Wednesday, March 18, 2020

SOL18: Why Can’t I Read Everything?


            I still get the print edition of the New York Times delivered to my door. Lately, the newspaper has been including special sections, often only in the print version, and if it was something I wanted to read, I would put them aside. But who has time to read all that one wants to read?
            This morning, I looked at the pile on the kitchen table and sorted through it. If I haven’t read them yet, will I ever, even with the enforced time at home the next few or several weeks? Here’s what I found.
this year
January 26, “One Nation, Tracked”: This one is about the smartphone data industry. 
from 2019
January 19, “The Choice”: The New York Times Editorial Board interviews with the nine remaining candidates as of mid-January. Since it’s narrowed to two, and soon might be only Biden, I can check out the websites for positions on issues.
last year
November 3, “The Twitter Presidency” and “The American Road Trip”: If I don’t finish looking at the first one today, it gets tossed. The other one is about gauging the mood of the country, and there are plenty of articles in the online paper.
October 13, “These Voters Represent All of America”: a focus group of almost 100 people, who get brief comments on a range of issues. Why am I not one of them?
August 11, “Woodstock at 50”: I wasn’t there, but I have the double album.
April 28, “Better Versions of You”: This is “adapted” from a short story in a collection by Ted Chiang. I’ll look for the original at the library.
April 7, “Internetting with Amanda Hess”: The writer is the internet critic for the Times.
March 28, “1969: The Mets”: A commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Mets’ first World Series season. I have group of Mets fans I hang out with once a year and this will go into their collection of memorabilia.
March 15, “Museums”: Twice a year the Times does a section highlighting major exhibits in museums around the country and even the world.
March 4, “Ethical AI”: I want to read this, but will I?
January 20, “A Woman’s Rights”: This collects a series of articles the Times ran on women’s reproductive freedom
January 17, “The Women of the 117th Congress”: Photos and very brief bios of all the women in the current Congress. Does this belong in a library somewhere?
2018
December 30, “In Case You Missed It”: Collects important stories readers might have missed in the cacophony of news in the past few years.
June 3, “Goals: Fitness for Everyone”: It seems like a good idea to keep this, but if I haven’t put it with my gym stuff, it isn’t going to be of any use.

            So would you keep, as in read, any of these? Help me decide what to keep and what to toss.
-------------------------------------
I’m participating in the 13th annual Slice of Life Challenge over at Two Writing Teachers. This is day 18 of the 31-day challenge.  It’s not too late to make space for daily writing in a community that is encouraging, enthusiastic, and eager to read what you have to slice about.  Join in!

5 comments:

  1. Well, why not read them all? Like you said...we have all this time at home. Start with the oldest one and read one a day!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Make more piles: "very interested", "somewhat interested", "not so interested", and start with the "very interested" and see how far you get.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I almost feel like I wouldn't sort them. When I wanted to read something I'd look across the diverse topics and think, what do I need right now? Do I need to feed my soul? What am I curious about today or this moment? I think your slice really does capture, especially so many of our reading stacks right now, a wide variety. I hope you enjoy tasting each bit that sounds appealing to you!

    ReplyDelete
  4. You are encouraging me to keep my piles. I will look at one each day, read, and then toss. Thanks for your help!

    ReplyDelete
  5. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete