I'm sure many of you have experienced the same warped sense of time this year that I have: March lasted forever, April was slightly faster, and every month since then has flown by. I honestly feel like I was just typing up June's OLW post and here we are in the last week of July. I can only hope that this speed also applies to this pandemic and that as the days fly by we're also getting closer to a vaccine and a marked decrease in suffering.
When I started this year and chose SAVOR as my word for the year, I didn't and couldn't know what was in store for us. Though I didn't realize it at the time, I think I was likely influenced by the loss of my uncle last year. He was someone who had a long history of health problems, but he was always someone who wanted to live life to the fullest and truly enjoyed every moment. While I didn't need a global pandemic to remind me that life is precious and precarious, it's certainly been a constant reminder for me, so I'm really trying to focus on what is good and what makes me happy.
In July, I think what I savored more than anything was reading. I have finished 14 books so far this month -- and the month isn't over yet, either! All but three of them were borrowed from the library, too. I have always been a fan of my library, but I've really come to treasure it so much more thanks the current times.
I am really so thankful to be living in a time when I can borrow books from the comfort of my own home and be reading them in a matter of seconds. And when it's even more important to my mental health to be able to calm my anxious mind by occupying it with stories, I am even more grateful to have such a wide selection and so many choices.
While my library and its apps have made much of the reading possible, something else I've been savoring is what has become a summer tradition: Book Bingo. While the challenge to fill my bingo card is good motivation on its own, I love that the categories propel me to step outside my comfort zone and try new genres, new authors, and new styles of writing. My "want to read" list grows longer by the day, so sometimes looking at the squares I have to fill on my card helps me to narrow down my choices.
I hope that you've found time for your word this month and look forward to seeing all the links over on Honoré's blog for this month's reflections.
Your reading has been impressive. Our library is slowly reopening but I agree that the gift of electronic and audiobooks has been important during these months. I love your word by the way.
ReplyDeleteYou are really savoring your reading - 14 books is an impressive and wonderful total for the month! I'm also grateful to have electronic access to four libraries so I've always got something to read.
ReplyDeleteI love our library! It is just the best! I love this idea of savoring reading... so true. Some days, reading is the only think keeping me sane!
ReplyDeleteWow! What a spectacular reading (& library) month!! I’m two books away from a coverall (next year I’m going to do two cards)—and I’m not wanting it to be over come Labor Day! I’m wondering if it would lose its sparkle if I somehow did seasonal BINGO cards more than once/year. Not non-stop or anything, but... sooner than next summer! Noodling on it.
ReplyDeleteYay for a good month of reading! I, too, am amazed that we can borrow books with the click of a button and start reading them right away! It's been especially important these last few months when we haven't been allowed INSIDE the library.
ReplyDeleteThis is my first summer playing bingo with you all and I'm also really enjoying it! So thank you for the inspiration :)
what a great month of reading and library patronage!! I finally got to do my first curbside pickup this morning - woohoo!
ReplyDeleteSavoring your reading is wonderful and electronic access is so nice. I do think stories are powerful in so many ways. Everyone has a story and I try hard to listen.
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