inkwell.vue.512
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How has our reading changed during the covid-19 period?
permalink #0 of 34: ari (jonl) Thu 11 Feb 21 06:52
permalink #0 of 34: ari (jonl) Thu 11 Feb 21 06:52
A lot more of us are working from home than was the case a year ago. Has that changed our reading habits? Any books that stand out and symbolize this period for you?
inkwell.vue.512
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How has our reading changed during the covid-19 period?
permalink #1 of 34: power meower (autumn) Thu 11 Feb 21 07:12
permalink #1 of 34: power meower (autumn) Thu 11 Feb 21 07:12
I've wondered how my favorite authors will handle the pandemic. Michael Connelly's "The Law of Innocence" is the first novel I've read that mentions the virus. The first mention comes when one character asks "Where the hell is Wuhan?" after hearing a story on CNN about a new virus in China. The foreshadowing gave me chills. Later, a character notices that the woman sitting next to him on a plane is wearing a mask. "She must be sick," he thinks. There are a few more mentions, all slipped in naturally. Michael Robotham in his acknowledgments after "When She Was Good" explains, "Like many of my previous novels, 'When She Was Good' is written in the first person in the present tense with the story unfolding in real time. It is set in 2020 but was written before the global COVID-19 pandemic turned our lives upside down. For that reason, there is no mention of the virus or lockdowns or social distancing. It was too late to alter the story significantly, and it would have spoiled many of the most important plot elements of the novel. I hope this doesn't distract from your reading experience and you can enjoy a world without the coronavirus, at least for a few hours."
inkwell.vue.512
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How has our reading changed during the covid-19 period?
permalink #2 of 34: Ari Davidow (ari) Thu 11 Feb 21 07:53
permalink #2 of 34: Ari Davidow (ari) Thu 11 Feb 21 07:53
Oooh. Another reason to continue catching up on Michael Connelly novels. I'm maybe halfway through and taking a break due to too much non-fiction reading that is on my plate and attached to deadlines (albeit, sometimes, deadline == due back at the library). What has changed the most for me is that I have gotten much more used to ebooks. For several months, couldn't go to the library at all, but ebooks were just as available. And, in truth, the ability to be sitting here at home, comfy, and find a good mystery to read while still curled up in my chair is a pretty strong incentive to use ebooks to the max. Also, with ebooks, if too many things become available all at once, I can just set a few to "delay". With physical books, when they show up, I sort of have to go through the ritual of checking them out, even if I'm pretty sure I don't have time to read them right now--that's especially true (in my mind, at least) if the book had to travel physically from another library in the system to get to me in the first place. I also haven't seen a lot, yet, that mentions covid-19 yet. I mean, I know that I've noticed it in some recent novels, but can't put my finger on anything. I assume it was in Ali Smith's final seasons quartet novel, "Summer," but it's not what I remember about the book. Maybe I just internalized mentions of covid-19 and missed whatever she did with it.
inkwell.vue.512
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How has our reading changed during the covid-19 period?
permalink #3 of 34: Elaine Sweeney (sweeney) Thu 11 Feb 21 08:01
permalink #3 of 34: Elaine Sweeney (sweeney) Thu 11 Feb 21 08:01
I think Lawrence Wright's _The End of October_, published last May, was the first book I read that was clearly influenced by the pandemic. And then Kim Stanly Robinson's _The Ministry for the Future_, which I'm reading right now, has the pandemic's fingerprints on some parts. I'm moved even more to electronic books, since the library curtailed physical book lending for quite a while. Probably the book I will associate most with the pandemic will be Hilary Mantel's _The Mirror and the Light_, because it was published just before the lockdown. I had a hold on the physical book and thought I would go by the library and see if it was ready -- sometimes the book is on the hold shelves before they send out the notice it's ready. But the library had decided to close at 3pm, in a pre-lockdown closure, and had sent out an email to that effect. It was packed full of people, mostly getting books and books for their kids, because the announcement that the schools would close Monday had just gone out. I managed to wedge myself in the pack and edge over to the hold shelves where I found the book, and edge back to the end of the line where I waited I don't know how long to get to the checkout kiosk. The whole time I was thinking "is this wise? this can't be safe." No one had a mask; social distancing hadn't even entered people's minds yet. "Is this wise? Is this safe?" in that mass. Nowadays I would have turned around and just ordered the book - I would have never had gone into a crowd like that for a minute, even masked. And it turned out the virus was already in community spread then - had been for a month. The library closed that day and didn't reopen for months, not even for book returns. So _The Mirror and the Light_ sat on the table after I read it -- because I couldn't return it -- reminding me that I couldn't even go to the library any more. Reminding me of my little loss in the mass of everyone's losses.
