#Microblog Monday 315: The Old and the New
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At the beginning of the pandemic, I thought I’d make my way through all the unread books on my bookshelf. And I am reading them… sometimes… but, more often, I’m reading my way through new books borrowed digitally from the library.
At the beginning of the pandemic, I thought I could turn it into a project: read everything unread on the shelves. I tossed it out mentally in the same way that I tossed out things such as re-organizing the basement or finishing a major photo project. Things that I wanted to get done, and I now had time at home to get done.
But I haven’t done any of these things.
Instead, I’ve purchased books along the way, adding to the unread pile instead of subtracting.
Maybe I just need to admit that I’m not going to check anything off the list, project-wise.
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9 comments
It’s not a vacation – it’s a stressful nightmare of epic proportions. Throw away the list, and do what’s necessary and what’s fun. When you’ve numbed (I mean, adjusted) to the stress, you can go back to your list.
Even with the bookstores closed, I was still buying e-books, so yes, I have bought far more books than I’ve read during this pandemic, even though I’ve read a pretty good number of books (for me) and already completed my Goodreads Reading Challenge for the year. 😉 I don’t think I’ll ever get all my books read — but it’s fun trying, isn’t it??
On a related note, I totally cracked up when I saw this headline from the NY Times a few days ago: “John Cleese Intends to Have His Unread Books Buried With Him.” When they asked him how he organizes his books, he said, “I don’t. I have books scattered all over the planet, like my ex-wives. When I die, I shall have all the unread ones buried with me. My grave will be called “Mount Cleese.” ” (lol)
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/03/books/review/john-cleese-by-the-book-interview.html
When we packed up to go to Syria for 2 years, I deliberately packed all my unread books with the plan that finally, I would read them.
But our school had a library, and there were other expats with books to lend me, and I’m sorry to report I didn’t not make much headway in that box of unread books during those 2 years. To this day, they are still waiting to be read.
I’m wondering why I have so many books in permanent limbo-land.
Same. It all feels like pressure, to get things done. This isn’t a voluntary hiatus, it is a weird super stressful time and we don’t need to put any more on our plates than getting through, and getting our people through.
Any time we communicate with my in laws they talk about all of their projects (they compartmentalize well and also just aren’t bothered by things they should be bothered by) and then ask – every. single. time. – what I’ve gotten done. Not their son, just me. And the first several times I would stumble or feel bad because I’ve accomplished nothing by their standards. But I’ve started getting more assertive and saying things like ”taking the girls to every empty playground and beach we can find.”
Because those accomplishments are important right now (and always). This is how I’m using my time. To make my kids’ time positive, rather than clean my house (which admittedly needs a good cleaning).
And when I’m alone I rewatch Schitts Creek and read books that make me happy.
Yes. What does it say about our society and the pressure we put on ourselves that we feel guilty if we’re not super extra productive during this time (while continuing to work FT and having our kids at home distance learning)?
This three day weekend was miserable here—heat wave—mid 80s and no AC bc it’s not supposed to get this hot (thank you climate change and I finally broke down and just ordered a portable AC unit)—and we couldn’t open the windows bc the air was unhealthy (smoke from fires). Finally opened them today bc now it’s only moderately unhealthy and too F’ing hot. Pools and beach (too smoky anyway) closed due to covid19. Yet still my internal voice is scolding me for not exercising, not doing xyz, etc.
I did make a lot of masks this year though (still have cut out material waiting to be sewn…I already made more than we need). I do have spurts of productivity.
I’m trying to tell myself “just” getting my job done, getting kids through the school day, making sure we eat and have clean clothes to wear is enough…I think the longer this pandemic goes on, the more we feel like we “should” be getting stuff done…like we gave ourselves a grace period but time’s up it’s been 6 months.
I had the exact same thought about my “to read” pile, and had basically the same result, too. One thing I have come to realize is that I don’t have the mental and emotional bandwidth for any book that is heavy or dense in this season of life. I have found myself reading a lot more fiction, a lot more romance, and a lot more “chick lit” than usual. Most of my “to read” pile is either literature (sometimes with heavy subject matter) or non-fiction (often dense).
I have read e-books for a while, but one thing I’ve started doing more in the past 5-6 months that I almost never did before is listening to audiobooks. I walk 30-40 minutes for exercising 5-6 days a week, and I will often listen to an audiobook during my walks. I am enjoying it, although it still kinda feels like “cheating” when my eyes are not actually reading words. . . and of course, it’s doing nothing to help me to get through my “to read” pile.
I am now following the challenges from The Unread Shelf and have (sadly) let go of the idea that I will ever read some of the books in my “to read” pile and given them away. So maybe I will yet make some progress on this project.
Ha! I was all proud of myself, like “see? I hoarded all these books to read and NOW IS THEIR TIME!” I have read some of them, but I have also added way more to my collection. In my defense, I’m supporting a small independent bookstore near me (that’s what I’m telling myself, anyway). I agree with others… It’s not a luxuriously long vacation. It’s a highly stressful pandemic. I thought I’d have all this time, but it turned out that all the stress impacted my brain and sometimes I just wanted to read something not on my shelf. I did read a few books that have been in my to be read shelf for quite a while, so I feel that’s a win. Make it a long term project!
I really like a’s response. It’s not a holiday. Don’t put pressure on yourself.
Also, I wonder if there’s a reason unread books remain unread. They inspired us once, when we bought them. But after years, if we haven’t read them, maybe there’s a reason? I have a bunch of books on my Kindle app that I haven’t read yet. But I still borrow new books from the library all the time, and read them instead. You’ve got me thinking about a blog post …
Me too