a little bit OTT 😂🤣
Indeed!
Great post, Cristina and this:
"If you must by all means be impregnated, choose at least someone who has great taste in books. Men, like trends, come and go but good writing and stories stay with you forever and can nurture you back to life." 😂
The analysis paralysis from platforms like Netflix is real. After a long day at work the other and feeling pretty brain-dead, I turned on Netflix and found myself scrolling for about 10 minutes. When I 'woke up' to what I was doing, I turned off the TV and picked and read up a magazine that I had bought at the weekend. By the time I went to bed, I felt far more nourished than I am sure I would have done if I had been scrolling for much longer.
Glad you enjoyed it reading it, Sarah. It's interesting how we now have so many options at our fingertips for entertainment and and yet they often fail to be as stimulating (in a good way) as we expect.
Over the past few weeks I noticed how different I feel after spending less time watching a series at night as a way to unwind and going to bed with a book. My mind was more alert and I felt more rested even though reading is by nature a more demanding activity than simply watching something.
It's reminded me that I don't need to default to digital entertainment to dissociate myself from the world for a few hours 😅
It’s so interesting you feel that “It was so good indeed that it left me reaching for another novel almost immediately, which is the highest praise I can think of for a book.” Whereas for me the opposite is true. If I’ve read a book that fully sucked me in and I’m blown away by it to the point I purposefully slow down my reading, I find it so hard to pick up another book. I just finished human acts by Han Kang last weekend which is supremely well written but achingly sad and as soon as I finished I knew it would take a while before the next book. I just started one today finally…
That too happens to me and I may need a moment after a book that has particularly resonated with me. But even then I also feel an urge to carry on reading, it's a powerful momentum that I can’t fight and it's only appeased by finding a good follow up book. I don’t know how to explain it other than by saying it’s like getting high and feeling fantastic and needing another fix immediately to prolong that sensation. Probably not the best analogy 🤣 I loved The Vegetarian, I need to read Human Acts now if I can find my copy...
Human acts can be the book you own but haven’t read, although that book challenge is particularly easy for you ☺️
It's the easiest one to tick off 😅
What a lovely... not story, but a bunch of stories. Reading life is *the* life, why isn't there a degree for it or something? Or why wasn't I born rich so I can lounge about and read all day long...?
Some nice inspiration for my out-of-hand TBR pile in your photos. I'm adding The Idiot to the list. Would you recommend any (all?) or those 3 books in your first photo? Never heard of them, but all titles sound appealing.
Monica you share my puzzlement at how it is possible one can't make a living just by reading, not reviewing books, only enjoying them 😂
From the books in these pictures Wendy Cope is a poet and I'd highly recommend it to anyone who believes poetry is not for them. In particular Serious Concerns, which is the first collection of hers I read and loved. She's very witty and funny.
Shaun Bythell is an equally witty writer and he owns a second-hand bookshop in Wigtown, Scotland. Diary of a Bookseller (the previous book to Confessions of a bookseller) is fantastic and full of bookish facts and recommendations.
And finally In Love by Alfred Hayes is probably one of the most beautifully written books I've read in the past few years. His style is a mix of F.S. Fitzgerald and Hemingway, if that helps.
Thanks so much for all the recs! I got more than I asked for, and all got added to my TBR list. Now God help me with timing or other necessary life activities :))
Good luck and good reading 😁