Week 6 — Whatever Happened to Reading for Fun?

When I was younger, the one of the only consistent reasons I got in trouble with my parents was for staying up late reading. Usually the "punishment" would be that my parents would take away whatever book I was reading. It was incredibly ineffective considering the fact that I was normally reading three other books at the same time and would just pick up one of those.

I've read so many books that I couldn't possibly keep track of them all. Occasionally a random book plot will flash into my mind that I complete forgot existed. I can never remember the title, only a vague reflection of the feelings I had when reading the book. 

These days I don't get to do much reading considering the fact that most of my time is split between school, work, and friends. Until this summer, I hadn't read a book for my own enjoyment for probably about three years. I completely forgot how great it is to get completely immersed in a good story—even better when it's a series. I re-read many of my favorite books from my childhood, and all those feelings from when I first read them flew back into my mind. It was a so fun to do some retrospection and reminiscing.

In total, I ended up reading 22 books just this summer. I never knew how much I missed reading until I picked it back up again. Although, I also discovered that reading can be just as distracting as social media or Netflix. Learning to consume media in moderation is a skill that we need to learn for all forms of media, because even books can become a negative coping mechanism or a distraction from our other responsibilities. 

After all, too much of a good thing is still a bad thing.