Transparency Item: The Perspectives section of the Graphic is comprised of an advice column based on new topics and rotating writers each time. This is the opinion and perspective of the writer.
I have been reading for fun since I was very young, but in recent years it has become more daunting to approach and difficult to fit into my schedule. Much of my time is spent reading textbooks for class, and when exams are over, it rarely occurs to me to pick up something else to read.
After taking a short fiction writing class last semester, I realized that I have more time to read than I had thought. We were assigned several short stories to read over four months, and all of them were short enough to read critically within an hour.
This experience led me to read more short story collections on my own time. I can easily break up a book of short stories into a schedule, and I don’t feel the same pressure or intimidation as I might feel with a novel that stretches a few hundred pages.
Additionally, short stories are fairly easy to find online, and I try to read them when I end up looking at my phone. If I Google “short stories online,” I can find blog posts with lists of stories by authors like Stephen King, Zadie Smith and Karen Russell that are available for anyone to read.
Reading can be a great way to calm the mind, avoid negative screen time and engage with ideas from a variety of authors. I have been profoundly challenged and influenced by many of the stories I’ve found, and reading shorter fiction has allowed me to reconnect with a hobby I thought I couldn’t engage in anymore.
I think a lot of readers feel obligated to read as much as possible in very little time, which is impractical for most adults and can kill the experience of literature altogether. If you are a reader who is finding less motivation and time, or if you’re just interested in this way of spending your leisure time, I highly recommend looking into the vast selection of short stories out there.
With care,
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