{"id":104,"date":"2023-02-07T12:00:16","date_gmt":"2023-02-07T12:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jmbask.com\/?p=104"},"modified":"2023-01-27T00:53:45","modified_gmt":"2023-01-27T00:53:45","slug":"read-more-screen-less","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jmbask.com\/?p=104","title":{"rendered":"Read More? Screen Less?"},"content":{"rendered":"

All of us writers, we say it all the time: the two best ways to become a good writer are (of course) to write, but also to read anything and everything you can get your hands on.\u00a0 I\u2019m going to leave alone the writing part for now and I\u2019m going to focusing on the ‘reading more’ bit.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>It\u2019s so hard isn\u2019t it?\u00a0 It used to be easy.\u00a0 When I was twenty, I\u2019d go to the library and get ten books, and read most of them in a week, often switching between two of them, at night before bed. I would read at work.\u00a0 I would read on the toilet.\u00a0 I would read at dinner. I’d read on the bus, in the car (I didn’t drive then),\u00a0 in the tub.\u00a0<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Then screens happened. Little computers in the palm of your hand that have all the information in the world! And all the books! But let\u2019s admit it: we\u2019re reading Twitter and TikTok about books rather than actually reading them. It\u2019s so hard. Sometimes I find myself in bed at night, reading a book\u2013a good book! An engaging book!–and my hand will creep over the coverlet to find my phone. The next thing I know, that tiny computer is back in my face and the books been thrown to the side like a piece of trash.\u00a0<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Well, I\u2019m trying to change that in 2023, so here are my tips for reading (a little) more.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"

Photo by Florencia Viadana on Unsplash<\/p><\/div>\n

First:<\/strong> Don\u2019t bring your phone in the bathroom with you.\u00a0 Seriously.\u00a0 Don\u2019t say you don\u2019t do it. We all know that\u2019s a damn lie. Leave it in your purse or on the bed or in the kitchen.\u00a0 Now, put a book on the back of the toilet or a magazine with short stories or poems.\u00a0 There are lots of great short fic magazines that could use your support such as: <\/span>Fantasy,<\/span><\/a> Nightmare<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>F&SF<\/span><\/a>, and <\/span>Apex<\/span><\/a> to name a few.\u00a0 Remember when we used to read on the toilet?\u00a0 Yes? Well, go back to doing that.<\/span><\/p>\n

Second:<\/strong> Find that spot in the day where you tend to pick up your phone and stare at it. Maybe it\u2019s on your lunch break.\u00a0 Maybe it\u2019s when you get home from work, drop your keys and lay on the couch.\u00a0 Maybe it\u2019s during your morning coffee.\u00a0 Now, put a book there. Put a book in the bag you take to lunch. Set one next to your coffee pot. Lay one on the coffee table next to that favorite chair. Whatever place you end up staring at your phone for thirty minutes at a stretch, put a book there. Now, pick up the book instead. <\/span><\/p>\n

Third<\/strong>: Most importantly, the book before bed!\u00a0 I\u2019m pretty sure all of us readers try to read before bed. It\u2019s relaxing, it\u2019s not a screen, it\u2019s supposed to be good sleep hygiene.\u00a0 But as I said, that hand takes on a life of its own and goes sneaking over to the phone. The fix for that? When you walk into your room to get ready for bed, plug in your phone far away<\/i> from you.\u00a0 Put it on the dresser. Plug it in on the bathroom counter.\u00a0 Put it wherever it needs to be that is far enough you won\u2019t be tempted to rise out of bed to go \u2018just check it.\u2019 If anywhere in your bedroom is not far enough, order yourself an old school analog alarm clock from Amazon, and leave your phone charging in the kitchen when you go to bed.<\/p>\n

This has honestly been the biggest help for me. I have been reading more since I started doing this, because I hate getting out of bed once I\u2019m cozy.\u00a0 It has also had the neat side effect of improving my sleep because I\u2019m not turning off the lights and then immediately picking up my phone to \u2018check Twitter one last time\u2019 for an hour before I go to sleep.<\/p>\n

Fourth<\/strong>: A final tip for all of the above: if you don\u2019t like it, don\u2019t finish it. This one is hard, I know. A lot of us writers feel like we really have to give our fellow authors a fair shot, and we end up slogging through a book we aren\u2019t enjoying because we feel we ought to.\u00a0 Well, you ought not to.\u00a0 Give the book a fair shot\u2013read a quarter, thirty percent, one chapter\u2013whatever amount you feel should have engaged you.\u00a0 If it hasn\u2019t done that, put it down. Go find another book. If you don’t like that one, rinse and repeat.\u00a0 Keep going until you’re enjoying yourself.\u00a0 You\u2019ll read a lot faster if you love it, I promise. <\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>(And of the guilt ridden of us, remember, just because you\u2019re not loving the book right now doesn\u2019t mean you won\u2019t love it later.\u00a0 You might just not be in the right \u2018mood\u2019 for that story or genre right now. And that\u2019s okay. So if you feel <\/span>really<\/span><\/i> guilty about not finishing a book, tell yourself you\u2019ll come back to it and put in back in your TBR pile.)<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Welp, that\u2019s it for this list. If you only do one of the things on this list, do number 3. It will benefit both the time you spend reading<\/span> and your<\/span><\/i> sleep habits.\u00a0 And if you end up staying up all night to read a really good book, I guarantee you\u2019ll feel a lot less guilty about it than if you\u2019d stayed up until one a.m scrolling the same Facebook posts over and over and over. <\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Until next time.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

-JM<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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