Lazy Sunday

I'm not reading many books. I haven't for many years. I read a lot of long-form articles. Most of the articles are about "how to do something". I have The Hacker Playbook 2 sitting here, but I haven't the motivation to read it. Being in learning mode all the time is exhausting.

I may sit in bed after breakfast on a Sunday morning and read a novel. Instead of patching my servers, following up on leads on LinkedIn, or pruning the email tree, I could pick up a sci-fi novel and lose myself in another time and place for a few hours. I haven't done that since I was single.

I read it slowly. Getting the words from just a flow of characters to images takes me a while. But once I get there, I don't want it to stop until the story ends. Stopping before the end of the story is like watching a movie over several days. That flow doesn't work for me. I like to read the same way I watch movies.

I have a lot of books on my iPad in iBooks and Kindle. I have a lot of partially read books. The issue isn't the medium.

When I was single and living alone, I would visit the local bookstore and buy one or two cyberpunk novels on Saturday morning after completing my weekend to-do list. Sunday was my reading day. After breakfast, I would lie in bed and read, and I wouldn't stop except for a quick lunch. Then, back into bed for more reading. I could easily finish two and sometimes three paperbacks.

My excuse for not reading more is that there are too many interruptions. I have a wife and kids, and lying in bed all day, focused on reading, isn't possible.

So… I stopped reading anything that takes longer than 15 minutes. How do I get back to that reading space? Is reading for no more than 15 minutes damaging my ability to focus?

After writing this, I have a solution. My wife likes to sleep in on Sunday. She usually gets up around 10:30 AM. My daughter, as well. My son tends to get up a bit earlier.

On Saturday, I will visit the local Barnes & Noble. I'll spend some time perusing the shelves. I won't set a time limit. I'll just let myself wander until I find a paperback I want to take home. Then, on Sunday morning, after I've had my breakfast, I'll climb back into bed next to my sleeping wife and just read.

Note: I wrote this in response to the February 1, 2016 writing prompt for the Written with Desk Google+ Community.

Author: Khürt Williams

A human who works in information security and enjoys photography, Formula 1 and craft ale. #nobridge