My binge-reading disorder

My Own Personal Sabbath, The Sunday Salon, What I'm Reading

You have a binge-reading disorder.

That quote was from my wife earlier this week about the way I read. I can’t (or haven’t learned to) read in short bursts which she does in her job as a rural 911 dispatcher. She can read 20 minutes at a time, be interrupted, and then read for 10 or whatever between calls.

Which leads me to…

My Own Personal Sabbath #14

Almost every Sunday since mid-May 2020 with a few exceptions, I have been taking my own personal Sabbath, where I tune out of the news and social media and turn off my ringer and all notifications on my phone. Throughout the day and/or sometimes the next day, I share what I am reading, listening to or watching during my Sabbath.

Since I am off work today and tomorrow, I plan on some binge-reading. Like last weekend, I plan on on starting with Get Shorty, and then maybe over this weekend, I’ll also get to Be Cool, and Out of Sight, all three which were made into movies. I’ve seen all but Be Cool, but plan to watch all three when I’m finished with them. Maybe Kim and I can have a mini-Elmore Leonard filmfest on Memorial Day Weekend.

If I don’t finish all three this weekend, maybe I’ll try some reading in short bursts, as recommended by my wife. I also have two other books checked out from the library that I want to get to, but I’m in no rush to read: Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer and Riverman: An American Odyssey by Ben McGrath. My wife and I started watching the Hulu/FX adaptation of Under The Banner of Heaven. She had read the book and recommended it to me. I’ve read a couple of other Krakauer and liked them, both Into Thin Air and Into the Wild. Riverman, according to the book jacket, is “the riveting story of Dick Conant, an American folk hero, who, over the course of more than twenty years, canoed solo thousands of miles of American rivers — and then in 2014 disappeared near the Outer Banks of North Carolina.” I thought it might be interesting.

Other than reading this weekend, we have no big plans this weekend. Today, since it’s supposed to be in the high 80s and low 90s (not normal for us, usually in 60s and 70s in mid-May) we’re getting Chinese for lunch and dinner. The portions are quite large so we’ll have enough for both.

Update, 7:30 p.m. Saturday night: I finished Get Shorty by Elmore Leonard and then Kim and I watched the movie. It was interesting to see the differences between the two, but I liked both, maybe the movie a little more.

So what are you all up to this weekend? Reading, watching, listening to anything good? Please share in the comments.

Published by Bryan G. Robinson

Blogger formerly known as Unfinished Person. Still an unfinished person...

Published

13 thoughts on “My binge-reading disorder”

  1. I’m more of a short bursts reader unless I’m on holiday when I can happily sit for hours with a book. At home I always seem to find distractions

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  2. Pingback: My Own Personal Sabbath #15 – Still an unfinished person…

  3. I guess I read in long stretches when I can but do read in short bursts often. I read pretty fast when pressed for time so short bursts work pretty well for me but there is nothing I like better than spending hours with a chunkster.

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  4. My reading patterns have been disrupted by the constant traveling since the end of March, and June will have some more traveling, too, but I hope to get back to normal by July.

    I’m glad you were able to finish Get Shorty and watch the movie. There’s something nice about adding in a movie to a good read.

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  5. I see Andrew Garfield is in Under The Banner of Heaven, so I’m in! (Adds to Hulu watchlist)

    Added Riverman to my TBR and see I’ve got a lot of Krakauer books on my list!

    And now I want Chinese food.

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  6. I have gotten out of the habit of binge-reading, which is most definitely why it takes me longer to finish a book. Now, I can and do binge-listen to audiobooks all week. For some reason, I listen to them at work and find I am loathed to stop listening to them when I am done. So most days, you can find me carrying around my phone listening while I putter around the house. But pick up my Kindle and read? It only feels natural these days when I am in bed.

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  7. Have a great weekend and avoid the heat! I am in Poughkeepsie for my daughter’s graduation and it is going to be a scorcher today!

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  8. I do a lot of short burst reading. In fact, I am finding I prefer that. When I plan to sit and read for a long period, I find myself getting antsy wanting to do other things. But if I know I am reading on my break of lunch hour (when I do a lot of my reading), I find that I want to keep going. Okay, so maybe that has to do with going back to work. 🙂

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  9. I haven’t had the time to binge-read in quite some time. I have learned to read in short spurts too. I am hoping/planning on reading a lot tomorrow afternoon.

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  10. Wish I had the time or inclination for long stretches of binge reading. What a luxury. Nice to keep your Sundays free for these.

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