A friend of mine sent me this snapshot of a tweet last night and asked if my husband and I could provide an answer.
As I’m not on social media anymore (and likely not to ever get back on it), I answered her directly (and not the tweet obviously).
My average for books read every year is about 70. However it was slightly less when I was working and on the socials. I’m finding now that I can read for hours on end, I carry a book everywhere with me so I can get through them quickly.
They are far better than playing on your phone when waiting around because there’ll always be someone who comes up to you to comment or ask a question.
You simply stand out from the crowd.
This year I’m onto my 37th book That Bligh Girl by Sue Williams which I’m enjoying. You can see what books I’ve read so far on my Reading Challenge for 2023.
Im happy with the types of books I’ve read this year, Brontë, Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Austen, Brookner, and many more.
They’ve opened up my eyes to life. I feel that as society becomes chaotic and nonsensical and focussed on “Neomania” that reading literature for me becomes critical just to feel normal again to focus on emotions, stories, expressions that are older, more real and human to me.
I do not watch TV. I am not on social media. I have been isolating safely during the pandemic. So I read. I believe that I learn more from reading books than any other thing I do, in as long as I stretch my horizons in that medium too.
Wonderful! Thank you for sharing your experiences too. Reading is great – it is such a rewarding way to spend our time.