The Sword and Laser discussion

I’m an Uber Driver and I used to listen to a lot of audiobooks while driving but now that I am quarantined I’ve actually been listening to a lot less audiobooks since I’m not working. I’ve been reading about the same amount of ebooks (I don’t read physical books)

I've been reading a lot less. I teach, and trying to get classes online and help my students takes a lot of time. Plus stress has distracted me a bit from reading. I tend to look at world news instead of books - and should probably stop that!

So far: less! I love reading in cafés and libraries, so that factor is gone. And I'm finding it harder to focus on books at the moment. But I'm trying to change this for the Magical Readathon and will try to pass as many OWLs as possible.

Mostly less, but what I do read tend to be easy fiction (so, Star Trek or comics for me).

Physical books: less, audiobooks: more.

It’s hard not to feel like I should be doing something, so I can at least listen while I’m doing chores.

I've been reading a lot less. I would normally listen while doing drives to/from my parents' or my sister's. Those visits don't happen. I'm sometimes listening when I go for walks, but as I'm driving a lot less, I'm also getting through fewer podcasts, so that backlog is picking up, too.

About the same. In between figuring out how to run exams. My back is going so I cannot do most of my work.

I've been reading less.

I'm devoting the extra time to doing repairs and painting around my house. I'm also doing some Autumn cleaning getting ready for winter. I can't do audiobooks while I'm working. I lose focus on the story. I listen to music or podcasts that require less attention

I'm also knocking over a few video games.

Less, for sure. The stress has definitely taken its toll, and working from home has been a little overwhelming. I've mostly been watching tv and working on embroidery. :(

I'm having some reader guilt, but I'm trying to just let it go.

I'm reading way more. My TBR pile is small, so maybe I can make a real dent in it.

Reading more, but reading is also work for me; I work at a library and I still have to go into work even though we are closed to the public, so now with no patrons around I am actually getting through my TBR pile .

About the same thanks to my tendency to (over)schedule buddy reads. I do listen to audio more, while Scribd is still free.

Way less - I have no extra time. I lost my job, but now my kid is here all the time wanting things like food and to hang out with me, and I still have stuff to be doing for uni.

My reading has totally bottomed out since I changed jobs. You'd think being quarantined would help but nah. Now I play Animal Crossing or stream shows. Sigh.

More. Not being at work leaves me with a lot of extra time for reading, even factoring in watching the kids and chores. I'm actually becoming quite expert at setting up games for the kids where I can sit with my book and "referee."

Less.... My commute was prime time for my audio books and at home I can't concentrate for long periods of time these days.

My concentration skills are gone. I have to keep going back and start over with my audio books as my mind is just wandering around. I can read for 20 or 30 minutes and boom I fall asleep. Binge watching .

About the same over all, but I'm only looking at the past two weeks, since the 19th was the last day I went into work. We'll see if that changes in the next two weeks.

I haven't read as much as I would like to. I've been stressed and spent lots of time cleaning and sorting. I'm doing a lot of online reading events this month and I used my last audible credit for this months read so I'm hoping to get more read this month.

More.

My life honestly hasn't changed much lately (I've been unemployed since January), but I definitely feel like I've been reading more just because of resigning myself to staying home for the foreseeable future. Normally I keep telling myself I should sit down and read more, now my excuses are going away and I get through probably a hundred pages a day on average.

I read a lot anyway but I got my internet back in February and my reading time seems to be cut in half. I am reading more in quarantine. I finally got my e-reader up and running. I am checking out books on that like crazy. I like that I can hook up to the library and check stuff out.

Physical reading has increased but audio book listening has gone down since I used to do that during my commute. (Not that I'm bothered since I was in the middle of an Ursula K. Le Guin book and that had become just an annoying noise in the background.)

Reading more right now especially audiobooks. I have learned I can get through an audiobook much faster than physically reading one. So I am now averaging 2 or so books a week - one audiobook and one physical or ebook.

