MORE PAGES PLEASE!

The best thing about lack of technology was more time invested productively. Growing up with books, I was accustomed to reading a lot. It came to me as second nature. And now as an Aspiring writer, it demands lot more of it. The sad part to the scene is I have slowed down on my pages. I keep buying books as a habit strongly embed in my nature, but the piling stacks drop me like a numb emotion. I live, work and write in the same space, hopping between offices I have my laptop as a companion, for everything I do, it's technology getting me there but in the midst of all this I have forgotten the little gaps of reading, and the tasks often blur. If I decide to put away my Ipad, then I have my phone, which is an easy access for any leftover on my laptop or a tablet. I was standing by my office door this morning on my day off at home, and looking at all the gadgets lined up on my perfectly clean and neat freak glass table, I could see everything of necessity to get my blogging, photography,website accomplished, except MY BOOK! I have never gone days without reading, never forgotten to put a book in my purse, until lately. I have books all over the house, just in case I felt like catching up and in regards to all those precautions I have half read books all over my humble abode. And to add to the lost habit, I have a kindle I carry solely for reading, stacked on top of a book in my almost collapsing tote bag. Like everyone else, I get sucked into the whirl of online world. Unfortunately my work and life demands that, it connects my readers to my writing, it connects people to my photography, my laptop works in the editing department- over time, and to top that there is so much information on the internet, it's a world in itself but the sad part still remains, I haven't had much time to sit in my backyard with the cicadas as my entertainers and a nice cup of coffee and a book. And every time I decide to time myself on how long I am going to stay online, it gets worse, suddenly I hear beeps and peeps on my cell, Ipad, laptop as a reminder I have a new viral video shared, or a Facebook message with a new gossip or beeps from my Flickr admirers and there is no way a human accustomed to the routine is going to ignore any of that. I read a lot online though, but the feeling of a book in your hand doesn't justify it at all. Reading books to my niece last week, reminded me, how much I have slacked off lately. And I always believed reading is  very essential and I still do. It makes me smirk when people have grammar mistakes and it's nothing else but lack of reading habits. I see children not being able to spell the words correctly, and growing up I do not remember going through that embarrassment, so I make sure my niece picks up a book, even though she hasn't started reading yet, I still surround her with the image. While I am typing my blog, I can hear beeps on my phone letting me know my photography admirer just left me a comment, HUHH... So as I am typing this very sentence, I am trying hard not to distract myself from the keyboard and my thought process to randomly pick up my cell and check the new awaiting message. Don't take me wrong, it's a good feeling when you are awaiting motivating and appreciating comments regarding your work and I would never dare to ignore it, but the problem is I will end up spending another 30 minutes browsing and commenting back. Last week, while catching up with friends, I was in the passenger seat catching up on my tablet while the driver is busy getting us to our destination, that really sucks! Because I always read a book while I am in the passenger seat. So I decided, before I get sucked into the pool of electronic madness, I will have to find time to sit, unwind and open a book. And the sad part about the new technological world is despite of all the warning signs regarding the light emitting from televisions and laptops messing up the humans' Circadian rhythms, we still Ignore and choose to let it mess us up. Therefore, I am timing myself with the beeps and peeps the machines have been designed to do and making sure I shut everything off when work is accomplished. And as a writer, reading is a luxurious necessity, I keep reminding myself. It's very important for grown ups to educate their kids through books and not screens. The lack of general knowledge is all because books have almost gone missing from our daily lives. So please make sure you read and encourage your kids to read. So what's your next read?