I’ve been having a hard time getting into books. A couple a week is now one every few months. Idk how I feel about that. I’m not just getting into stories as easily. I think that’s the cell phone phenomenon: the constant dopamine hits and failing attention spans.
I also used to have time for browsing book stores and getting into new authors. Without really noticing, all the habits that support book discovery have fallen out of my life. I take the family to the library weekly, (which is good because I can’t possibly store enough books in this home to satisfy four people) but the library isn’t as enticing as the bookstore and I’m not finding good things to read there. I end up on Libby plugging in endless filters. Searching rather than reading puts me to sleep. Nothing seems to stand out in those endless lists. Maybe someone can relate to this book malaise. What habits support your reading?
Anyway, I just finished The Shell Collector by Hugh Howey, who’s currently getting a lot of attention for Silo on Apple+ adapted from his Wool series. Luckily, that wasn’t immediately available on Libby and this was. I love everything about The Shell Collector. The writing is beautiful. The world feels full and real, even though the story is short. When it started, I could not imagine a satisfying ending. Yet here I am, at the end and thoroughly pleased.
by womanintheattic