I am joining a book club. "How quaint and antiquated that sounds," remarked my daughter when I told her. Is reading truly a thing of the past? Newspapers are fading into oblivion, gradually to disappear
off the face of the earth, like the dinosaurs. That's what people in the know have been telling me. At least that's not going to happen within this year, so I assume my job is safe until I retire.
I still enjoy reading, but I admit that I have become a bit lazy of late. I have several excuses for that.
My eyesight tends to find difficulty in focusing on small text unless the light is perfect, and reading glasses are still rather elusive for me. I can't get into the habit of carrying and wearing them,a nuisance.
I also have a nasty habit of reading one book, then turning my attention to another book midway.
Sometimes I have two or three books going at the same time, and after a while I lose the thread of one book, and eventually lose interest. Magazines are worse because of their smaller font size. My pile of magazines is going to topple over soon.
I actually bought myself a comfortable recliner for my bedroom. I put it next to the window where the light is perfect for reading. The problem, however, is that it is too comfortable. The moment I get into position, my eyes begin to droop, and my book slips from my hands onto my lap. I can never get beyond one page of reading before I fall asleep.
And, I hate to admit it, but social media has usurped my life to a huge extent that I would throw it out of the window except for the fact that I would just have to walk
around to the back and retrieve it the moment after, just in case my friends have just updated their IG or sent some cute Line stickers that I might just want to download too.
Do I really want to see pictures of my friends' grandchildren's first teeth, or new Caiman Lizard pet, or cute, fluffy, doe-eyed puppies on Facebook? You bet I do. I have no idea why. It does provide topics for conversation when you meet at various social events, I suppose.
t's the curiosity of human nature, or maybe it's a journalist kind of thing, that you want to know what's going on with everyone. And it's all available on your smartphone. That's why I can't throw it out of the window after all. That's why I pick it up first thing in the morning, and check it last thing at night.
If I want to watch the amazing Misty Copeland, the ballet world's newest cover girl, I can log onto YouTube, and I will inadvertently be drawn deeper and deeper into other dance clips that keep me going for hours on end.
And that's why my reading habits are totally out of sync.
Just like I need the discipline of a fitness class to exercise, I feel that the discipline imposed by a book club will help me break some of those interfering social media habits and get back on track with my reading.
None of us in the group have any real experience or idea of what a book club should be like.
All we know is that we all need some structure to our reading activities, and that the sharing of ideas after reading might help us retain some of the beauty of the prose, the creativity or narrative skill of the author, or simply the story itself that tends to become a blur not long after we put down the book.
We have no idea how each discussion is going to proceed, except that there will probably be a bottle of wine (or two) involved, and hopefully some snacks to tide us through the heated discussion. There is also that possibility that the wine will distract us away from the business of books altogether. Who knows?
You're never too old for new learning experiences. At least it's going to give me something to share with you in the not too distant future.