China News Entertainment, Beijing, April 23 (Reporter Wang Shiyao) In a busy modern society, do you still have time to read?
Paper books, e-books, audiobooks…the ways people can read are increasing, but the time available for reading is decreasing.
April 23 is "World Book Day", can you take time out today to celebrate this holiday with "Books"?
Reading doesn't seem fun?
But I can't stop...
Echo sits in the Peking University library reading a book.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee
Echo, currently studying at the School of Foreign Languages of Peking University, is a PhD student.
When she was a student, she was the one who could easily get high grades.
While others are struggling with writing and doing inexhaustible exercises, her extracurricular readings have grown from new concept writing, budding, to suspenseful and fictional novels.
Echo felt that his writing was the best during his high school years. "At that time, my teacher praised me for my writing skills, but now I don't seem to be able to write articles with that type of writing anymore."
She thinks that it may be because she reads more papers now and pursues logic when writing, but she is not as empathetic as before.
Time does seem to have a magic power. Although Echo feels that her ability to empathize in writing has weakened, she does not deny that as she grows older, she has gained many new insights into the famous novels she read when she was young.
Jane Eyre eBook.
Image source: WeChat reading
A while ago, Echo and his juniors discussed a topic: "Do you want to read advanced books to children?"
She took "Jane Eyre" as an example, "I didn't have any feelings when I was a child, and I just finished reading it. When I read this book when I grew up, I would think that it is to pursue equality, and love should be equal. I will take it out and read it recently, It overturns the previous point of view, as if we are too obsessed with or emphasize equality too much? Is the self also a manifestation of inferiority to some extent?"
She blamed "maybe I'm not as happy as before" for the difference between her reading experience when she grew up and when she was a child.
She felt that the previous self was more immersed in the emotion of reading, and there was a sense of picture in front of her eyes when reading a book.
But many times now, it seems that she has no brains to read books. Even if she reads something that touches her emotions, she needs to read and read repeatedly, "You just want to understand where it touched me and why it stopped at this point, Then it takes a long time to think about it, but it’s not really happy.”
Books Echo has recently read.
Image source: WeChat reading
Even as she kept saying "unhappy", Echo felt she couldn't stop reading, a feeling she described as "painful and happy".
At first, she wanted to read because she felt that social media kept pushing her homogenized things every day, it was too boring, so she wanted to read some new things to make herself think and feel more.
"At first, I started reading because I wanted to be happier. But you know, the process of reading is very painful, especially when it triggers some thinking, and it's not actually thinking about it happily."
But it is this kind of "pain" that makes her feel that she is alive, so she will habitually read books and deepen her connection with the world.
share a book
get a secret
Echo, who repeated "unhappy" in the interview, actually shared two happy little stories.
She said that she has a very confident friend by her side, and "no one can shake her self-confidence".
Echo is particularly envious of this character. When she reads a character with a similar character in a book, she always substitutes this friend unconsciously.
"It's actually good in some ways. For me, it made me feel closer to her, as if I had a little secret with her, even though she didn't know it."
Source of "Submarine at Night": Douban Reading
Echo also mentions a boy he recently liked.
She thought of him when she read the book "Submarine at Night" and bought the e-book as a gift to him.
"Although I know that he is not a person who loves to read, maybe he will not read it at all. But I am a person with a strong desire to share, and I am very satisfied when I share it. I just have a feeling that if he reads it, then That's what he earned."
Can sharing books lead to a relationship?
Wu Lei, who is currently a graduate student majoring in communications engineering at Beijing Institute of Technology, agrees.
"In my impression, I only have a lot of communication with one person in terms of reading. She is my high school classmate and my current girlfriend."
The book cover of "Walking in the White Night".
Photo courtesy of New Classic
In high school, Wu Lei suddenly fell in love with Keigo Higashino and bought a lot of books at once.
"One day I suddenly found out that she had a copy of "Walking in the White Night", which happened to be that I hadn't read it. The library didn't have it at that time, and I didn't buy it, so I made an appointment with her to borrow it."
Later, the two would exchange and share any new books they bought, and they often chatted together, "talking about (the murderer's) modus operandi, what the author wanted to express, their own feelings, etc."
