I have talked with many avid readers during the past several
months about how their reading has changed or not during these difficult times
of social isolation and worry, and their responses are amazingly varied:
- Reading only cozy mysteries
- Having trouble reading at all
- Having trouble getting books since the libraries were closed
- Obsessively reading anything to escape
- Rereading childhood favorites
- Rereading favorite adult series
- Reading unread books on their shelves
- Missing book groups and conversations about the books
For a while I was not interested in fiction and looked at
the nonfiction books on my shelves. I
had The Bully Pulpit by Doris Kearns Goodwin about Theodore Roosevelt,
William Howard Taft and the New Age of Journalism; the second book in the Edmund
Morris trilogy about TR, Theodore Rex; and Mornings on Horseback,
by David McCullough (also about TR). So,
this started a month of Teddy Roosevelt, and all I had to buy was The Rise
of Theodore Roosevelt and Colonel Roosevelt to complete Morris’
trilogy!
My book groups are resuming this month, August, after not
having met since February. We did one
online discussion for those uncomfortable gathering outdoors, and that went
well. We are meeting in a pavilion in
one of the local parks - social distancing, wearing masks, and having
individually wrapped snacks. Last night
the weather was beautiful for the first pavilion meeting and everyone was
absolutely delighted to talk about books with friends. We are going to do the same in September, and
then see what happens. We are looking
for some creative ways to connect with books besides an online meeting. Maybe I will continue to do the discussion
guides and share via email. We could
have email chats or people could meet in small groups in their neighborhoods.
I would love to hear any ideas you have about how to stay
connected with books and reading friends during these difficult times!
Happy reading!!
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