inkwell.vue.512
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How has our reading changed during the covid-19 period?
permalink #4 of 34: Angie Coiro (coiro) Thu 11 Feb 21 14:35
permalink #4 of 34: Angie Coiro (coiro) Thu 11 Feb 21 14:35
Ah, Elaine. Even those little losses matter. The epidemic has been disastrous in terms of my worst habits. I'm watching more TV, and dicking around online, more than I ever have. And I have so many books to read. It got to where the ONLY books I read were those for work, on hard deadlines. No pleasure reading at all. All those wasted hours! I've got the Freedom app on my computers, and in the interest of forcing myself to read more, I've set it to block my black-hole sites from 10:30pm to 7am, and for six hours in the middle of the day. And I'm reading! Both book-in-hand reading, and listening to audiobooks. I'm focusing on classics I've always meant to get to. I'm reading Bleak House, and listening to Middlemarch. I've got Ulysses on deck - first a listen, then reading it. I'm downloading the Great Courses lecture series on Ulysses, too. If that inclines me to, I'll then pick up the Odyssey. After that, Oscar Wilde's complete works. Amazing how the world opens up when you get the hell off the computer. (Tangentially, in case it's helpful to others: with the Freedom app I'm also sleeping earlier and more regularly. I do recommend it.)
inkwell.vue.512
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How has our reading changed during the covid-19 period?
permalink #5 of 34: Ari Davidow (ari) Fri 12 Feb 21 07:09
permalink #5 of 34: Ari Davidow (ari) Fri 12 Feb 21 07:09
One thing that has changed for me during this period is that I'm now technically "older." My claim of being at the tail end of middle aged is denied by the covid-19 "when can I get vaccinated" levels - we're almost at the point where my age gets the jabs. Probably appropriate that I'm making my way through Louise Aronson's recent book, "Elderhood: Redefining Aging, Transforming Medicine, Reimagining Life." I also have the example of my father's mother, who continued to be out and about and lucid (and especially available for bridge), despite getting mugged a couple of times, until her death in her '80s.
inkwell.vue.512
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How has our reading changed during the covid-19 period?
permalink #6 of 34: shannon (vsclyne) Fri 12 Feb 21 08:41
permalink #6 of 34: shannon (vsclyne) Fri 12 Feb 21 08:41
This is the year in which I admitted to myself that I am old. 78. Up til now, I was clearly "slowing down", but "old" just didn't compute. One of the benefits is priority in the vaccine queue. It's a great relief to have that behind me. Now that I've accepted my new status, I find myself routinely monitoring my rambling when talking to others, especially younger people. And yes, I detect early indicators of rambling. This is just another example of "first you have to accept that you have a problem before you can get to work solving it." So, a new resolution, "Practice concision."
inkwell.vue.512
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How has our reading changed during the covid-19 period?
permalink #7 of 34: shannon (vsclyne) Fri 12 Feb 21 08:42
permalink #7 of 34: shannon (vsclyne) Fri 12 Feb 21 08:42
Oh yeah. I meant to say, I just ordered the Louise Aronson book and will start it today.
inkwell.vue.512
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How has our reading changed during the covid-19 period?
permalink #8 of 34: Angie Coiro (coiro) Fri 12 Feb 21 11:48
permalink #8 of 34: Angie Coiro (coiro) Fri 12 Feb 21 11:48
She gave me a wonderful interview when the book came out. Not just an innovative thinker but a lovely, lovely person. <http://indeepradio.com/podcast/dr-louise-aronson-elderhood/>
inkwell.vue.512
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How has our reading changed during the covid-19 period?
permalink #9 of 34: FF (fsquared) Fri 12 Feb 21 12:10
permalink #9 of 34: FF (fsquared) Fri 12 Feb 21 12:10
My reading habits have completely changed. I don't want to read heavy non-fiction that makes me feel more scared and stressed than I am. I don't want to read Great Literature that makes me feel like I have to work to understand it. I just want to read things that are diverting and happy-making. I have torn through a massive stack of romances and mysteries and I am 100% okay with that.
inkwell.vue.512
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How has our reading changed during the covid-19 period?
permalink #10 of 34: Ari Davidow (ari) Fri 12 Feb 21 14:51
permalink #10 of 34: Ari Davidow (ari) Fri 12 Feb 21 14:51
<fsquared>, that sounds like my spouse's video preferences since covid-19 (well, that and our former President).
inkwell.vue.512
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How has our reading changed during the covid-19 period?
