I highly recommend To The Lighthouse by Woolf as an audio book. I'm partial to Nicole Kidman's reading. The stream of consciousness just works better with voice. As you describe here, it inspired me to grab my hard copy and read with pencil in hand!
I also wanted to add: 1. I hope you are feeling better! My elderly mother has had a two week non COVID unidentified illness with extreme fatigue and she is a reader and has complained about her inability to pay attention. And 2. I couldn't read a book for many many years (I too blame the culturally prevalent short attention span due to online media although I wasn't even really consuming that and raising kids). Short story anthologies were and still are the fix for me.
And, yes, I am feeling better, thank God. I had COVID last year and it was very mild. My daughter got croup, and somehow I got it too about a week after having COVID. That was miserable. This go-round thankfully my symptoms weren’t bad either, but I had terrible lethargy. I could barely stay awake! But, yes, I’m now fully recovered.
Thanks for celebrating audiobooks here. I was a late convert to them, but am now 100% in. I am in the car a lot, and audiobooks have been a truly freeing thing for me — allowing frustrated time to be a joy. I have been grateful to plow through a few texts that I had never gotten through before thanks to the fine audiobook recordings (the audible-only war & peace with Thandiwe Newton is a jewel), but I also find comfort in re-reading children’s books, or — as you mention above — new humor in hearing old friends in new voices (Stephen Fry reading Wodehouse! Any of the fine readings of Austen).
I found myself in a similar situation and changing it up was the key... both in habit and reading material... I stopped being a non-fiction only reader and found some delightful stories... most notably the Thursday Murder Club Mysteries... letting the story take me in was the first step in getting back to my waiting stack of books and journals... cheers! Great article!
As someone who still mostly reads nonfiction, I’ve found incorporating novels into the mix to be critical for me. About a third of all the books I’ve read this year are probably novels. I’m loving it.
There's a deep reciprocity betwen my reading and my wirting. An on going give and take. A dynamism. A parallelism. A mutual inclusivity. The more I read, the more I write. The more I take in, the more I can produce. The more I consume, the more I can put to use. But, when one falters the other is sure to follow. Less pages turned means fewer turns of phrase. And when it's hard to write, when it's hard to find the spark, when it's a struggle to find my words, it's hard to see the glimmer in the ones discovered by someone else. Leisure, seems to be the trick for me. Slowing down. Letting go. Finding something different, something random, something ridiculous, something absurd, and then reading just for fun. No pressure for it to be or do anything else.
Exactly! I've learned over and over that you can't fill a page if you come to your desk empty. Nine times out of ten when I can't write, that's what it comes down to.
I definitely go through phases where I read magazines or newsletters for a bit before I go to the next book. I also allow myself crime noir a few times a year. Not that it’s junk food but it’s my favorite food, so it’s easy to dig into.
I should have included magazines in the “read short” section above. I’m the same way. Nothing makes me happier than when Reason or the New York Review of Books hits my mailbox.
"Bookish is a blood type; it is a nationality ..."
Nice
Never had this book aversion symptom. Lucky me.
The Covid era was low stress for me. No commute, work was otherwise mostly the same though remote. I had an extra 90 minutes a day to keep my place neat and no stress from highway travel. Almost ... utopian.
I shared this to notes also but wanted to leave it as a comment here for you as well!
This is an excellent read, thanks for sharing this with us!
The quote I shared below made me wonder about something though, something that I may write about on my own at some point after I do some more thinking about it. But if reading is a task as much as a pleasure, do you think that it functions much like any other tasks we have, such as our jobs, in that we need to have a little vacation time now and then to avoid burnout?
As an avid reader it seems so strange to “take time off from reading” when you aren’t in a slump, but do you think that doing so might actually help prevent future slumps to some degree?
Possibly. I think it probably depends on the unique needs of the individual reader. But I bet a break could help most of us. That’s part of what’s behind the “change it up” recommendation—and audiobooks too. By changing it up and trying other, less demanding formats, we can give ourselves a break.
