I used to be a huge reader as a kid. I'd devour book after book, carting home a whole tote bag of books from the library well into high school. Then comes the part many of my peers have related to: you get older, you go to school, you start working. You only read for school, which makes reading not fun, and then you get a job, or maybe you're doing both, and the last thing you want to do is use your brain after a long day. Then ohp! Now you're living on your own, and there's all this housework, and who has time to sit down with a book when you're running around all day. Besides, why read a book when you can doomscroll? That's reading, right? Add a few dopamine-inducing algorithm factories to your routine, and next thing you know, it's been years since you finished an actual book.
But last year, I downloaded Kindle Unlimited to access a book I'd heard good things about....and was surprised at how easy it was to get through a book. There were so many recommendations. Then I realized that, for example, when I was in the waiting room or had 15 minutes to spare, instead of logging into Instagram, I could just....tap a different app and read a chapter or two of a book.
In 2024, I read 24 books. That's more than I have in literal years!
I've fallen in love with romance novels, and signed up for a service that lets me know when there's good deals on some of my other favorite genres. It's taken a while for my reading muscle to recover, but I've moved on to meatier nonfiction titles, as well.
Now, I will be clear that I do not like Amazon, and do my best to divest myself from it when possible. But the way I see it, for now, what e-books have done for helping me rediscover my love of reading adds a lot to my life. And I figure that if it helps me get through more justice-oriented, anti-capitalist literature, then I'm using the system to work against it. ;)
I'm just so glad I've found a way back into reading again!
Jan 29, 2025
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Felllow e-book lover! if you haven’t already, check out Anna’s archive for ebook downloads so you’re not lining Bezos’s pockets lol
Anna’s Archive + Calibre is the way
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In an effort to decentralize social media in my life, I started reading again… and I didn’t realize what a joy it could be! I couldn’t tell you the last time I read a book of my own accord, but I started with The Bell Jar, and now I’m on Just Kids. They are perfect ways to ease myself into more patience, quietness, and satisfaction. :)
Feb 10, 2025
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I think a lot of us want to be able to read longer material, but our attention spans are fried for various reasons. For me, it was the fatal combo of doing a reading-intensive college degree that ate away at my time + social media brainrot + a high level of anxiety that makes me feel generally restless and unfocused. I used to be a huge reader, so I've tried jumping right back into reading long novels multiple times. This hasn't seemed to work in any lasting way. I've had more luck recently with starting small.
Even if you set your goal as: "I want to read something longer than tweets or social media posts," it's progress! Zines, articles, Substack posts, anything just a little bit longer that your brain can latch deeper into will help rebuild your attention. Short story collections and novellas have also been helpful for me, especially if you pick a topic or genre that you're really interested in. I'm still on some forms of social media, so I haven't gone cold-turkey. But I do feel like incorporating longer-form material again, even mixed in with scrolling, has helped my brain so much already. It's refreshing to hand-select what I want to read and give my attention to, instead of letting an algorithm serve me topics. I didn't realize how much depth I was missing in exchange for the breadth of the internet!
Jan 19, 2025
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… and actually enjoying it. In the past year i’ve finally nailed down my taste/hit a groove with pleasure reading and now I can’t stop. I do a lot of reading recs in a way that I almost feel self-conscious about but I can’t contain it - truly bringing me crazy amounts of peace in my life right now.
When I was 19-22ish, I spent a lot of time reading what I thought I *should* be reading and ending up spending 3 months trudging through a book just to say I did. I blame Red Scare Podcast. Why was I 19 thinking i needed to read Houellebeq and Lasch?
Now I fly through pages and (mostly) love it all. or feel like I got something from it at least. Right now I‘m reading Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver and loving it, can spend hours at a time with it. My favorite book is probably If on a winters night a traveler by Italo Calvino. Happy to get more recs always.
Feb 25, 2024
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Watching this video from Mina Le about the current state of social media, and I have to say, I've really been feeling a lot of nostalgia for the era of social media from 2010-2019 or so. It seemed like a totally different world. I think it's one of the reasons I found myself attracted to Pi.FYI--it reminded me of this now-halcyon era of the internet when it felt more like a cloud of folks sharing what they loved and kind of blogdumping, before the rise of rage-fueled algorithms and the consolidation of major social media outlets into the hands of 2-3 companies.
Feb 20, 2025
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They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us by Hanif Abdurraqib. He's one of my absolute favorite writers. I'm listening to his new book, There's Always This Year, and I swear he just gets better.
I also liked The Pink Line: The World's Queer Frontiers by Mark Gevisser. Though I think it gets into a little appropriation from the author towards the end, it was an incredibly eye-opening book for me about the rich world of queerness and gender beyond the Western binary around the world.
Trouble Boys by Bob Mehr is THE account of The Replacements, and Mehr pulls no punches with recounting the band members' lowest points, even as it's clear how much he admires their artistry.
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Fun and frisky cover for when you want The Smiths but want to avoid Morrissey <3
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