Two colleagues of mine made a very interesting observation during a check in of mine today. The question that we were to answer was “What do I like the most about the summer?”. As a person who historically don’t like summers a lot, I was trying quite hard to come up with something that I like about the summer. And then it came.
I like that you can finally talk with people about books.
It’s not that I lack people to talk about books with, it’s rather that there’s a significant change in what people I can have those conversations with in the summer. During the other seasons, I have my core group of readers. But during summer, almost everybody I know read at least one book. Many read more than one. And so, they have more to contribute with in that conversation.
My colleagues both nodded and exclaimed that they both are the types of people that read books only during their vacation in the summer. They couldn’t remember the last time they sat down to read a book during a work week.
This is something I’ve been pondering quite a lot since reading is one of my favourite activities. Regardless of what I’m reading really, I just love to sit down and be able to absorb ideas or even a whole world with my whole mind. It’s an activity where I get to relax, just as well as it’s an intake of resources. It’s vital to me.
So I prioritise it. As often as I can, I’ll get up and start the day by reading. It doesn’t need to be a lot, but at least fifteen minutes. Sometimes it’s two hours. Sometimes I start reading and get an idea for a text that has to be written instantly. But the activity itself rarely changes — I sit down and have a read.
Some people don’t really see the point of reading which I fully respect. But I don’t think that’s the case with most people who take the time to read during their vacation. I think it’s something they haven’t really given priority to, or forgotten that they enjoy.
What are you reading this summer?