Editor’s note: inRegister Publisher Ashley Sexton Gordon has launched a new weekly newsletter called ‘Worth the Read’ with recommendations from her and readers for books and stories. Get the free newsletter.
Have we ever had this much time? A commodity, time. Much like toilet paper. And hand sanitizer. And raw meat. Why do you hoard the chicken breasts, my friend? Can I trade you my 2-pack of paper towels? I’ll throw in some Clorox Wipes and a vat of Tylenol, off brand of course. I scored the last one.
But time—our time—we have given away like a discarded bundle of yesterday’s clothes.
Watch Ashley Sexton Gordon’s first episode of Worth the Read Book Club.
We’ve placed little value on time in our lives, in our days. Busy is best being busy. Driving to meetings, and soccer, and grocery stores and events. No time to consider the moment at hand. Or the next moment. Or the next. No time to unpack from the last weekend gone: from the tournament, or business conference, or vacation. Little time to make dinner or call back a friend. To sit and watch the sunset. To read a book. To sit quietly and think.
And yet now, we are inundated with time. We are drowning in it. To take away our daily commute, many of our work responsibilities, and our dining out is to add hours to our day. To confine us to our property lines limits socialization. To reduce us to remote meetings leaves out the banter of everyday relationships and limits conversations to just the nitty gritty.
But it frees us time.
Suddenly, we have time (like I do) to watch the sun set in the evenings. We have time to play board games. To ride bikes. To walk the neighborhood. To think. And yes (glorious, yes!), we have time to read.
Our days are less structured, for sure. And for me, it has been one of the most eye-opening experiences of my adult life. I finally realize the negative effect that my hectic daily regime has had on my mental health. I have treated time like something to be handled. I have prided myself on efficiency. I have busied myself to the point of exhaustion.
Four weeks into quarantine, I am finally emerging from the restorative fatigue that my body and mind have been begging for, and I’m able to consider the next few weeks at home. What do I want to do? (Not what do I have to do.)
I want to read.
Join me in reading. This newsletter, the books suggested in the video, or just anything at all. You can only watch so much negative national news before you curl up in the fetal position on the floor of your bedroom—still in the yoga pants you slept in, face mask wrapped around your unwashed hair, Lysol in hand—and call it quits. So turn off the TV and transport yourself to a different world through reading. It’s a time-zapping rabbit hole worth jumping into. But you’ve got the time. And you just might emerge healthier, happier and less likely to fight over raw meat.
Do you or your book club have a favorite book? Email Ashley at ashley@inregister.com and share what you love about it. Put WORTH THE READ in the subject line. Subscribe to Worth the Read. It’s free.