About the same.

Mrs. Trike definitely has COVID (lost her sense of taste two days ago, although some might argue she lost that when she married me), and I’m sick but it’s hard to tell if it’s coronavirus. A cough started today, so that’s fun.

I can’t read regular dead tree books because I can’t see well enough, but I’ve had audiobooks going nonstop when I’m awake. (Which isn’t often. Extreme fatigue = much sleeping.) I’ve also been reading ecomics, because I can zoom in to see them on iPad.

Not playing games much, nor watching much TV/movies, although I did watch the zombie musical “Anna and the Apocalypse” last week before I got really achy. It’s okay, with a couple good songs.

Less, from home schooling my kid, anxiety and worry daily while my bf is at work, and reading about everything happening globally on twitter it's taken a toll.

I try to close up reality but seem to only do it in small breaks.

Trike wrote: "About the same.

Mrs. Trike definitely has COVID (lost her sense of taste two days ago, although some might argue she lost that when she married me), and I’m sick but it’s hard to tell if it’s coro..."

Trike, I'm so sorry to hear this. Can only wish you and family for the best and speedy recovery.

Somewhat less reading just now. With all the family at home all the time at the moment, 'me' time is much harder to find! We're all well though, so in the grand scheme of things it's not something to complain about.

I haven't read any of these yet, but I did buy a "surprise box" from a local bookstore that I wanted to support through the lockdown. I told them I generally read SFF and cozy mysteries along with some NF and general fiction. And I was ok with non-book things. https://www.instagram.com/p/B-qPse9B0...

terpkristin wrote: "I haven't read any of these yet, but I did buy a "surprise box" from a local bookstore that I wanted to support through the lockdown. I told them I generally read SFF and cozy mysteries along with ..."

The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick is on my TBR pile, too.

I came across this list and feel intrigued:

Five Sci-fi and Fantasy Books to Ease Your April Isolation

I happen to have a copy of The Fortress by S.A. Jones so maybe I'll start in on that.

I saw a tweet from RF Kuang yesterday:
@kuangrf

"delighted that The Poppy War seems to have become really popular over the last few days but also um consider picking up some lighter cheerier reads"

Initially less... reading and watching too much news and getting stressed. Now I'm reading more, but I started the audiobook of "Reamde" thinking it would be good filler while working, etc and not interfere with book reading. I didn't realize it was basically the size of three normal novels. So now I'm focused on finishing that. Good story though, but not scifi as I had expected.

hey i have been reading more. who wants to hear the news idiots act like everybody's gonna die. that and the internet hardly works for me so plenty o time to read. i feel bad for the librarys. prayin for em.

Fewer. Mostly because I play more online games where I can hang out on Discord with people now... which is, I think, a subconscious substitute for talking to people IRL.

I have been reading less, but can't pinpoint why. I am still working, but working from home. In theory I no longer have a longer commute so should have more time but not happening. Maybe I am streaming too much.

I"m sorta reading more. But only because a bunch of ebooks I had on hold at the library all came available at the same time. A blessing and a curse both.

I'm an "essential employee" so I'm still working 40 hours a week at my place of employment. I don't have any more downtime than I did before the plague.

Physical reading is way less but audiobooks I’m doing more (I’m working from home now and have taken to doing three walks a day just to get some activity).

I'm reading more, but it's a conscious decision. There's plenty to worry about right now so I'm making myself read a really good chunk of a positive story before attempting to sleep.

I'm very fortunate to be able to work from home, though this actually makes it harder for me to read. I'm not used to using a computer all day and by the end of the work day (which is pretty intense) my eyes are hurting, but if I skip reading then I'm just going to have a bad night which won't help at all.

So:

Fantasy & Science Fiction = Sanity & Good Health

Always true, just now more than ever.

William wrote: "Fantasy & Science Fiction = Sanity & Good Health

Always true, just now more than ever.."

