What does mindfulness have to do with reading, and why am I starting a blog about it? These are both good questions. The first will take me a few blog posts to unpack, but the second I can answer straight away.
The problem of the book review
I've been an avid book blogger since 2010. I love the sense of accomplishment you get from blogging. I love the creativity, and I love the connections you make with other people who love books as much as you do. But recently I've found myself dragging my heels when it comes to writing book reviews - the staple of a book blog. I wanted to do more, but felt restricted by the format and the conventions of the book review.
At about the same time, I was also just starting out on YouTube, where I created a channel dedicated to talking about and reviewing books. But then I discovered something worrying. Book reviews don't actually do well on YouTube. They don't get as many views, they aren't as popular, and they are very hard to film.
I was banging my head against the wall here. How do I review a book if I don't want to write about it, and I can't even talk about it properly?
The solution to my problem was mulling around in my head under the guise of mindfulness, of all things.
After being on YouTube for a few months I started thinking about how I differ from other booktubers, specifically in regards to book hauls. Due to a mixture of circumstance and changing personal values I had developed a very specific mindset when it came to books.
I was a mindful book buyer.
Mindful book buying
After years and years of mindless book buying and relentless book hoarding, I had no income for books anymore. This meant a massive change for me. I had to think seriously about any book I was able to buy.
I developed a set of criteria for whether or not I would buy it or not, or look for it at the library, or buy it as an e-book or audiobook. Would it add to my collection? Is it a book I would possibly really like? What are the chances I would I re-read it, or keep it for reference? And if not, would I still enjoy it if I bought it digitally?
These kinds of concerns had never bothered me prior to becoming a student again and slowly draining all of my savings. I had to be frugal in a way that I never was before, in a way that made me realize the extent of my privilege. I was so lucky to be able to buy a book every time I went into a bookstore, and I didn't know that until now.
The final piece of the puzzle
The final realization that lead me to mindfulness was getting older. Instead of reading books I thought I should be reading, I gave myself permission to read the books I wanted to read. That meant giving up on books I wasn't enjoying instead of struggling through, and having a 'life is too short' mentality.
Books are my passion, my favorite thing in the world aside from my friends and family. They are part of my identity, and they shape how I see myself. I am a reader. I am a writer.
But if something isn't working, I don't have to go along with it.
I wanted to try something different, something that combined my love of books with a more intentional way of doing things. Which lead me to mindfulness.
A mindful book blog
My goal for this blog is to approach my experience with reading and my love of books through the lens of mindfulness.
Mindfulness is about being present in the moment. I want to translate this to books by writing about how the book intersects with me as a person, rather than me as a reader. Something a little less critical, and a little more introspective. Like a journal, or a vlog, or even a diary entry.
An experiment in mindfulness, and in books.
Work in progress
Everything is a little work in progress at the moment, so please bear with me. I want to think more about my goals, the content I want to make, and how often I want to post.
But for the time being, welcome to the blog. And thank you so much for reading.
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