My Fling with a Bookless World

Usually, prying me away from a good book is a lesson in futility. My fingers crave the weight and curl of the pages, and with each turn I feel as though I'm setting my eyes upon a country I've never heard of. Existing in any capacity outside of these pages is in many ways a long, mournful crawl to the gallows.

Lately, though, I have become disenchanted with reading. I woke up one morning weeks ago and realized how long it had been since I'd given myself a chance to live in a world I couldn't hold. I needed a story that told itself, so with a guilty glance at my to-read list on Goodreads, I closed my book and bid literature a temporary goodbye.

During my sabbatical from reading I have been rewatching Lost. For those who've never seen it, it's not exactly the best choice of a television series when one is seeking mindless relaxation. Nevertheless, in the time I would normally dedicate to reading I set about reacquainting myself with a remote tropical island and its stranded inhabitants. For a week and a half I devoured each episode like I had never before seen a moving picture. I stayed up until the unholy morning hours that I hadn't seen since my most stressful college nights, just waiting for the plot to shift again.

And then something happened.

Having already seen the series in its entirety I knew how each of the stories would conclude. Now that I knew the fates of characters who had once again become so real to me I didn't want to see them played out. So when I reached the end credits of an episode toward the end of season 3 I turned it off and reached for my book.

Everyone who's reading this already knows how much of a nerd I am so I am (largely) unashamed in stating that there is no tactile experience in this world quite like curling your fingers around the smooth spine of a book. The minute I touched the cover I knew my sabbatical was over. I opened it to my bookmark and as I settled into the couch next to the fireplace I could hear, faintly but surely, the universe heave a contented sigh. What a feeling to know that I can turn the page of a book and be home.