blog

I don't know how much motivation I'll have, or whether I'll find myself writing into a void, but I've decided to switch from social media to blogging for a while. Instagram and TikTok are probably too much for me right now. Every time I open these apps, I'm bombarded with dozens of book titles - and you'd think it's a good thing that I'm discovering so many new titles, and that my TBR is growing with new books. But I also can't help but feel like it's a constant bidding war to see who's read the most and which book is more perfect that the other (almost everyone says they're obsessed with every book).

I thought slowing down and blogging instead of consuming minute-long videos would be good for me.
I rarely give in to peer pressure to buy something or follow a certain trend. Mainstream books rarely appeal to me. But somehow, I felt overwhelmed. Bookhauls, where someone unpacks a shipment of 20 books only to stack them on a cavernous bookcase and forget about them for months, doesn't appeal to me. Maybe it's my zero-waste approach, where I try not to buy things I'm not sure I need or absolutely love.

When my husband asked me what I would buy if my book started selling and I became rich, I replied that I would like to buy a plot of land and plant a forest and a swamp (swamp is the richest ecosystem!). I don't need luxury. I've been dreaming of planting a forest for years. To help the planet.

And I won't shout that I prefer books to social life, because that's not true. I have a family, a dog, a life... and if I have the opportunity to meet up with friends, I will always choose friends. Books are a nice addition. Something that allows me to stop and reflect. I like reading thought-provoking books, but also a light fantasy from time to time for entertainment. 

I don't think we can glorify reading as if it were a better hobby than any other, because not all books are equal. The Cruel Prince - my favorite series and comfort read (I devoured it when I was feeling down) - is just entertainment. And if we read books that are easy and enjoyable, but at the same time don't enrich us in any way or provoke thought, then this reading hobby isn't much different from watching Netflix. And that's okay! But it's not necessarily what I need.

I'd like to read one book a week, but I don't always manage to. Sometimes I read one a month, sometimes two a week. So I can't promise I'll write regularly, but I think that's the format that resonates with me most at the moment.

It all came out very chaotic, but you have to start somewhere...