Later, Wu Lei found out that the two got along well in movies, music, etc., and gradually became good friends.
"It's been a long time since we've been together. Now I read less books than before, but sometimes I'll send it to her after I finish reading it. I'll also bring her a copy of "Natural Museum" if I buy it myself."
Involution & Healing
Reading can be
A corner of Judy's bookshelf.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee
"It's too curly!" Judy, who works in a certain "Internet factory", gets off work at 9 o'clock every night, and is already the first person in their group to get off work.
Judy said "resisting to be involved", but in fact he was involved in this storm called work.
"Every time I move a station, the most things are books." Because in the ever-changing Internet industry, you may not be able to keep up with the rhythm of the times if you are not careful. In order to prevent yourself from being left behind, you can only continuously acquire knowledge .
Books at Judy's station.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee
"But in the Internet industry, updates and iterations are too fast, and many professional knowledge is actually not available in books, or after the books come out, the wind has passed."
Even so, Judy still maintains her enthusiasm for learning, and the company can apply for a reading fund every quarter, and she will make good use of this subsidy to buy reference books.
The contradictory Judy is unconsciously "sucked up", and at the same time feels that the fundamental purpose of work is to live a better life.
"If this job messes up my life, it means nothing to me."
Photo courtesy of the interviewee of "Life is Fun"
Therefore, on weekends, she will choose a sunny afternoon and read some books that soothe her emotions, "I was recently reading a book recommended by a blogger-"Life is Fun" by Wang Zengqi, which talks about food, Plants, old things, and things that are obviously very common are all very interesting in his eyes."
Referring to the reason for buying this book, Judy said that she also wanted to experience this kind of daily fun, but she had no time to "enjoy it" in the book.
And Wang Fang, who has been unemployed at home for 9 months, currently lacks time the most.
During her break, she made up for the books she had always wanted to read.
A corner of the bookshelf in Wang Fang's home.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee
"I talked to my friends who are tech fans before about the popular "Three-Body Problem", but I haven't had time. I finally finished reading it this time! There is also a trilogy of "Fall of Giants", which is also the tome I have read recently. ."
Having a lot of personal time is great, but it can also create anxiety over time.
Wang Fang feels that reading has alleviated her anxiety about being unemployed to a certain extent, "On the one hand, reading will give me a sense of self-enrichment, and on the other hand, I will also gain experience through the experience of some characters similar to me in the book. new insights."
Books Wang Fang is currently reading.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee
She took the "Moon and Sixpence" she had read before as an example: "The protagonist of this book is the painter Gauguin, in order to realize his artistic pursuit, he gave up a high-paying and stable job, although he may end up in an impoverished and impoverished place in the eyes of outsiders. state, but he's on the path he wants."
Wang Fang feels that she can draw inspiration from some characters in life, and when faced with anxiety or confusion, she will make herself feel less lonely.
Children are my motivation for learning
I want to be a better person
Circle the books you are currently reading.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee
"Only 1-2 hours a day is my own time." As a civil servant, circle circle, after becoming a mother.
Life is getting busier.
The current circle is the mother of a two-year-old child.
When asked what books she was reading recently, she said: "After I became a mother, the books I read were basically parenting-related books."
Circle the books you bought for your child.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee
"Recently, I've been more interested in reading books about what children should pay attention to during sensitive periods." Although the child is only two years old, Quanquan feels that he has reached the first rebellious period in his life, and she hopes to use books to understand related information.
However, now the child can't say a complete sentence, which is what worries her the most.
"I went to see the doctor, and I also looked up some books to understand that this situation is within a reasonable range, and it relieves anxiety to some extent."
In order to exercise the children's language ability, she bought some reading pens and reading books, so that the children can learn pronunciation and read aloud along with them.
Click to read.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee
Although she has no leisure time because the child is too young, Quanquan has made up her mind that when the child is a little older and she doesn't have to worry so much, she will start her own reading plan.
"Parents are the best teachers for children. I hope to influence children by cultivating some good study habits. If I can be better, I can be a role model for children. To be honest, I lived a very casual life before becoming a mother. , but because of this child, I now want to be a better version of myself." (End)
(The interviewee in the article is a pseudonym)