Could a couch-to-5k for books get you back into reading?
With smartphones stealing our attention, we’re picking up fewer books than ever. A novelist shares her eight-week scheme to get you back into the habit Do you feel that it’s harder to read than it used to be? Not harder to read emails, texts and social media posts, of course. We’re reading those all day long. Harder to sit down and lose yourself in a book? How long is it since you even sat down with a weekend newspaper and read it cover to cover? Do you feel that you used to have a life-sustaining reading habit, everything from fun popcorn novels to serious nonfiction, classic and contemporary, many genres and writers, but somehow it’s gone away? It doesn’t feel like a decision that you made. It just happened. I feel like that. At least more like that than I’m comfortable with. I’m a novelist and I present programs about thinking on the BBC, and yet even I am finding that I’m reading less than I used to. It seems more of an effort and less of a consistent, persistent habit than it was. I hate this feeling. I still have the habit of acquiring books, buying them, getting them from libraries, being sent them. And I do still read. Compared with many people, I probably read an enormous amount, but I know it’s not as much as I used to read. And I know where the time has gone. Continue reading…
With smartphones stealing our attention, we’re picking up fewer books than ever. A novelist shares her eight-week scheme to get you back into the habit Do you feel that it’s harder to read than it used to be? Not harder to read emails, texts and social media posts, of course. We’re reading those all day long. Harder to sit down and lose yourself in a book? How long is it since you even sat down with a weekend newspaper and read it cover to cover? Do you feel that you used to have a life-sustaining reading habit, everything from fun popcorn novels to serious nonfiction, classic and contemporary, many genres and writers, but somehow it’s gone away? It doesn’t feel like a decision that you made. It just happened. I feel like that. At least more like that than I’m comfortable with. I’m a novelist and I present programs about thinking on the BBC, and yet even I am finding that I’m reading less than I used to. It seems more of an effort and less of a consistent, persistent habit than it was. I hate this feeling. I still have the habit of acquiring books, buying them, getting them from libraries, being sent them. And I do still read. Compared with many people, I probably read an enormous amount, but I know it’s not as much as I used to read. And I know where the time has gone. Continue reading…
Related Reading
hirekDons call for Cambridge leaders to take blame for Jason Arday appointment
Exclusive: Academics call for inquiry, saying university must be held accountable for ‘grotesque racism unleashed’ The University of Cambridge’s leaders deserve blame for the “grotesque racism unleashed” by Jason Arday’s appointment as professor, according to academics calling for the university to hold an independent inquiry. The Guardian understands that senior dons at Cambridge are circulating a joint letter calling for an inquiry into the processes and circumstances around Arday being given the position, with many suggesting the university wanted a “quick fix” to improve the diversity of its staff. Continue reading…
hirekThe Guardian view on mental health: the new secretary of state should make it a priority | Editorial
Parity for people with physical and psychological ailments has been promised for years. New neighbourhood clinics are a step in the right direction The rise in children and young people with mental health problems makes this week’s announcement of a new network of community clinics in England particularly welcome. A&E departments have recorded an increase in difficult-to-manage symptoms including aggression and hallucinations. New specialist walk-in mental health services should take some of the pressure off. The bringing forward of a deadline for ending out-of-area acute placements, and a pledge to reduce waiting times for children, are also positive. Declining mental health was among the key themes of Alan Milburn’s interim report on young people and work. It is a big factor behind the rise in claims for illness and disability benefits. Children’s anxiety and other psychological difficulties are also among the many challenges facing schools. Recent years have seen steep rises in emotionally based school avoidance, as well as in autism and neurodiversity. Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading…
hirekWriting skills are getting more attention in school
Each year, we get a pretty good idea of how kids across the country are doing with their math and reading skills. But writing? That’s a different story. Few states test students on how well they can write, and the country hasn’t published national writing test results for elementary-age children since 2002. Regardless, experts say […] The post Writing skills are getting more attention in school appeared first on The Hechinger Report.