I just read No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood. All I knew about it was that it was shortlisted for the Booker prize, was named one of the New York Times 10 Best Books of 2021, and that David Sedaris said “I can’t remember the last time I laughed so much reading a book.”
What a breath of fresh air! I, too, have largely decoupled from social media and deleted chat apps like Slack from my phone. The withdrawal is real. I keep grabbing the phone to check things or send messages. Sitting and reading a book, something I used to spend hours doing without a single feeling of anxiety or guilt, has become a chore--even when it's a great book.
We all need to re-train our brains to escape The Pattern (https://ungated.media/manifesto) and reclaim our ability to focus. And those "analog diversions" are the way to do it. For me, that's books, knitting, and good phone conversations. 😇 There's also that mysterious thing called being "face to face" with people...no screen in between!
I'm about to go on a "Read ALL the Julie F. emails" bender for behaving myself and even (gasp!) meeting people IRL at my first in-person kidlit conference, Julie! :) LOL! Expect lots of "like hearts" over the next while. "Treat yo' self, Elayne!"
What a breath of fresh air! I, too, have largely decoupled from social media and deleted chat apps like Slack from my phone. The withdrawal is real. I keep grabbing the phone to check things or send messages. Sitting and reading a book, something I used to spend hours doing without a single feeling of anxiety or guilt, has become a chore--even when it's a great book.
We all need to re-train our brains to escape The Pattern (https://ungated.media/manifesto) and reclaim our ability to focus. And those "analog diversions" are the way to do it. For me, that's books, knitting, and good phone conversations. 😇 There's also that mysterious thing called being "face to face" with people...no screen in between!
I'm about to go on a "Read ALL the Julie F. emails" bender for behaving myself and even (gasp!) meeting people IRL at my first in-person kidlit conference, Julie! :) LOL! Expect lots of "like hearts" over the next while. "Treat yo' self, Elayne!"
Also, I haven't read Devotion, but I just bought M Train--so funny!