The struggle to read in the age of distractions

Reading is one way to heal fiction gives perspective and broadens your views. At the same time you get more empathy for others and other perspectives as well as deepened sense for the oneness of humanity, as well as humility before God, realizing how small (wo)man is and how great God is. It's possible to travel trough time on the pages of a book and through them learn about people who become so close you look twice at the reflection in the mirror when you see yourself, in essence you learn about yourself too. Yet reading is a struggle in the face of a screen. 

Since Dr. Mukwege (who's work was by the way non-fiction) I've read another few non-fiction books, one on single motherhood or rather alone by choice parenting and about outdoors swimming and about pirates and slaves in the Mediterranean area prior to the colonial era, a book by Dick Harrison, a Swedish historian who makes books for people who don't have patience to read long books. You got it, I've been trying to score on my self imposed 2024 reading challenge on Good reads, even Chimanda's pamphlet made it to the list of books read since I'm aiming to read 53 books this year as compared with the bare twenty I read last year. 

Now I've been in a slump again, but I picked up Vilhelm Moberg's Invandrarna yesterday, it's part 2 in a 4 part series and I'm planning to complete it. Also I'm much into Karolina Ramqvist again, two years ago I read The Bearwoman now I'm planning to read her debut novel as well as some other stuffs, perhaps The White City I like her style of feminism and am an ardent follower of the same concept, feminism doesn't have to inhumane and complete, it can also look like a needy traumatized woman. Strenght is not found in circumstances but within and Ramqvist has interesting ideas on this. 

I just watched the movie Utvandrarna that was based on Mobergs two first novels, one of which I've read. I don't think the movie spoiled the second book that I'm reading now, rather it fed into the female perspective of Kristina and her integration into the new land and new ideas.

I also plan to finish reading Emma, I'm almost half way through and no, Emma Woodhouse is not gay. 

Since I'm writing probably just for my self or some internet discoverer in a unknown far future, I'll take the opportunity to draw my plan here, I'll read in this order:

1. Mobergs novel Invandrarna

2. A book on Medieval ideas since I'm going to attend a Medieval event (the book is A Word Lit by Fire)

3. Finnish Emma

4. The White City or More Fyre by Karolina Ramqvist  

This is the plan for June, I'll draw a new plan for July, I will have to be intentional since the screen is to alluring at evenings and though I prefer a book, my mind prefers the mindless scrolling of cleaning videos and cute reels about animals until the small hours of dawn.