Don't go on autopilot.

We humans have a tendency to go on autopilot when we're doing routine tasks.

We do crazy, stupid things on autopilot. Like, for instance, I once opened up a container of leftover spaghetti and found a pair of my sunglasses pushed into it. I must have done it while I was cleaning up the kitchen on autopilot after a particularly stressful day.

Check out this article from the New Scientist on "default mode network" - DMN - a structure in the brain that handles rote functions.
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2151137-your-autopilot-mode-is-real-now-we-know-how-the-brain-does-it/

I'd like to challenge you to keep your brain active while you're driving to work, taking a shower, and doing the dishes.

Put on some headphones and listen to an audiobook.

Right now, I'm listening to The Child by Fiona Barton, and it's riveting. It makes me feel alive when I'm doing routine stuff at home, at work, or during my commute.

You can use Audible if you like, but I choose to borrow audiobooks from the Delaware Library Catalog. (You need a library card to access it, so go get one today.)

Don't live your life on autopilot.

New Addiction: LeVar Burton Reads on Stitcher

I am a PBS kid. And Reading Rainbow was, without a doubt, the best kids' show on PBS when I was a kid. Sure, I loved Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, but there was just something special about LeVar Burton and his simple delight in books. I still remember my favorite episode, in which LeVar read A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams. For me, LeVar's voice is like being wrapped in a warm, beloved blanket.

When the podcast LeVar Burton Reads showed up in my Stitcher feed a few weeks ago, I freaking flipped. It was like finding out that my most treasured thing as a child was made into an adult version that I could take with me anywhere, anytime. The podcast is sponsored by Audible and it's beyond great.

Like Reading Rainbow, Levar's podcast is simple: he picks an adult short story and then he reads the story in some kind of fantastic recording studio that makes it sound like he's sitting next to you on a couch reading into your ear. He even makes you take a deep breath before he gets started and sums up his thoughts at the end. It's like therapy.

So far, I've only been able to listen to a few episodes, but each one has been great. The producers of the show have added subtle sound effects, which, if you were a Reading Rainbow aficionado like myself, you'd remember was one of the hallmarks of the show. It's a great way to spend the time instead of listening to pop music or the ever-present nightmare we call the news.

Here's the link to get in on this yourself. Try not to cry after Episode 11: The Paper Menagerie. 

LeVar Burton Reads is amazing. But you don't have to take my word for it!

❤❤❤

Yep. This is tough.

Reading two books a week is not easy. It is really, really not easy.

I have noticed, however, that this goal is already making me more resourceful. First, I always try to borrow books from the Smyrna Public Library instead of buying them. Second, I subscribed to the Kindle Unlimited service through Amazon so that I can download books without paying for each and every one of them. Finally, I got an Audible subscription so that I always have an audio book downloaded on my phone and ready for my commute. And last but not least, I have an immense shelf full of every book anyone could ever hope to read. (The problem is, I tend to buy books that are heavy, both in subject matter and weight. Of the something like 500 books that I have at home, only 8 of them are under 300 pages. Sheesh... thanks, Past Self, you screwed me.)

I read about two hours a day in an effort to achieve this goal, and that's already no joke. If I wake up early enough, I read for fifteen to twenty minutes in the morning. I read through my lunch break (a half hour) and read while my boyfriend is watching TV in the evening (another half hour) and then another fifteen to twenty minutes before bed. I have my Kindle or my smart phone with me everywhere I go, so I can whip one of them out if I have to wait twenty minutes at the nail salon or in line at the bank. I still feel like I need to step it up.

It's also making it more obvious to me that people who "don't have time to read" simply don't make time to read. If I can do it, so can you.