Returning to the reading adventures

The past few days, I've been making a conscious effort to make time for reading.  Reading is one of those pastimes that I love, but often forget about.  In many ways, I suppose it's because to me, reading runs somewhat contrary to the major objective I'm focusing on right now, which is getting out, being sociable, and meeting more people.  By its very nature, the act of reading is a solitary practice.  I mean, sure, you can join book discussion groups (if you can find such groups that enjoy reading the books you enjoy) and socialize that way.  I don't do that, though.  I'm not sure I want to do that, either.  So when I look at my choice to read or go out, I consider what I'm trying to do with my life right now and feel going out makes more sense.

No bed-side table is complete
without a few of these.

Of course, there's plenty of other alone time, time I normally spend watching stuff of Netflix or pulling something out of my DVD collection.  I do that a lot because to me, it's mindless entertainment.  When I read, I engage much more of my brain.  I try to pull myself into the word of Frey (to use my current reading material as an example), see what's going on, feel what she's going through, and so on.  Watching movies and television, I can let the images on the screen do all that work for me.  It's a much more passive pastime.  Plus, to my mind at least, it seems easier on my eyes, which spend way too much time looking at strange words at work anyway.

But I've come to realize that I also don't get as much enjoyment out of watching movies and television as I do reading precisely because it's so passive.  Reading actually exercises my brain, gives it something to latch on to and explore.  It keeps my brain active and in shape, in a way.  And I think I've been noticing a certain amount of brain-rot due to the lack of stimulation in my life recently.  (Eros forbid that any other part of my body starts rotting from lack of recent stimulation!  So I've decided to make a disciplined habit of converting some of my "braindead viewing time" into reading time.  I figure even if I have to take a fifteen minute power nap first in order to feel like I can muster the mental energy to read, I'll do it.  And who knows, maybe it'll actually help me build more mental energy in the future so I'll be more ready to read.

In some ways, I think I've already found that.  Between the reading and walking (something else I'm trying to do more of), I've felt increasingly energized and alert over the past couple days.