When I had covid I couldn’t read for a while, I couldn’t concentrate on reading. It was awful. But when we were on lockdown I was reading more than ever. When I’m stressed, reading makes me relax so I read a lot 😅
I hope you’re feeling better! Great piece. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Definitely feeling better. Thanks! I tend to read when I’m stressed too—and write. I sometimes feel like if I finish a piece, I at least accomplished that.
Great suggestions Joel! I alternate my longer reading with P.D. James a s a "palate cleanser", and find that I read best when there are no other options to distract me (i.e. while at my son's climbing gym). My youngest has listened to most of the Redwall series on audio which has the added benefit of hearing Brain Jacques fantastic talents as a storyteller and fold musician. I listened to Anna Karenina, Moby Dick, and Les Miserable on audio, and found it very engaging. But I agree with one of the other commenters: reading substack has been a major detractor from reading books! Thus my need to put my laptop away after my morning reads...
After decades of writing prose (including several books), I released a book of poetry (unbelieve) in 2021 and another (jaded) in 2022, with the third book in the trilogy (whole) releasing in March 2024.
Besides the struggle to get people to believe they could actually enjoy poetry (and mine is very un-obscure and easy for the average reader to understand), it was perfect timing for people’s shorter attention spans and inability to read long things.
It's for that reason I have 'read some poetry' written into my 'just got out of bed and still stumbling into day' routine - its power to help focus, its focus on words in a different way to other writings. Currently reading through Wendell Berry's collected Sabbath poems.
I highly recommend To The Lighthouse by Woolf as an audio book. I'm partial to Nicole Kidman's reading. The stream of consciousness just works better with voice. As you describe here, it inspired me to grab my hard copy and read with pencil in hand!
I also wanted to add: 1. I hope you are feeling better! My elderly mother has had a two week non COVID unidentified illness with extreme fatigue and she is a reader and has complained about her inability to pay attention. And 2. I couldn't read a book for many many years (I too blame the culturally prevalent short attention span due to online media although I wasn't even really consuming that and raising kids). Short story anthologies were and still are the fix for me.
Anthologies are a great hack!
And, yes, I am feeling better, thank God. I had COVID last year and it was very mild. My daughter got croup, and somehow I got it too about a week after having COVID. That was miserable. This go-round thankfully my symptoms weren’t bad either, but I had terrible lethargy. I could barely stay awake! But, yes, I’m now fully recovered.
That’s great!
Substack has led me away from books
I read many stacks each day and like what I read
Thé content is varied and it makes me think
Better yet I have a way of putting my thoughts into writing through comments
I’m reading House of Mirth slowly but I can’t comment to EW!
So if my book reading has slackened the fault lies with you Mr.Miller and all the other writers who keep producing posts I enjoy!
LOL! I’d say I’m sorry, but clearly you simply need to manufacture more time!
Such a helpful piece, Joel, thank you so much for it.
You’re welcome, Richard!
Thanks for celebrating audiobooks here. I was a late convert to them, but am now 100% in. I am in the car a lot, and audiobooks have been a truly freeing thing for me — allowing frustrated time to be a joy. I have been grateful to plow through a few texts that I had never gotten through before thanks to the fine audiobook recordings (the audible-only war & peace with Thandiwe Newton is a jewel), but I also find comfort in re-reading children’s books, or — as you mention above — new humor in hearing old friends in new voices (Stephen Fry reading Wodehouse! Any of the fine readings of Austen).
One children’s book I never tire of: A Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis.
Working my way through Narnia now (but , yes, audio this time!)
Excellent!
I found myself in a similar situation and changing it up was the key... both in habit and reading material... I stopped being a non-fiction only reader and found some delightful stories... most notably the Thursday Murder Club Mysteries... letting the story take me in was the first step in getting back to my waiting stack of books and journals... cheers! Great article!
As someone who still mostly reads nonfiction, I’ve found incorporating novels into the mix to be critical for me. About a third of all the books I’ve read this year are probably novels. I’m loving it.