True that!

Definitely more

I’ve been listening to Audible more but actual reading has gone down. I blame Animal Crossing. :p

RJ from the LBC wrote: "More."

Just don't break your glasses, RJ.

I'm fortunate to be able to work at home, but that means I'm listening to less audiobooks than when I was working at the music library vault (where I usually work). I listened while driving home in the evening as well. My home desk is in the same room as the family TV, so I'm usually going with music because it's better for tuning out the TV or whatever my lady & her daughter are doing.
I'm spending most of my free time playing XBox or streaming Star Trek shows on CBS all access (I just caught up yesterday). I was able to get my comic shop to mail me the comics they had for me, so I'll be slowly reading through those & I hope that they figure that out soon (they stopped distributing comics to shops temporarily - I think publishing has been suspended mostly too).

Best of luck to all affected by this pandemic.

Ian wrote: "RJ from the LBC wrote: "More."

Just don't break your glasses, RJ...."

Yes, it's nice to have time enough at last... ;-)

I didn’t realize this until being hit by the fatigue that comes with coronavirus, but writing reviews is exhausting. I never thought much about it because it never came up before, but participating in forum discussions feels like my brain is idling in standby mode but reviewing books is like forcing it to go into overclock mode. I don’t know why that is.

Is it just me being weird, or is anyone else like this?

Yeah, this is something discussed regularly in the disabled community, especially those with "invisible" disabilities that may look fine but have fatigue related to their condition. What was a trivial difference in effort when you had a lot of energy now becomes a noticeable difficulty.

Best explanation I've seen is the "Spoons" analogy. Each task takes a certain number of spoons. Some people have a lot and spend them freely. Other people only have a few spoons and have to choose which tasks they do. For people with severe energy issues, something as trivial as clothes shopping can leave them wiped out for days.

As for the specific question, I have to pick and choose when I have the energy to post about books I've read. I know no one is asking me to do it, and I generally enjoy the process, but I still have to pick when I do it. It's one reason why I may do several in a row.

John (Taloni) wrote: "Yeah, this is something discussed regularly in the disabled community, especially those with "invisible" disabilities that may look fine but have fatigue related to their condition. What was a triv..."

I have three chronic conditions (Crohn’s, arthritis from a bug bite 30 years ago, and diabetes caused by the inflammation of the first two), so adding an energy-sapping illness on top of it is really draining.

But organizing my thoughts to post a review just feels like it’s a bridge too far. Or a spoon too many, in this case. (The first time I heard the spoon analogy I said, “Well I’m certainly getting forked over.” Oh the times we have!)

It took 3 weeks but the reading is back in full flow.. took that long to get home working sorted out and my anxiety down to its normal levels. : now if the asthma and hay fever would F off. They are just too damn stressful at the moment.

I’m reading about the same amount of stuff, but not all the same types of stuff - I find myself turning away from anything too violent for example, and towards more comforting reads like Harry Potter fanfic.

Way less!

I have two toddlers that I cannot hand off to daycare workers, and though my wife is working from home, she's working more than she was before COVID. So I'm running daddy daycare essentially, and there is very little room for reading.
Twice this week I've picked up a book during nap time and a child woke prematurely. Then I tried to read my ebook on my phone before sleeping, and within 5 minutes, I passed out and dropped my phone on my face.
When this is over, my daycare worker can name her price, and I will pay it, no questions asked!

Also, Veronica not being able to recall anything in the last podcast was the most relatable thing I've heard in a long time! Thanks for not editing that out 😁. COVID brain is definitely a thing.

Ruth wrote: "I’m reading about the same amount of stuff, but not all the same types of stuff - I find myself turning away from anything too violent for example, and towards more comforting reads like Harry Pott..."

Same here, only instead of Harry Potter, it's cozy manor house murder mysteries. Also I seem to be completing an inordinate number of crossword puzzles.