permalink #11 of 34: Angie Coiro (coiro) Fri 12 Feb 21 15:44
permalink #11 of 34: Angie Coiro (coiro) Fri 12 Feb 21 15:44
I'm lucky, I guess - the classics don't feel like work to me, really. The Forsyte Saga was, so I just put it down. Escaping into romances, mystery, any kind of what I would call "casual" fiction isn't an option for me. I've never had a taste for them, and a couple efforts to revisit that have all turned out the same way. Just not my taste. I'll tell you what has changed (drift alert! But this is The Well, where Drift-R-Us: My taste in TV and movies has been turned on its head. I've always been one for darker stuff and deep documentaries, but I've no stomach for that now. I want to watch the Chicago Seven movie. I tried to watch Trumbo. But everything feels too heavy. I've developed an appetite for farce, which has never been me! Pratfalls, slapstick - they've always left me stone-faced. I've discovered Miranda Hart's series on Hulu ("Miranda") and omg I love it so much. I've laughed so loud and hard Bruce claims I've actually hurt his ears. She is immensely talented. Her character is in her thirties, a kid at heart, socially awkward. She takes full advantage of her six-foot height to underline her inability to really fit in. Her control of her body as a comic instrument is close to Chaplin's level. She is *brilliant*. I understand the American version - Call Me Kat - has fallen flat on its face, which is no surprise. Not just that so many Brit-to-US TV adaptations have flopped, but that Mayim Bialik is not Miranda Hart. I really do recommended finding it. What a relief to laugh so hard.
inkwell.vue.512
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How has our reading changed during the covid-19 period?
permalink #12 of 34: Evelyn Pine (evy) Fri 12 Feb 21 18:38
permalink #12 of 34: Evelyn Pine (evy) Fri 12 Feb 21 18:38
I've read a ton of "pandemic porn." You know, _Station Eleven_, _The Stand- okay I couldn't finish that one, Barry's _The Great Influenza_ etc. Now I'm reading John Le Carre's _ The Perfect Spy_ -- because the author died. Do you see a theme emerging here? On the other hand, I'm now part of three book groups. All of which are devoted to understanding and undermining systemic racism ,reading books by black authors and people of color. They're big fun and extremely thought- provoking and I'm reading stuff I might not have picked up on my own.
inkwell.vue.512
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How has our reading changed during the covid-19 period?
permalink #13 of 34: Hal (hal) Tue 16 Feb 21 22:02
permalink #13 of 34: Hal (hal) Tue 16 Feb 21 22:02
I've long been a fan of Jim Butcher's Dresden Files books. The first new ones in quite some time came out last year. I almost never buy beach reading like the Dresden books - I just patronize my local library. With the lib closed for COVID-19 I've been using my access through the lib to a consortium of libs that loan out ebooks. So while waiting for the new Dresdens (Peace Talks & Battleground) I read the entire series to get back in the swing of things. I wasn't real assiduous about it and I often had to wait for books so it took most of the year. I filled in some of the gaps with Sandords's Lucas Davenport, Virgil Flowers and Kidd books. I'm on the list for Mick Herron's Slough House when it comes out. It's the latest entry in the Slough House series about failed MI6 agents that can't simply be fired. They're shuffled off to Slough House in hopes they'll give up and quit. Luckily soon after closing up the physical shop the lib got a system in place to loan physical books again. So on that side I read Dying of Whiteness, Strangers in theri Own Land, American Nations, A Very Stable Genius, and such like. For Christmas my older daughter gave me Maddow's Bagman but I haven't started it yet. So many books - so little time.
inkwell.vue.512
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How has our reading changed during the covid-19 period?
permalink #14 of 34: power meower (autumn) Wed 17 Feb 21 06:03
permalink #14 of 34: power meower (autumn) Wed 17 Feb 21 06:03
>Sandford I'm looking forward to Ocean Prey, due in April. Lucas and Virgil are both in it.
inkwell.vue.512
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How has our reading changed during the covid-19 period?
permalink #15 of 34: Hal (hal) Thu 18 Feb 21 22:45
permalink #15 of 34: Hal (hal) Thu 18 Feb 21 22:45
Yeah ... I noticed that. Not the first time though. I'm currently on Storm Prey - while it's a Davenport book, Virgil is a strong secondary character throughout.
inkwell.vue.512
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How has our reading changed during the covid-19 period?
permalink #16 of 34: power meower (autumn) Fri 19 Feb 21 07:33
permalink #16 of 34: power meower (autumn) Fri 19 Feb 21 07:33
Are you reading the series in order? If so, I envy you because you have ten more books, eleven counting Ocean Prey.
inkwell.vue.512
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How has our reading changed during the covid-19 period?
