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A retired librarian from Minnesota changed how I read books
I was at a used bookstore in Minneapolis around 2018, digging through a pile of old paperbacks. A woman maybe 70 years old tapped my arm and said "stop hunting for the ending, just feel the page." She wasn't being snobby about it, she just handed me a dog-eared copy of some forgotten novel and walked off. It stuck with me because she made me realize I rush through books like a checklist. Anyone else had a random stranger shift how you approach reading?
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the_sage3mo ago
That lady was onto something bigger than just books tbh. 3 years ago I caught myself treating my morning coffee the same way - gulping it down while scrolling my phone instead of actually tasting it. It's like we all got this weird checklist mentality for things that are supposed to be enjoyed slow. Now I try to catch myself rushing through anything that's supposed to feel good, whether it's a chapter or just a damn sunset.
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thomas.river3mo ago
Good point, maybe that lady was teaching a kind of patience most people forgot existed.
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blair9903mo ago
Man that coffee thing hit hard honestly. One of my buddies actually tried reading a physical book on his lunch break last week and he told me he caught himself getting annoyed that the pages turned too slow. Like he was literally mad that paper takes time to flip compared to a screen. He laughed about it after but it really shows how messed up our brains are now. We're out here getting frustrated with the pace of reality itself.
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