More than two years into a global pandemic, with a screen almost permanently glued to my hand and no energy left at the end of an average day, I’ve started to wonder whether it’s really true to say I love to read.
Yes, I love books. But how much time do I actually spend reading?
I don’t mean escaping into a trashy novel. I did plenty of that during lockdown. I’m talking about close reading non-fiction, when you’re learning new stuff about the world and it stretches your horizons.
The more I talk to people about how I’m feeling, the more it seems like most people are in the same boat. Even my most bookish friends are struggling to read. *
We love books. We love to read. So why, then, do we pick Netflix over an evening spent reading? Why do we sit down to read and twenty minutes later find ourselves scrolling through Instagram? Why do we get into bed, read the same paragraph three times and then fall asleep? Night after night.
And no matter how much I enjoy a browse round Waterstones picking up new non-fiction titles and muttering “oh, that looks interesting” to myself, the knowledge inside those covers doesn’t miraculously transfer itself into my brain if I never actually read the book. No, not even if I go so far as to buy it and put in on my bedside table. Funny that.
Whatever the reasons for this reading block, I’ve been finding it increasingly frustrating.
Because there are so many incredible people out there, thinking deeply and writing brilliantly about the things I profess to care about. Things I do care about. People from all walks of life whose voices deserve to be heard and whose ideas could blow my mind if I could just concentrate on a book for longer than two minutes at a time.
Sound at all familiar?
If you’ve lost your deep-reading mojo, we see you. (We are you!) And our answer is Drift + Focus.
A non-fiction subscription box designed to give you a beautifully packaged, delightful-to-receive kick up the arse reminder that you want – and need – to read non-fiction.
We’re on a mission to reignite the reading brains of the nation, one non-fiction book subscription box at a time. Are you ready to join our reading revolution?
* If you’re thinking “none of this resonates with me”, then a Drift + Focus subscription is still a lovely way to extend your knowledge in unexpected directions and discover loads of new non-fiction books.