Life: Designed

Back when reading was fun

I used to love reading. I loved the feeling of getting lost in a different world where anything was possible. I owned every single Rainbow Magic book that was out in 2012. I was obsessed with stories. They inspired me to play fairies and superheroes with my friends on the playground. They helped me discover and hone my creativity through imagination.

“You simulate being another human so well that fiction is a far better virtual reality simulator than the machines currently marketed under that name”

– Johann Hari, Stolen Focus.

The Change

Then something changed. Two things, actually. Around the same time summer reading began, I got a screen. A deadly combination. 

Suddenly, there was more to do than just play with my friends and complete the little bit of homework I had. I discovered YouTube and Musical.ly. Suddenly, I was booked… with no time for books. 

No matter how much they tried to entice us to read with the Pizza Hut gift certificates, reading was becoming a chore. 

I was like dancer Julia Christensen, after her back injury, losing her flow state. My world had been disrupted from a very young age. Unlike Julia, though, I didn’t even know it. 

Slow Reader

By the time middle school came around, I had fully stopped reading for fun. I barely read the books I was assigned if time was tight, resulting in Sparknotes or Course Hero videos to understand what was happening instead of actually finding out myself. 

It wasn’t just the fact that reading had become a chore. It was a chore, and I was a slow reader. 

Reading slower than my classmates sucked all the enjoyment that was left out of reading. My classmates would finish reading their part of the book while I still had pages left. I wouldn’t finish the section my teachers said I “should be able to” finish in class, leaving me more homework. 

I was frustrated and defeated. Reading of any kind had become one of the last things I wanted to do. 

I needed a way to catch up, or I’d just become more upset. That’s when I discovered Google Translate’s unintended second use: it could read to me. Anything I was reading on the computer, I could just copy and paste into Google Translate, scroll to the bottom of the paragraph, and hit the speaker icon. Violia! I had my very own audiobook for all my schoolwork. 

This is a strategy I still use to this day. While it has helped me tremendously with productivity and getting my schoolwork done, it’s not without its downsides. I get annoyed when I can’t copy and paste the words in a PDF into my little audiobook maker. And Google Translate has a character limit. Anything over 3,900 characters won’t read to you, so I find myself wasting time grabbing snippets, and then having to go back cause what I selected was too long. I’ve tried the apps and websites that read to you to eliminate this, but these days, everything is behind a paywall. Worst of all? I’m still a slow reader. 

According to  “I have forgotten how to read,” an opinion article by Michael Harris, “The only way to actually read faster is to actually read more.” My little hack has been my default for so long. Whenever I see something long I have to read, I open Google Translate right up and start copying and pasting. This whole time, I haven’t been practicing, so how could I possibly read faster?

Reading Sans Paper

It’s not only that I haven’t been working out my reading muscles. Most of these things that I’m reading are on a screen. When you read on a screen, you’re reading differently from how you read a paper book. You’re “more likely to scan and skim,” says Anne Magen, professor of literacy at the University of Stavanger, Norway.

“It stops being a pleasurable immersion into another world and becomes more like dashing around a busy supermarket”

– Anne Magen. 

You don’t have that same deep focus and attention when you read on a screen. As computers became the standard in schools, screens became my primary source for reading, and reading became more of a challenge. 

Reclaiming Reading

I don’t want to be doomed to stay away from reading. So I refuse. I want to get back to the time when I couldn’t wait to pick up a book. So I will.

I am bringing back reading for fun. Saying no to reading just because that’s what I’ve been assigned to do. I’m discovering I enjoy reading thriller novels and am excited to try other genres. 

I am tuning out the people who can read a book a week. I won’t let myself get discouraged because I am just fine taking a couple of months and savoring the book that I am reading. As I do, I’ll be building my muscles to help me read what I have to for school more easily, so hopefully one day I won’t have to rely on my audiobook trick to make it through an article. 

I’m sticking to paper books not only to limit distractions but because I spend more than enough time staring at screens. Plus, who doesn’t love a good trip to the bookstore and the feel of a novel in your hand?

I refuse to lose my ability to read, so I’m reclaiming reading.