Berlin – Easter is just around the corner. The holidays are coming – and with them, at least theoretically, a bit of time. Time to take a deep breath. Time, maybe even, for a book.
“Theoretically.
Practically, social media tells me that I still need to read 123 books to keep up. And while I process that, I keep scrolling. Happy Easter. Somewhere on the internet, someone asks: ‘How do you manage to read so many books?’ And then the internet answers. Someone is currently reading six books at the same time – two audiobooks, an e-book, a manga. Another person listens to literature while jogging. At 1.5 times the speed, of course.
I sometimes drink coffee while reading. That’s my contribution to efficiency.”
-Image Caption Reads: Column ‘Seitenweise Sven’: Looking at the internet, reading seems like a competition. But it should be fun, shouldn’t it? (Montage) © Montage-
“The Books are like Calories
It all started with Goodreads. The platform for book lovers eventually introduced the ‘Reading Challenge’: How many books can you read this year? An innocent question. With devastating consequences. Suddenly, there was this counting, this checking off, this slight dizziness in October when you’re still twenty-three books away from your annual goal. People have been reading strategically since then. Short novels as points boosters. Someone explained to me that he only reads novellas in December. Because of the statistics.
I looked at him as if he were a man counting calories on vacation.
The answer is actually simple: reading five Agatha Christie books is faster than reading a single Thomas Mann. Someone who needs three months for ‘War and Peace’ has probably experienced more than someone who has inhaled twelve short novels in the same time. But that doesn’t count in any algorithm. There’s no reward for it. No leaderboard.
“Reading Books: Where’s the Joy?
And maybe that’s the real Easter question – not how many books, but why at all. Easter is traditionally a time for new beginnings, slowing down, pausing. Easter is the time when Norwegians love crime novels. It’s precisely now that the internet sends us reading lists. Exactly now we compare. Exactly now we wonder: Where’s the joy actually?
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“A book is not a task. It’s an invitation – to linger, to pause, to reread a sentence because it simply resonates with you. That’s the best thing reading can offer. And it doesn’t require speed or statistics. Not even holidays. But they help.
Read as many books as you like. Or even fewer. Stop reading what you don’t like. Read the wrong genre. Read slowly. Put the book down and look out the window.
Happy Easter. That’s completely sufficient.
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“How do you approach reading – do you still enjoy it, or has the counting already begun? I’d love to hear your opinion. You can find the contact option in the author’s profile.” (str)
