“Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing.”
Harper Lee
I used to pride myself on being a "bookworm". How many of us grew up reading as a way to cope with things? I remember falling deeply into books and stories as a way to live lives I never thought I'd get to see myself. I went into the library with the wide-eyed excitement of a kid in a candy store. What wonderful book would I find today?
My mother was an avid reader. She instilled in us the love of books and the love of great stories at a young age. Going to the public library used to be a treat for us, and I lived most of my life treating reading as my one great love. Like all children, I grew up.
I was an avid reader throughout my teens, early twenties and even into my early thirties. And then, something changed. Well, to be fair, I think my brain changed. In today's world it's so commonplace to read about attention deficit disorders and "burnout" but I'll be honest, that's exactly what happened. I went from reading a book or two a day to reading nothing in a matter of a year or two. My career became more hectic, my kids were older, I was older, and my free time began to dwindle more and more. I found that I barely had time to pick up a new book and even when I made time, I couldn't focus enough to read like I used to. What was once a day-long endeavor was barely an hour before I putting down the book to go "do" something. Was I guilty for not being productive? I doubt it, because I had no trouble watching Netflix for hours on end!
How did I end my unwanted reading sabbatical? I began to read short stories and non-fiction books. To explain how they helped is hard to do, but I could pick up a book of short stories, read one or two and put it down. I found a level of enjoyment in finally being able to invest myself in a story that came to a swift conclusion. Then, I began to study leadership books while working on professional development in my career. Pausing to write notes and highlight important passages allowed my brain time to decompress between chunks. I found myself able to work through these books in a day or two. I began to read other fiction genres that I normally didn't pick up. Horror. Hard sci-fi. Thrillers. I stayed with smaller chunks of the story every day and finally I was reading again! Then.. I happened upon serial fiction sites. Wattpad, where I found some of my favorite fan-fiction. Then Kindle Vella, where authors post all different kinds of stories in small chunks. Now there were many options to choose from, and no big word count staring me in the face and judging me for not finishing as quickly as before!
Now, I read on breaks at work, in waiting rooms, and at night in the 20-30 minutes before I go to bed. I'm still not reading at my previous pace, and probably never will, but I'm reading again and I call that a win!
Check out my serial stories on Kindle Vella at linktr.ee/ardeclerck
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