Reading and listening

[darkemeralds]

I continue to have trouble focusing on reading. I mean actual reading from a book.

In an attempt to re-corral my attention and recover some of that pleasure, I've

• Sworn off social media (we'll see how long that lasts...)
• Joined a silent reading party where twice a month we get together on Zoom and just read for two hours (a form of accountability)
• Got at least four very different books going (so that when it's reading time, I can pick what I'm in the mood for)
• Established a couple of comfortable and well-lighted places to read.

So far this year I've finished:

• Natalie Goldberg's Three Simple Lines (a lovely memoir and rumination on haiku)
• David Mitchell's Number9 Dream (long novel; I'm aiming to read all his novels in 2022)
• Ken Mogi's Awakening Your Ikigai (kind of a little philosophy/lifestyle guide)

Currently in progress:

• Colson Whitehead's Harlem Shuffle (a caper/heist novel)
• Richard Tarnas's The Passion of the Western Mind (a huge survey of western philosophy)
• Sean Russell's Moontide and Magic Rise (a really long fantasy that I've been picking at for several months)
• Matthew Salesses's Craft in the Real World (on correcting some of the faults of the American MFA writing program)

...plus a bunch of audiobooks. I get a ton of reading done via audiobooks, and I'm okay with that, but there's nothing quite like the pleasure of silent, visual reading.

How do others keep themselves reading?

Comments

[branchandroot]

I never thought it would happen, but it has these past two years: when I'm having trouble focusing on the book, I put on tv. Some anime reruns of something I've watched a dozen times. For whatever reason, having that going in the background lets me settle and read again.

[darkemeralds]

That's interesting. I absolutely can't read with television or music or even much outdoor noise.

But I have found that sound tracks intended to enhance study, relaxation, or concentration can be really helpful. Ocean waves, running streams, soft rainfall, coffee shop tracks, rhythm-free meditative music, and binaural beats have all enhanced my focus for both reading and writing. There's a ton of them on Youtube for free.