Offline Reading Journal (Part 2)
Weeks 3 & 4
Weeks 3 & 4
Happy April! The offline reading challenge has ended; the last two weeks were harder, so I’m glad it’s over. Thanks to those who wrote in response to the last post. As always, it’s a pleasure to hear from you.
Day 15:
I could finish reading a third book today, but I go to the movies instead. I watch a film based on a novel so that counts for something, right? The opening line is a real beauty: “Your story begins when this one ends.” At least that’s how I remember it. Don’t quote me, though. My brain has a tendency to inverse things. Anyway, it got my creative neurons running, and that alone makes it worthwhile. I still read several chapters before going to bed that night.
Day 16:
The other day, the internet breaks down at the coworking space I frequent. Honestly, I just needed to load a random page to test if the Wi-Fi had returned, and it happened to be a news website. I scan the headlines, then immediately closed the tab. That’s not really cheating, is it?
Day 17:
I finished a third novel last night. It was longer than the first two. There are a couple of library books left to read, but I think I can finish them by the end of the month. Especially since I have some trains to take in the next weeks. But again, this is not a competition.
Day 18-19:
I’m having some difficulty getting into this fourth novel. I think I have a book hangover (thanks for the term, Lisa). You know, it’s when a book lingers in your mind after finishing it. Book hangovers are usually a sign of quality, I find. Even when you didn’t enjoy the novel. Some say you should always have your next book ready to read. This might apply to nonfiction since I almost never get book hangovers from them. But out of respect for a novel, I find it’s better to let the words settle and allow the characters to fade away until your mind is ready for the next story.
Day 20:
I scan the headlines again today. I know what you’re thinking, but I hear the world is quite eventful these days and I’m only skimming titles. My eyes stop at the next headline. I see Trump is back with his baiting tactics, which prompts me to shut my screen off.
Week 4
Day 21:
It’s spring today! Or was it yesterday? I never quite know and can’t look it up. I guess this is when Siri or Alexa is useful, although I won’t be turning those on either. Did you know the Persian New Year begins with the arrival of spring? This makes more sense to me than celebrating the New Year on January 1, especially if you live in the Northern Hemisphere. Anyway, I wish you all the best for… I’m not sure what year the Iranians are celebrating.
It sucks not being able to look things up.
Day 22:
There are 30 emails in my “Read in April” folder. These also include videos and learning materials I’m saving for next month because apparently, I’m on a general screen hiatus (although, failing miserably at it). What it does not include are the hundreds of emails in my newsletter folder, which I’ve left untouched. Somehow, this challenge has morphed into a general procrastination project. I add two new emails to the folder today.
Day 23-26:
I’ve taken several trains and trams in the last few days, thinking I would make considerable progress with my offline reading. Yet I’ve vastly underestimated three things:
1) My propensity for getting motion sickness while reading in a moving vehicle.
2) How getting lost in a book is the same as being distracted by my phone and not noticing my surroundings.
3) How much I enjoy people watching on public modes of transportation. You can find some great writing material there, so it almost feels like a shame to be reading instead.
As you may suspect, I got little reading done.
Day 27:
An old friend from graduate school asked if I wanted to meet up in June at our alma mater in the UK. This seems like a grand idea now that it’s an (easy-ish) train ride away for me. I have not returned since graduation.
Don’t ask me how, but I’ve discovered that Ai Weiwei, one of my all-time favourite artists, is opening an exhibit in London this spring. So now I’m doubly excited about the prospect of going. Out of pure coincidence, I come across an article, which I’m careful to not read, entitled: “Ai Weiwei: ‘It’s a miracle that the Chinese let me stay alive’”. Now that’s some fine piece of copywriting right there. Since when have artists become clickbait too?
Day 28:
The finish line is near and I realize that I probably won’t get through a fifth book before the end of the month. Unless I spend all my time reading in the next three days, which I won’t. Plus, if I factor in some book hangover, which this fourth novel clearly deserves, then it’s pretty much impossible. But that’s all right.
Day 29:
Ok, I have (another) confession to make: I caved in and read a full news article online. There, I said it. It happened in the last few days; I can’t say exactly when. My memory is fuzzy. Maybe I wanted to forget the whole thing, but I can’t.
What tipped me over?
It wasn’t the weeks of garbage piling up on our streets or the tear gas I smelled while walking home one day. I didn’t even check to see if the trams and trains were running when there were strikes. Nope. It was watching a firefighting crew try to smother the blaze inside a large trash container. You couldn’t see the fire, only smell it. At that moment, it occurred to me the end of the world may have begun and I didn’t even know it. So of course I had to verify.
The article was about Brav-M, a special armed motorbike unit in France accused of managing protesters with unorthodox policing methods. It’s sounded very Kafkaesque, and would make for a magnificent story setting. So we can say I cheated, but I chose my article judiciously.
Day 30:
I have thirty-odd pages left to read before finishing this fourth novel. I’m savouring the book hangover already. It’s one of those books I know I’ll have to reread again to absorb all of its richness. In the meantime, I’m getting ready to read on my tablet again. Not that I don’t have stacks of unread books lying around. (Don’t ask why I’m wasting my time doing this instead of finishing the book.) I browse through my wish list and borrow the first six titles that are available, then immediately download them. This way I can half-finish several books at once after this challenge is over. Old habits die hard.
Day 31:
Here I am at the end of it and it feels weird. Mostly because I didn’t know what to expect. This last week has been difficult; my discipline seems to have dwindled with time. Reading the fourth novel took (much) longer than expected, but I completed it last night, thanks to you.
This experiment had many flaws, and it was a bumpy journey. I’ll share all the things I’ve learned in an upcoming post. But for now, I’m going to enjoy my book hangover. Let me know how it went for you!
Happy writing, happy creating!
G.G. Law
G.G. Law
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