permalink #17 of 34: Hal (hal) Fri 19 Feb 21 12:41
permalink #17 of 34: Hal (hal) Fri 19 Feb 21 12:41
Yup ... in order. But not my first time through. I read most of them as they came out so it's been quite a while since I've done them. I did the Kidd books first as there are only four of them, then alternated between the FLowers and Davenport books. There are fewer Flowers books so I'm done with that series until I read Ocean Prey. I use BooksInOrder.com and FictionDB.com for ordered lists. For the past 14 months I've just been a reading machine, alternating between "serious" stuff in hardback (some bought, most from the library) and "beach reading" (all Kindle books from the library). My only unread Dresden is Battle Ground - which I should get in about 3 weeks. It'll be a bit longer before I get to Ocean Prey. Earlier this year I read The City and the City (China Mieville). Much of his stuff I can take or leave but that one I quite enjoyed. It's a murder mystery set in a pair of cities - one East European and one Turkish/Middle Eastern - that occupy the same physical space. The resdents have trained themselves to see and interact with only their own city even though the other city might be - literally - across the street. The protagonist is a police detective on the Eastern European side who is trying to solve the murder of a visitor from the outside world. His quest takes him through both cities and the complicated interface between them.
inkwell.vue.512
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How has our reading changed during the covid-19 period?
permalink #18 of 34: Hal (hal) Sun 21 Feb 21 13:24
permalink #18 of 34: Hal (hal) Sun 21 Feb 21 13:24
To circle back to the actual topic ... My reading hasn't really changed much because of the pandemic. I retired about 3.5 years ago so was finally able to indulge my reading habits to the limits of my wife's patience. The biggest change was moving esssentially all my "beach reading" over to ebooks while the libraries were closed. Closed libraries meant no current/hot books - they seldom make it to the ebook loan service right away - and no ILL's. Now that my local libraries have a curbside pickup service for books ordered online I'm able to get stuff that isn't available on the ebook loans yet. The lib has pushed their wi-fi coverage out into the parking lot to make it easier for those without internet connections to access the web. Those without computers or phones are still out in the cold. Given the level of service in our library district I imagine they're working on that problem as well.
inkwell.vue.512
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How has our reading changed during the covid-19 period?
permalink #19 of 34: Ari Davidow (ari) Sun 21 Feb 21 14:03
permalink #19 of 34: Ari Davidow (ari) Sun 21 Feb 21 14:03
You remind me of an interesting point. One of the excellent things my library does is provide study/meeting rooms and access to computers for those who need it. I still remember one period of unemployment when a buddy group would meet in the local library, where we'd have a free room, excellent wifi. People in need have no access to either of those right now. (I also miss the group puzzles that the library put out. It was fun for me to spend a bit of time, when I had it, putting a few pieces in, and sometimes sharing a bit of insight with other puzzle solvers.)
inkwell.vue.512
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How has our reading changed during the covid-19 period?
permalink #20 of 34: Evelyn Pine (evy) Sun 21 Feb 21 21:31
permalink #20 of 34: Evelyn Pine (evy) Sun 21 Feb 21 21:31
Yes, the libraries have been key to providing access in the past -- not just to computers but stable wifi. Now my students drive to mcdonalds.
inkwell.vue.512
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How has our reading changed during the covid-19 period?
permalink #21 of 34: FF (fsquared) Sun 28 Feb 21 15:06
permalink #21 of 34: FF (fsquared) Sun 28 Feb 21 15:06
Does anyone find themselves having a hard time focusing on reading, full stop?
inkwell.vue.512
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How has our reading changed during the covid-19 period?
permalink #22 of 34: Ron Sires (rsires) Sun 28 Feb 21 15:18
permalink #22 of 34: Ron Sires (rsires) Sun 28 Feb 21 15:18
Oh, yes. My level of focus is nothing like it was a few years ago. I'd attribute that more to the previous president than to COVID, though.
inkwell.vue.512
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How has our reading changed during the covid-19 period?
permalink #23 of 34: E. Sweeney (sweeney) Sun 28 Feb 21 15:27
permalink #23 of 34: E. Sweeney (sweeney) Sun 28 Feb 21 15:27
Good point.
inkwell.vue.512
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How has our reading changed during the covid-19 period?
permalink #24 of 34: Jennifer Powell (jnfr) Sun 28 Feb 21 20:40
permalink #24 of 34: Jennifer Powell (jnfr) Sun 28 Feb 21 20:40
Me. Absolutely.
inkwell.vue.512
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How has our reading changed during the covid-19 period?
permalink #25 of 34: Hal (hal) Mon 1 Mar 21 12:57
permalink #25 of 34: Hal (hal) Mon 1 Mar 21 12:57
Thinking back .. yes. Probably why more beach reading this year than more serious fare. And yes .. escapism from the chaos of Trump certainly played a part.
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