It can't be denied that reading is good for us. It's educational, inspirational, motivational. It widens horizons, shares experiences and provides a place to escape. It exercises the brain cells, promotes spelling and language and can be experienced anywhere you want.
So, with that said, why do I feel guilty when taking that time to read at home rather than before going to sleep or while I'm eating my lunch at work?
I work full time, I write, I spend time with my family. Sitting down with a book feels a little like I'm using up valuable time I should be making better use for.
As a writer I often hear that reading is a must, after all, how can you write if you don't read. So reading is a must. I keep reminding myself of this, that reading is a necessity rather than a luxury but my brain can't convince my emotional side.
Do you find sitting down with a book easy or do you have to convince yourself it's a positive? I'd love to hear how people deal with this quiet pastime within busy lives.
This is such a good point to make, Rebecca, and I have to say, I'm like you. I always feel I should be 'doing' and reading, to me is 'relaxing', not 'doing'. Because of that, I tend to read in bed, when everyone else is asleep. One good thing though is that we are a family of readers, so occasionally, we all sit and read, which is lovely. Oh, and I do lots of reading at Christmas - after organising the whole thing, I feel justified in relaxing then!
ReplyDeleteAs a child, I was always being told to 'go out and play.' Reading was 'doing nothing.' It's taken years to realise that reading is not just something to fill in time, but the most wonderful thing I can choose to do. It completes my days.
ReplyDeleteMaybe creating a reading challenge would be helpful to you. You can set up a certain number of books to read for a specific period of time.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things I do, which is very similar to my writing practice, is either read for a specific amount of time, or a specific number of pages a day.
We're in this age of do, do, do. We really all need to take a step back for ourselves.
Abi - That must be lovely to all sit down and have some quiet time reading. It's wrong that if feels like a luxury. It's such an important thing for people to spend time doing. Enjoy your Christmas.
ReplyDeleteJo - It is wonderful isn't it. It transports us to so many different places. I hope to encourage my children by their learning from seeing me do it.
Mieke - I did challenge myself at the beginning of the year, but I think it's about the time of day that I sit and read that may be making me feel like it's a guilty pleasure. I need to stop seeing it this way and just enjoy the time.
I know many who view reading as a guilty pleasure. My mom loved to read as a child but as an adult felt like it was an indulgence. For some reason, that particular guilt escaped me and I happily read to my heart's content. Now my reading time is at night. I love to go to bed early and read until ten. My husband and I used to watch TV at night but now we read together.
ReplyDeleteI agree it's difficult to fit in. I take the kids to the library every three weeks, so we all get books to come home and read (although, oddly, they always end up on the Playstation). I feel guilty because I tend to read to the exclusion of everything else until I've finished the book.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way. I try to tell myself it's like 'training' for my future writing career, but it doesn't really work :-)
ReplyDeleteI read before going to sleep. It's my favourite time of the day!
ReplyDeleteI always read in bed - like you I feel I should be doing something else if I read during the day, as silly as that is! I mean, I don't think my husband sits there feeling guilty while he's playing his X-Box. Reading's about the only thing I can't multi-task at!
ReplyDeleteLike others, I also read at night before going to sleep. I know what you mean here though, lately I have been feeling guilty when I read and telling myself I need to just be writing instead. I need to find a balance for myself.
ReplyDeleteIn that top picture... I want a chair just like that for my study, to do my reading. Half tempted to get it early, and share with the cat. (As that's where I want to put it, in the corner, but the cat's bed is there on a sort of chair/thingy that turns into a bed... but I'd never let anyone sleep on it now!).
ReplyDeleteAdmittedly, my study needs a good tidy before I can get the chair in there. It's a dumping ground at the moment.