The books I return to most aren't necessarily the ones that helped me escape for a few hours. They're the ones that changed the way I notice the world. Thank you for sharing this. I really enjoyed reading it.
This is great. I’ve had more free time lately, and have rediscovered my joy of reading. I’m an English teacher, so most of my reading during the school year is for educational purposes—how can I use this? How can this benefit students? But since joining Substack, I’m finding so much joy in reading people’s stuff! And it inspires me and sparks my creativity.
Hey, here’s a word I learned a few months ago: Anemoia: nostalgia for a time you didn’t live in.
I love that word, thank you for teaching it to me! And, thank you for the taking the time to read and respond so kindly. And, thank you for being a fellow English teacher - I know it's not easy and it's such important work. 😊
I love this! I am devoting myself to some long books this summer, starting with The Brothers Karamozov, at more than 800 pages. I am almost finished with that and am then turning to The Odyssey. I love the way these books slow me down and take me to a deeper place. I also appreciated your points about nostalgia for simpler technology. I remember when we even had to talk my parents (born in the 1930s) into getting an answering machine for their phone (landline, of course). Their thought was, if we're not home, people can just call us back. By the time my Dad died last year, he had a fancy cell phone and iPad, and we FaceTimed each other regularly. There were advantages to that, but I feel the nostalgia too.
Thank you for your kind response! I teach The Odyssey, and the kids are all excited about the movie. I hope it captures the story well! And, Brothers Karamazov has been on my “intimidating books I want to read” list forever. 😊 I’m so sorry for the loss of your dad, and I’m glad technology gave you good opportunities to connect. That is a definite blessing of our tech! I hope you keep having a great time with long books this summer!
I was born 1967, my years in school 70’s and 80’s graduating in 1985. As I read this, I missed certain things that came to my mind. I missed the old home phone landline, honestly I missed only being able to go as far as the cord would allow…….because then I could focus on who I was talking to and our conversation…..rather than talking while shopping at Target. The person on the other end of the line had close to my full attention…..98% at-least, the other 2% was on telling my siblings they had to “wait to make their call I was using the phone !”
I missed vocabulary words…..remember when in school you’d get a list each week of words to look up in an actual dictionary and write them down with pronunciation and definitions…..this was how we learned to communicate and articulate.
I missed reports, I am talking when the teacher said “pick a country, do the research and write a five page report along with a outline” and every day at a certain time in class we went to the library to look up our country in encyclopedias and other books. The work in finding information for me was part of school I loved the most.
Our children no longer get to enjoy learning, they are just crammed full of information with no understanding or very little understanding of the why, where and how. They no longer know the origin of a word and most times know more slang words.
They really are missing out on the enjoyable part of learning. (Just my opinion)
Thank you for sharing this! I miss those things too. And, I think you’re right that we’re not giving kids the time and space to focus in and settle into what really matters and why. This is something I struggle with as a teacher all the time. Thank you for reading and sharing your reflection!
As a child I loved getting lost in books. Then life demands got in the way and I mainly read non fiction. Recently I’ve gone back to reading fiction. You will find me several evenings a week curled up with a book. I can’t remember the last time I turned on the TV. Shortly I’m off to the library we have had to fight to keep open to choose next week’s reading delights. I’m also loving all the different things to read and enlighten me here on Substack
I really related to this article. It can feel so overwhelming having a phone with constant WhatsApps, emails and texts demanding your attention. It's almost impossible to switch off. And then there's the cacophony of voices on every subject across social media, podcasts and YouTube. It can all become a bit too much. These days, reading books and walking in nature are my refuge!
The books I return to most aren't necessarily the ones that helped me escape for a few hours. They're the ones that changed the way I notice the world. Thank you for sharing this. I really enjoyed reading it.
Thank you so much! 😊
This is great. I’ve had more free time lately, and have rediscovered my joy of reading. I’m an English teacher, so most of my reading during the school year is for educational purposes—how can I use this? How can this benefit students? But since joining Substack, I’m finding so much joy in reading people’s stuff! And it inspires me and sparks my creativity.
