Editor’s note: We’re looking for a variety of young voices to contribute to “Hits Different.” If you’d like to write a commentary, send it to Area Editor Jason Hennington at jason.hennington@ granitemediapartners.com.
Whenever I have to list my hobbies for an icebreaker or a resume, I usually default to “reading” along with other topics such as “cooking” and “running.” While these pastimes aren’t completely untrue, the extent to which I have participated in them in recent years often has been kept to a minimum.
Last summer, I enjoyed reading new books and trying out time-consuming recipes such as making my own potato gnocchi from scratch. However, with the start of the school year, my novels became SparkNotes summaries and my haute cuisine turned into microwave oatmeal cups.
It wasn’t long before I started prioritizing better food choices, but that was it. Unfortunately, between schoolwork and extracurriculars, I felt like I did not have time to read for pleasure. Why spend time reading when I could be catching up on the insurmountable pile of homework I had?
Still, I missed the feeling of getting lost in a book, drowning out the bleak realities of life while getting absorbed in a vivid fictional world. My problems seemed negligible compared to the ones experienced by the characters in my books.
In a way, I believe the emotional experience created by reading gives us a unique perspective on life. It is too easy to get wrapped up in our own small problems, becoming blind to the far greater difficulties experienced by others in the world.
When I lose perspective, I think of the perseverance of the book characters I have read about in the face of unfathomable situations. Whatever my current problem is, it pales in significance to that of Nya in “A Long Walk to Water: Based on a True Story,” who lives in South Sudan and is forced to trek eight hours over harsh terrain to gather water for her family.
Or when I am feeling unlucky about my circumstances, I remember Ji-li Jiang in “Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution.” I am grateful that my livelihood and home has not been completely destroyed by adherents to the teachings of Chinese dictator Mao Zedong, as Ji-li’s was.
Books, and stories in general, teach us many important lessons about empathy, kindness and life itself. I recently realized this, and it caused me to miss devoting my time to reading. Something had to change.
Over a break from school, while walking my dog and listening to a podcast, I had an idea. What if, instead of listening to music or political talk shows on my walks, I listened to an audiobook instead?
I did some research, and downloaded an app called Audible. I made a free account, and began listening to my first novel. It was love at first listen. I felt like the ultimate multitasker. Walking my dog and “reading” a book at the same time? I would have considered it impossible. Until now.
As of late, I am on my fifth audiobook, having downloaded the app less than two months ago (yes, I may have a bit of an addiction). Granted, listening to a book does not offer the exact same cognitive benefits as actually reading a physical book.
However, the benefits that are important to me, namely how listening to an audiobook allows me to de-stress and get caught up in a fictional reality entirely different from my own, are all still there.
I am so grateful for discovering audiobooks, because I feel that I have, at least partially, solved my reading predicament. When summer comes and I gain more free time, I am certain I will be back to reading physical books. For now, I am enjoying sweet, multitasking bliss.
