It’s been a week, hasn’t it? I don’t even know how I got any reading done.
On Wednesday, everyone in my network seemed kind of numb (me included). We all took that day to process what happened, and I think that was the healthiest thing we could have done. On Thursday, we seem to be turning the page towards what comes next. Overall, there is this theme of helping your fellow neighbor. I honestly don’t think there is a better step we could take.
There is a loneliness epidemic right now, and the lonelier we are, the more likely we are to lash out. Seeking further connections and creating places for connection to happen can create a butterfly effect that can only make the world better.
We’ve been looking at the problem as a macro issue to take on, and the pandemic really changed the problem all together. I just firmly believe more talking and connecting with those in your neighborhood is the only way to get us through this problem and into something better.
Maybe I’m wrong about that. But the worst that could happen is that you meet someone new.
Now onto the reading…
Reading Social Media News
Tuesday’s election created a whole lot of questions, including what will happen to TikTok. Of course that has been a question for awhile, but the change in leadership will make things a bit murkier. Get a rundown on TikTok’s future from Social Media Today.
This is more of a fun fact than anything else: Instagram has more active users in the EU than Facebook does. I’ve always found Instagram to be a bit of a powerhouse in comparison to Facebook. It reaches a different audience, and they are more engaged. For many reasons, people lean in on Facebook, but maybe they need to lean a little harder into what Instagram has to offer.
Reading Books, Books and More Books
Past
I was at the tail end of this month’s book club pick, The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich, and I had plenty of time to read it before I had to leave for the meeting. And then my partner called and told me that he’d be super late at work, leaving me to have to arrange dinner, etc for our toddler. It was so disappointing, but I can’t be everywhere doing everything. Luckily, I already was not fond of this book, so it didn’t ruin my feelings about it. There just was very little point to it. It had several different angles it could have explored. The ones Erdrich chose were left with just meh, undeveloped ideas. And it was just so slow. I love slow books. I want to crawl right up into them and live there. But without much of a point, the slowness became grating. They tried to make it a bit more speedy with extremely short chapters, but nope. It just didn’t work for me. Score: C-
Present
One of my friends sent me an Instagram post about comfort reads, and I realized that’s what I’ve been doing for the last month. I’m reading books that make me feel comfortable. But also there’s an extraordinary spin to most of them, as they take me out of my world and into a world full of magic and dreams. This is my happy place. And that’s why I picked up Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus. It doesn’t demand a whole lot of me and gives me a whole lot of magic in return. Just what I need right now.
What are you reading? What books are you looking forward to?