Reading and Slow Living

If there's anything a "slow living" lifestyle incorporates into its daily living more than any other lifestyle, it would be reading. I mean, that's my theory anyway. 

Most young people today aren't reading, they're scrolling through social media and buying the newest "it" item in all areas of their lives. If any reading for the youth is involved, it's over texts, Tik-Toks, and trends. 

Actually, adults are doing the same thing.

Yet, I believe everyone would love reading if they found their books. There is a comfy, engaging, captivating genre that speaks to everyone. For me, it's mysteries and middle-grade fiction.

When I meet someone who doesn't read (I meet many), I first question my ability to be friends with them (okay, not really) and then wonder what type of book would be their favorite, which leads me to find something they will read.

I'm not sure when I started reading. It was probably in kindergarten, which means I was about five and a half years old. Average. My third-grade teacher, Mrs. Brooks, will forever be the one who pushed me into reading not just for academics but for fun. She had a chart system with stickers and subject matter - all separated yet connected - and we had to read from all the sections.

But by doing this she made me understand that reading could be both educational and world-travel-inducing. We don't have to actually travel if we don't want to (though, I'd highly recommend this too), all we have to do is open a book and let it take us where we want to go. Instantly.

Other than the ubiquitous Baby-Sitters Club books by Ann M. Martin and Sweet Valley Twins books by Francine Pascal that I read while growing into my pre-teen years (yes, I'm thoroughly aging myself here), and Nancy Drew, Little House on the Prairie, and Anne of Green Gables, I recall one book my parents gave me for Christmas that changed me. It was called Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce.

It was - and still is - one of the best books I've ever read. It's a middle-grade book, but of course, it's for everyone. It's about a boy who wakes up to the clock striking 13 at midnight and realizes he's in the same house, but not in the same decade (or century) anymore. 

This book blends the magical with the everyday, and paranormal amidst a classic British pastoral setting, and it was probably one of the first books that pushed me to want to be a writer. I re-read this book a few months ago - thirty-five years since my last reading. It stands the test of time. It's ageless, classic, and the perfect book with mystery, intrigue, and relatability. 

This book made me want to write My ten-year-old self thought, Why not try to write for the rest of my life? Why not do that for a living? 

Well, if only I knew the truth. For starters, writers don't actually make money. It's ironic to even write the words writing and money within the same sentence because they're so incongruous. I joke, but it's true. Writing is for those who love that world and want to be a part of it. But very few writers are making good money from it.

In fact, a friend and I laugh a lot about the relationship between money and writing. She'll say "I just got a royalty check from my latest book sales." And I'll say "That's fantastic." To which she'll reply, "If you think $228 is fantastic, for the quarter, then sure." To which I laugh and then reply, "Well, I just got $125 for my latest work. I might be able to go out to dinner with that," and then we laugh some more.

Writers write for the love of writing. Period. Money is never the motivating factor because there is no money. Unless you're in the top 1% of writers, i.e. the New York Times bestsellers. 

So perhaps I'm not making much money, but I sure love what I'm writing. And that's all that matters. I'm living the dream. The dream I dreamt of as a little girl.

If you're not a reader but want to be, you just haven't found your genre. Find what fits you. Start reading through different kinds of books from historical to autobiography, self-help, romance, and Westerns to mysteries. People have forgotten about books as entertainment. It was good enough for the thousands of years prior, so I don't think this desire for reading is gone... it just isn't prioritized anymore.

A few weeks ago my sister reminded me of a series I'd started but hadn't continued with: A Thursday Murder Club Mystery. I've gone through three books now, have one more to read, and am anxiously awaiting the fifth book that comes out this fall. It's about a group of octogenarians living in a fabulous British retirement facility who solve murders. What's not to love here? The writing is brilliant and hilarious. Highly recommend this series too.

Want to slow down and "travel" more? Want to learn more about a subject you've longed to know about? Maybe you need an espionage thriller to read during your lunch break or a gentle classic to read before bed, all you have to do is add a little more reading into your world and watch that world grow. And once you do, you'll never go back.

Reading forces us to stop scrolling and focus on the words before us. Reading challenges us, disciplines us, and luckily for us, entertains us. It's a slow-living choice that reinforces what it means to live a life grounded in things that matter. Because words do matter. Reading slows us down, and makes us choosy about what we're doing with our hands, our mind, and our time. 

I'm sure glad reading and books are in my life, forcing me to think, and slow down.

Thank you, Mrs. Brooks for changing my world.