okay.
Bean soup, developing personal taste, identifying interests and minding one's own business
I used to beg to go to the movies. I’d watch trailers on youtube and look up showtimes— this was back when you had to call to know showtimes too, if I got a yes I’d start planning. When could I go? Who would I go with? If it wasn’t with family it was usually with a friend. The simple act of going probably did a lot for my mental wellbeing just like reading did.
It’s good, necessary to have plans, to have routines that don’t revolve around being online. Granted there was less of an “online” when I was growing up but that foundation helps me today to be able to identify when being online just isn’t worth it or helpful.
Going into this new year, I felt as though I have some questions and decisions coming my way. The main one I think right now is; what decisions can I make to plan for my future?
There were a few things that came to mind but I’ll share these; prioritize my reading, learn more about book binding, to not increase the amount of social media time I have—which thankfully has been something I’ve worked at for a couple years now, its lowkey a blessing to be off twitter and figuring out more ways in my own capacity that I can keep up with the community I have and am building.
The social media piece is mainly because of the insane takes about pretty much anything that have only increased over the years that simply just don’t make it worth it majority of the time.
A lot of the time it feels as though no one has an air of curiosity anymore, no one wants to look shit up and investigate a thought they’ve had. When it comes to artful mediums you cannot just rely on what’s popular and what makes it through your biased algorithm. You have to look through movies, you have to look through tv, you have to look through music. Your favorite things are not going to just fall in your lap.
People have to got to start using their free will, people need to figure and flesh out their interests
It’s funny because someone could be like alright lady on substack talking about being offline and because they don’t know me at all I couldn’t be too too mad at that. Annoyed definitely though.
In the same vein, someone posting some specific to them online doesn’t actually mean you can be a bitch about it and expect no one to say anything to you! No one can stop you sure but if it has nothing to do with you, it has nothing to do with you. People do not exist in spite of you.
[Side note; the notion that every single person that is able to read a lot in a month and or a year needs to be let go. Quite honestly I don’t know why people care about the volume of other people’s reading but it’s several times a year with the—- do you guys remember what you read? are you guys actually reading the whole thing? the persistent ability they have to belittle romance books, or graphic novels, or audiobooks, or short stories. etc. etc.
Honestly I think it’s sad that many cannot imagine a reality where people make time for some as simple as reading. The constant discourse reflects more on the people making it than anyone else. How many songs does one listen to in a year? Albums? How many movies does someone watch in a year? How many tv shows does someone watch in a year?
If we wouldn’t pose those questions in a accusatory fashion then why is it happening for books? A medium that has existed for centuries.
Instead people are out here acting like reading is a medieval torture form or something. Just because you aren’t a fast reader doesn’t mean everybody else is lying about their reading habits. Just because you don’t make time for reading doesn’t mean everyone else is lying about their reading habits. They’re not “flexing” in the negative sense you’re trying to make it be, you are just used to people performing online that you think everything is disingenuous. Someone feeling happy and proud about their reading habits, doesn’t meant they’re pretentious. It means they like to read.
Can there be dialogue about performance within the book community? The consumerism? Lack of craft and seemingly integrity? Issues with illiteracy? Yea those conversation can be had but going after people who are just reading because they want to because you have a preconceived notion about them is just stupid.]
I’ve been having such a great time finding and reading classics lately esp Black ones. I’ve also identified ones I’d love to revisit and reread.
Keeping a journal, getting physical pictures for safe keeping, going to the movies more and investing in more physical media is also the mission.
What I’m Reading
And a couple other books I didn’t feel like getting the cover for.