Akvilė Kavaliauskaitė. An intimate question to which we answer more and more often: “It’s embarrassing to admit, but…” | Culture

Of course, I’m not talking about everyone and I’m not saying that we don’t read books at all. I’m not going to moralize either – where to spend your time is up to each of you. I just found it strange that even though more and more people don’t read books, not reading them is still not normal, and the non-reader tends to hide this fact. Hence, even now, when the circulations are decreasing and the hours spent in front of the screens are increasing, the book remains extremely important to us.

Rytis Zemkauskas’ conversation with singer Giedre Kilčiauskiene got stuck. Ritis asked what books she likes. Giedre answered without even thinking: “I don’t read books.” An uncomfortable silence permeated the hall. “Courageous”, Rytis commented on the answer after a little pause. What he meant was that we usually keep silent about such things – maybe we lie, or maybe we offer one of many excuses – I don’t have time, I can’t concentrate, kids are distracting me, etc.

After all, to admit that you don’t read at all is to jump into a river full of hungry alligators. If you don’t read, then you are unintelligent, maybe even dumb, or at the very least, you don’t know how to plan your time. We still say disparagingly about someone who seems stupid to us: “He must not have read a book in his life.”

While preparing for this text, I looked up statistics. A quarter of Americans don’t read a single book in a year. According to every survey conducted every five years, the number of books read is only decreasing. I haven’t found a single detailed or at least unbiased study that presents the reading habits of Lithuanians, but what’s the point – since the restoration of independence, the circulation of books has sometimes decreased. The reasons are boring: electronic media, social networks, more entertainment – all this is clear and without polls.

Returning to the American statistics, I was surprised by only one thing: if you read more than 30 books a year, you are already among the 15%. most people reading. I would fall between them, which is both pleasant and sad – like jumping over a low bar.

If for some reason I read less than usual, I feel guilty because I can’t shake the belief that visual content is dull and books (whether paper or electronic) are enriching. Who knows how future generations will speak, but for us, milenialsamsthe book is still sacred despite the fact that we worship it at an ever greater distance.

Photo by Monika Markevičiūtė/Akvilė Kavaliauskaitė

Unfortunately, the feeling that crowded halls at the Vilnius book fair and the inscription “bestseller” on every second cover does not necessarily indicate that we read a lot – maybe rather that we would like to read or would like to be read. After the fair, social networks are filled with complaints that another year has passed, even more books have been bought, although last year’s fair purchases are still lying unopened. A person will always want to look better than he is, this is our nature. But does reading books really make us better, smarter, etc.? Maybe someone else can represent them?

I googled the phrase “reading books is overrated” and found nothing except for a few blog posts of dubious value. Nothing surprising, because such a statement simply does not stand up to criticism.

Research shows that reading books expands vocabulary, develops imagination, calms the mind, and teaches concentration. On the other hand, I know quite a few cool, interesting people who rarely read books. Books are replaced by online readings, video lectures, the ability to accumulate experience, etc

I have a couple of friends who read Wikipedia for fun, but when they come to visit me and see the mountains of books donated by bookstores and publishers, they still say, “Damn, I haven’t read books in a while.” The tone of the voice is like someone who has just eaten the family pizza while dreaming of losing weight.

Books are still sacred to us, and not reading is still a shame. A tree, bread and a book are things that should not be touched by the dirty fingers of an ignorant person.

Yes, books are still sacred to us, and not reading is still a shame. A tree, bread and a book are things that should not be touched by the dirty fingers of an ignorant person. Do you remember the wave of indignation that arose when the Pavilni library threw the written-off books into the container? The sacrilegious act moved some to tears. The text in the book can only be crossed out with a pencil, it is rude not to bend the corner of the page instead of the tab, it is rude not to return the borrowed book, and if you have already started reading, finish it. A book in a garbage container is an image that our consciousness cannot accept.

At one party, a friend said that before moving to a new house, she had burned the entire collection of Soviet classics in the fireplace. “Small print, it’s hard to hold in your hands, it’s written so eerily that even a prisoner can’t read it,” she said and immediately fell silent, because she felt the judgmental looks staring at her like daggers.

We grew up in an environment where “book” and “value” were synonymous. We saw parents reading every day. My mother read at least one book a week, we went to the library at least every other Saturday. My grandmother’s library has more books than most of us will read in a lifetime. You’ve all heard older people tell you how their parents forbade them to read while eating, or how they read the entire series of “The Brave Roads” while hiding under the covers. In my house, weekend afternoons were always spent reading. It was an unwritten rule – you eat, wash the dishes and read. This is how I remember my childhood.

And our children will remember us glued to our phones. That’s the sad truth. I don’t like to hear it, it’s not fun, but it will happen in most families. And that won’t necessarily be a bad thing. It is possible that future generations will not attach so much importance to the book, especially the paper one. From something sacred and necessary, the book will become just a form, a medium in which the text is read. The paper book will be romanticized much like vinyl records are now. And maybe they will no longer be ashamed to say that they do not read books, because the book will no longer be the sacred cow that whole generations worshiped.

In my house, weekend afternoons were always spent reading. It was an unwritten rule – you eat, wash the dishes and read. This is how I remember my childhood.

While searching for information about non-reading, I came across the term Bookshaming, which I had never heard of before. The word means humiliating and shaming another person because of their literary preferences. For example, I tell you that I’m reading the bestseller Verite, you say that it’s a bad book full of tasteless sex scenes, and I get offended and feel bad. Well, that’s just such problems!

The biggest problem is that we don’t behave as we would like. Have you met at least one person who would say that they dream of reading less books and spending more time on social networks? Indeed, no one has ever said that. A bit like trying to force yourself to do sports. People download apps, hire trainers. Unfortunately, you can’t hire a reading coach. You learned to read in the first grade, and from now on, you can bury yourself.

In closing, I’d like to share the best reading-related advice I’ve heard lately. Aidas Puklevičius said that in order to be able to concentrate on reading again, as you could before, put your phone aside and try to read for at least half an hour, and gradually the habit will return. As with sports, the more you exercise, the more you want.

By the way, I don’t know if you’ve noticed: until recently, when taking off or landing, the flight attendants would announce that they were about to turn off the lights, adding the following sentence: “If you want to continue reading, use the lamp above your head.” It doesn’t add up anymore… I often fly on airplanes and I long for this sentence. I hope you need that reading light as often as possible.