11 Reasons to Resist the Lure of the Internet and Pick up a Book
Dear Literary Lady,
How do you motivate yourself to read when there’s so much to browse on the glorious interwebz? It’s not that I don’t like to read, it’s that I always get distracted by shiny things online and never get around to it.
–P. D., Dallas, TX.
Dear P.D.,
As someone who writes content for online consumption, I know I’m undercutting my own labor of love when I say books will always be more worthwhile than what you randomly peruse online.
I’m just as susceptible as you when it comes to the allure of the Internet. It’s an endlessly entertaining source of almost instant gratification. I’ve had my share of sleepless nights where I went down a rabbit hole of narcissistic quizzes (which flavor of ice cream are you? which celebrity trainer should you have?) and pored over dozens of puppy photos. But at the end of a night of online browsing, all I have to show for it are a bunch of funny links I forwarded to my friends.
A night spent reading, however, always leaves me feeling accomplished, enlightened, and somehow refreshed. I feel accomplished because I’ve experienced a work of art, from the first page to the last. I feel enlightened because I always learn something from every book I read, and it’s often a much more valuable lesson than anything I could learn online. And there’s always something refreshing about how a book transports you out of your reality and submerges you in another.
Finding the motivation to tear yourself away from a screen and turn to a page can be hard. When I need a kick in the pants, I remind myself of the following undisputed truths:
- However clever your friends are, their posts, links, and tweets will never be artful enough to withstand the test of time—unlike, you know, a book.
- When you read a book, you never have to skim over annoying hashtags.
- When you read a book, you also never have to see outrageous internet comments.
- Perhaps you stare at a screen all day at your job. Reading a book is a chance to stop.
- When you read a book and bring it up in conversation, everyone won’t interrupt you and say, “Oh, that? I read that on ________ already!”
- There’s an instagram account called Hot Dudes Reading, but there isn’t one called “Hot Dudes Looking At Stuff On Their Phones.” So clearly reading is an objectively superior pastime!
- Ever wish you had less useless trivia in your head and instead retained more useful knowledge? That comes with reading more books. I promise you won’t absorb pointless facts about the Kardashians from reading a lot of novels.
- You don’t have to dodge spoiler alerts when you’re reading a book.
- You never have to click past ads in a book or wait for your page to redirect in 35 interminable seconds.
- In fact, nobody is trying desperately to get your attention when you read a book. Nobody is asking you to comment on anything, or buy anything, or like their new cover band’s Facebook page
- Remember, there are some wonderfully written blog-based books, if you simply must!
I could go on for ages but I think you get the gist. All I’m saying is: Go read a book. Enjoy the peace and quiet. I promise you’re not missing out on anything online.
Love and paperbacks,
Literary Lady