Hey, here’s a word I learned a few months ago: Anemoia: nostalgia for a time you didn’t live in.
I love that word, thank you for teaching it to me! And, thank you for the taking the time to read and respond so kindly. And, thank you for being a fellow English teacher - I know it's not easy and it's such important work. 😊
I feel most free when I am lost (and found) in a book. Great post, so much resonated.
Thank you so much!
I love this! I am devoting myself to some long books this summer, starting with The Brothers Karamozov, at more than 800 pages. I am almost finished with that and am then turning to The Odyssey. I love the way these books slow me down and take me to a deeper place. I also appreciated your points about nostalgia for simpler technology. I remember when we even had to talk my parents (born in the 1930s) into getting an answering machine for their phone (landline, of course). Their thought was, if we're not home, people can just call us back. By the time my Dad died last year, he had a fancy cell phone and iPad, and we FaceTimed each other regularly. There were advantages to that, but I feel the nostalgia too.
Thank you for your kind response! I teach The Odyssey, and the kids are all excited about the movie. I hope it captures the story well! And, Brothers Karamazov has been on my “intimidating books I want to read” list forever. 😊 I’m so sorry for the loss of your dad, and I’m glad technology gave you good opportunities to connect. That is a definite blessing of our tech! I hope you keep having a great time with long books this summer!
Amazing!
Thank you so much!
Love!
I was born 1967, my years in school 70’s and 80’s graduating in 1985. As I read this, I missed certain things that came to my mind. I missed the old home phone landline, honestly I missed only being able to go as far as the cord would allow…….because then I could focus on who I was talking to and our conversation…..rather than talking while shopping at Target. The person on the other end of the line had close to my full attention…..98% at-least, the other 2% was on telling my siblings they had to “wait to make their call I was using the phone !”
I missed vocabulary words…..remember when in school you’d get a list each week of words to look up in an actual dictionary and write them down with pronunciation and definitions…..this was how we learned to communicate and articulate.
I missed reports, I am talking when the teacher said “pick a country, do the research and write a five page report along with a outline” and every day at a certain time in class we went to the library to look up our country in encyclopedias and other books. The work in finding information for me was part of school I loved the most.
Our children no longer get to enjoy learning, they are just crammed full of information with no understanding or very little understanding of the why, where and how. They no longer know the origin of a word and most times know more slang words.
They really are missing out on the enjoyable part of learning. (Just my opinion)
Thank you for sharing this! I miss those things too. And, I think you’re right that we’re not giving kids the time and space to focus in and settle into what really matters and why. This is something I struggle with as a teacher all the time. Thank you for reading and sharing your reflection!
It was a very good article , thank you for writing and sharing.
Love your post. I love to read, and in terms of the devices, I remember loving the walkman.
Thank you for reading and your kind response! I miss my Walkman! 😊
Enjoyed this so much. Thank you.
Thank you! 😊
Brilliant and beautiful- thank you for such wise and thoughtful words. Looove this SUBSTACK!!!!
You're the best! Thank you so much! ❤️
As a child I loved getting lost in books. Then life demands got in the way and I mainly read non fiction. Recently I’ve gone back to reading fiction. You will find me several evenings a week curled up with a book. I can’t remember the last time I turned on the TV. Shortly I’m off to the library we have had to fight to keep open to choose next week’s reading delights. I’m also loving all the different things to read and enlighten me here on Substack
Thank you for reading this and for your thoughtful reflection! Thank you too for fighting for your library!! 🙌🏻
I really related to this article. It can feel so overwhelming having a phone with constant WhatsApps, emails and texts demanding your attention. It's almost impossible to switch off. And then there's the cacophony of voices on every subject across social media, podcasts and YouTube. It can all become a bit too much. These days, reading books and walking in nature are my refuge!