Monday Morning Musing: An Ode to Books

(Photo: The Reader by Jennifer Zwick)

I love social media. Here I am writing a blog, and I also keep up with Facebook and Twitter. I even have an account on Google+, although I don't really understand it yet. I love how I can scroll through short posts from friends that keep me updated on events that range from personal opinions to worldwide news events. I also love the unexpected conversations that crop up, allowing me to exchange ideas with a wide range of people.

Recently, I noticed that by scanning through unrelated bits of information all the time, I don't need to pay much attention. One sentence has nothing to do with the next because they were written by two different Facebook friends or Tweeters. Social media actually encourages one to forget about the previous sentence since it is not related anyway. Even a blog generally only has a couple paragraphs. Once I had Twitter and Facebook on my phone, I developed a certain expectation that I'll get brand new bits of information at all times.

Does this matter? I think it does. I am the first to admit an interest in  wide range of topics, and often call myself, in the words of author Barbara Sher, a "scanner" instead of a "specialist". However, now that society feeds my scanning tendency 24 hours a day, I don't want to lose my ability to fully engage with an entire series of related thoughts from one author, which is why I now purposely seek out books. Books allow me to really understand a few things from all angles or meet new people and places. I never really stopped reading books, I just slowly shifted away from reading books in bits of spare time, saving it as a planned activity after I've already checked in with all my social media. And to be fair, I must admit I read on a Kindle, another electronic device, but the words are all there.

Deep, well thought out ideas from one source still have a place in our world. Pick up a book sometime soon, before you loose your attention span.

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