The resuscitation of reading

I've always been an avid reader. I was the kid who, in family photos, had my nose behind abook at birthday parties. I'd read everything that I could get my hands on. I'd read the back of the cereal box while scarfing down a bowl of Cheerios. When I was done with it, I'd move on to reading the nutritional content. Not because I was health-obsessed, but because it was there, and it was words, so I consumed those too.

My voracity didn't stop when I was in high school; I used to skip class so that I could go to the library to read. Sitting between the stacks, powering through fantasy, fiction, biographies, poetry, history - that was my little piece of heaven. Forget about running for student council, forget the popular kids. Just give me a little section of carpet in the quietest back corner of the library where I could listen to my discman, read the world away, or dream of a time when it'd be my name on the books surrounding me. That was perfection.

Somewhere in between then and now ... things got hectic. Studying replaced pleasure reading; efficiency replaced lingering over delicious metaphor and rich imagery. And now that I've graduated and am between degrees? I can't get myself back to where it all began. I catch myself halfway down a page, not really remembering how the plot got there; I skim articles that I come across with the intention of reading them later (but never, ever do). It feels like life happens too quickly to accommodate the literary digestive satisfaction of a good, thorough read.

I'm sure that I could launch into a rant of the connection between the nature of information consumption, web writing, and what seems to be an ever-shortening attention span ... but I won't. Not today, at least. That's a post for another time.

However, with that, my next addition to List30 is a combination of two things: slowing down and mindfulness as it comes to hobbies such as reading. I'm taking the time to step away from my phone and with it, the mindless scrolling that goes with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr. I've been taking time before going to bed at night to read—whether it's been for fifteen minutes or an hour and fifteen—and reading a book. Slowly, being sure to take in each word.

And you know what? It makes a difference. It's coming back.

Which past loves do you want to resuscitate?

step away from the cash register, miss

i'm still really working on getting back into my groove, but since it's been so long that i've been grooveless, maybe i should just get on creating a new one.

i went to the bookstore yesterday and did some wandering - one of my favourite things to do. i managed to drum up some willpower and abstain from making a beeline for all of my usual haunts (ie cultural studies), and instead checked out various books in the biography section.

long way gone: memoirs of a boy soldier by ishmael beah
one of the keynote speakers at the conference i ran last year was a former child soldier - his story was so tragic and so inspiring at the same time, i'm drawn to more and more of these recounts.

look me in the eye by john elder robinson
i've been devouring augusten burroughs' book, magical thinking lately; this is a memoir written by his brother john, recounting his life with Aspergers syndrome. from the first bit that i leafed through in the store, i've come to the conclusion that this family truly has the writing gene. envy ensues.

(ps i'm going to go ahead and highly recommend augusten's writing while i'm at it. i'm loving it like i haven't loved a book in a long, long while.)

and just as i was about to pick up both of these books and make a beeline for the cash, i ran straight into it. the cultural studies section.

dun dun dunnnnnn.

there it was, front-faced at eye level, on the first shelf i could see. the story of stuff by annie leonard (based on the internet project). right near by was the paradox of choice by barry schwartz.

it was like high noon in the wild west. the universe was telling me to step away from the compulsive buying spree and get focused on reading the books i already have.

okaaaayyyyuh. i guess.

so i put both books down (after adding them to my wish list) and found a comfy seat in starbucks and settled in to an afternoon of reading and people watching. one day, my pretties. i'll get you.

what's on your reading list?

je lis

gorgeous, gorgeous day once again.

yesterday was fantastic; i powered through my to-do list and then mike and i sat and caught up on some reading on his balcony. (him, a comic book; me, i'm finishing up getting to maybe. more on that later.) i've decided that before i buy more books, i should finish up on the books that i've accumulated and haven't read yet. getting to maybe is step one on this list; next up is raj patel's stuffed and starved, and then jennifer weiner's in her shoes. (i lovelovelove the movie which means the book will likely be devoured within four days.)

today: more to-do list stuff at work; the retreat starts tomorrow and goes to friday so i'll be away 'til then (with a new post likely to be seen on friday evening - chock full of photos and thoughts, ideas and inspirations.)

this evening: laundry and packing, and then likely more reading. there's so many good ideas and great quotes - i can't put it down!

image via two ellie

feeling a bit bookish

i was going through a few of my old posts and found this one from last may, and it's astounding really how many of them i haven't gotten to yet. given that i've just received a promo email from chapters for 20% off all of their books in-store, i felt it was high time to review and re-prioritize my list.

here we go!

all things slow:
01. beyond 9 to 5: your life in time by sarah norgate
02. the age of speed: learning how to thrive in a more-faster-now world by vince poscente {yes, i know this seems interesting given my slow living penchant, but i like to know what's going on in The Other Camp if for no other reason than for informational purposes}

i haven't read either of these books, but they're sort of at the bottom of my list in terms of priorities so it's a-ok.

new on the list (and a bit higher up, too) is under pressure: putting the child back in childhood, carl honore's newest book. if you loved in praise of slow, this one looks to be a promising extension of slow living to the parenting world.

green, green, and green. (and a bit slow too):
03. the world without us by alan weisman
04. deep economy: the wealth of communities and the durable future by bill mckibben
05. cradle to cradle: remaking the way we make things by william mcdonough & michael braungart
06. building the green economy: success stories from the grassroots by kevin danaher

again, it seems i had high aspirations last year. i haven't read any of them, but deep economy is sitting on my bookshelf, waiting patiently for it's turn. (don't worry lil guy, i'll get to you soon enough!) the others are still definitely on the list.

this year, i've added michael pollan's new(ish) books, the botany of desire and second nature: a gardener's education.

for pensive digestion:
07. the omnivore's dilemma by michael pollan
08. in defense of food by michael pollan
09. stuffed and starved by raj patel.

i read both of the pollan books; love love loved them. they're most definitely worth the hype (and so, so informative!) i'd received stuffed and starved for my birthday last october, and now that i'm done in defense of food, it's next on my hit list.

indulgences:
10. little cakes from the whimsical bakehouse by kaye & liv hansen
11. barefoot contessa at home by ina garten

i received little cakes for christmas; it's every bit as sweet as it looks. haven't had the time to try out any recipes but it's still very pretty. i have boatloads of wish-list cookbooks to add but don't want to overwhelm my list (or myself!). that's for another day.

everybody needs a little fiction in their lives:
12. in her shoes by jennifer weiner
13. the birth of venus by sarah dunant

jess bought me in her shoes for christmas last year - it's waiting patiently on my shelf. i'm saving that one for some vacation reading. last summer i devoured philippa gregory's the other boleyn girl
by the poolside on vacation, and plan to do just the same this summer with this book.

tell me - what's your favourite book? what's on your to-read list this summer?