There's a deep reciprocity betwen my reading and my wirting. An on going give and take. A dynamism. A parallelism. A mutual inclusivity. The more I read, the more I write. The more I take in, the more I can produce. The more I consume, the more I can put to use. But, when one falters the other is sure to follow. Less pages turned means fewer turns of phrase. And when it's hard to write, when it's hard to find the spark, when it's a struggle to find my words, it's hard to see the glimmer in the ones discovered by someone else. Leisure, seems to be the trick for me. Slowing down. Letting go. Finding something different, something random, something ridiculous, something absurd, and then reading just for fun. No pressure for it to be or do anything else.
I experience something similar on the give and take. If I’m not constantly fueling the tank I don’t have much to offer.
Exactly! I've learned over and over that you can't fill a page if you come to your desk empty. Nine times out of ten when I can't write, that's what it comes down to.
Totally get that.
I definitely go through phases where I read magazines or newsletters for a bit before I go to the next book. I also allow myself crime noir a few times a year. Not that it’s junk food but it’s my favorite food, so it’s easy to dig into.
I should have included magazines in the “read short” section above. I’m the same way. Nothing makes me happier than when Reason or the New York Review of Books hits my mailbox.
"Bookish is a blood type; it is a nationality ..."
Nice
Never had this book aversion symptom. Lucky me.
The Covid era was low stress for me. No commute, work was otherwise mostly the same though remote. I had an extra 90 minutes a day to keep my place neat and no stress from highway travel. Almost ... utopian.
That’s not bad, truly. Sounds divine.
Plus all my books, my fellow citizens of Booklandia, were right at hand!
I shared this to notes also but wanted to leave it as a comment here for you as well!
This is an excellent read, thanks for sharing this with us!
The quote I shared below made me wonder about something though, something that I may write about on my own at some point after I do some more thinking about it. But if reading is a task as much as a pleasure, do you think that it functions much like any other tasks we have, such as our jobs, in that we need to have a little vacation time now and then to avoid burnout?
As an avid reader it seems so strange to “take time off from reading” when you aren’t in a slump, but do you think that doing so might actually help prevent future slumps to some degree?
Possibly. I think it probably depends on the unique needs of the individual reader. But I bet a break could help most of us. That’s part of what’s behind the “change it up” recommendation—and audiobooks too. By changing it up and trying other, less demanding formats, we can give ourselves a break.
When I had covid I couldn’t read for a while, I couldn’t concentrate on reading. It was awful. But when we were on lockdown I was reading more than ever. When I’m stressed, reading makes me relax so I read a lot 😅
I hope you’re feeling better! Great piece. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Definitely feeling better. Thanks! I tend to read when I’m stressed too—and write. I sometimes feel like if I finish a piece, I at least accomplished that.
Great suggestions Joel! I alternate my longer reading with P.D. James a s a "palate cleanser", and find that I read best when there are no other options to distract me (i.e. while at my son's climbing gym). My youngest has listened to most of the Redwall series on audio which has the added benefit of hearing Brain Jacques fantastic talents as a storyteller and fold musician. I listened to Anna Karenina, Moby Dick, and Les Miserable on audio, and found it very engaging. But I agree with one of the other commenters: reading substack has been a major detractor from reading books! Thus my need to put my laptop away after my morning reads...
I love the idea of thinking of certain books as palate cleansers. Perfect.
After decades of writing prose (including several books), I released a book of poetry (unbelieve) in 2021 and another (jaded) in 2022, with the third book in the trilogy (whole) releasing in March 2024.
Besides the struggle to get people to believe they could actually enjoy poetry (and mine is very un-obscure and easy for the average reader to understand), it was perfect timing for people’s shorter attention spans and inability to read long things.
Yes! I think poetry has a peculiar power to help us focus. And in that process it lets us slow down and breathe.
It's for that reason I have 'read some poetry' written into my 'just got out of bed and still stumbling into day' routine - its power to help focus, its focus on words in a different way to other writings. Currently reading through Wendell Berry's collected Sabbath poems.
Beautiful.
Absolutely. I really started getting into poetry in 2019 and I’m so grateful for the balm it has been over the past few years. 🩵
Your ability to aggregate so much practical information and present it with such clarity is mind-boggling.
Man, thanks! It’s nothing but pleasurable.