002 Crafting a Literary Escape

Imagine finding a sanctuary where the chaos of life fades away, where you're whisked into different worlds, living through characters that make you forget your own worries. Join me, Richmond Camero, as we embark on a literary journey sparked by a childhood gift—'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'—that set the stage for a lifelong love affair with books. Whether it's the epic realms of Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series or the inspirational wisdom of Elizabeth Gilbert's 'Big Magic,' I share how each page offers both an escape and a wellspring of creativity that fuels my passion for writing.

Life gets busy, and finding time to read can feel like another item on the to-do list. In this episode, I reveal my personal strategies for safeguarding this cherished pocket of peace amidst life's demands. From carving out ten-minute reading breaks in the morning and evening to balancing the pressure of reading challenges like Goodreads with the joy of storytelling, discover how I maintain the intention and tranquility that books bring. Let's explore together how reading can remain a meaningful and joyful practice, even when time feels scarce.

Transcript

Richmond: 0:05

Hi, you're listening to Pockets, a podcast about finding joy, meaning and purpose in life's simplest moments. I'm Richmond Kamara. Let's dive into today's journey. The book that introduced me to reading was Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I think I was maybe around nine to ten years old back then. It was a gift from my aunt and I, of course, enjoyed the book, and f buying can't and reading books, because buying and reading books are two separate hobbies. All right, reading has been, and still is, my pocket of peace, and for today's episode, I'm going to talk about how reading has been my consistent pocket of peace.

Richmond: 1:06

For fiction, I love living through the lives of the characters I'm reading. I love being pulled into that world that it makes me forget about the real world for a while. That's why I wanted to be a writer in the first place. I wanted to offer the solace to readers, just like what I found for myself through reading books. And as a writer, I also know that I need to read books to also feel my well of creative inspiration. I like reading books that explore characters and their connection with others, like, for example, how a character's weakness is filled in by another character's strength, and with that dynamic there's a potential for conflict too, which which drives another layer in the story. So if you, if you ask me about my current fiction favorites, it includes the Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson, the Sheets of Magic series by Victoria Schwab and the Six of Crows duology by Leigh Bardugo. So, looking on the other side, for the nonfiction, I like to explore books on productivity, the wise of things, creativity, of course, philosophy and relationships. Books have been my go-to resources whenever I'm looking for guidance or when I'm questioning things, and I think my all-time favorite non-fiction book is Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. So those are my thoughts on the fiction and non-fiction books.

Richmond: 2:41

So, going back to how reading is my pocket of peace, it used to be effortless to find time reading books and I could spend a good chunk of my time reading. At present it gets harder because of the different things fighting for my mental space, like when I start reading, I tend to think of other things that I need to do, I need to do chores, I need to do my work, that sort of thing fighting for my mental space, whereas, like before, where I didn't have to worry about anything. It's mostly spent on just reading and not thinking about the other things that I have to do, and sometimes reading feels like a chore. You could say that this might be a downside to the yearly reading goals if you're doing something like that, for example, the Goodreads Reading Challenge. I've joined the challenge for a few years now and, believe it or not, my highest count was from 2021. I had 52 books that year. That's maybe like one book a week, and even now I'm surprised that I was able. Books in that year. That's maybe like one book a week, and even now I'm surprised that I was able to do that. I know that it involves strategy. I mixed up long and short books. That's why I was able to read that many.

Richmond: 3:56

So, given that flow of thought, so there are two potential challenges. That's threatening reading books as my pocket of peace. So first is actually finding the time to read, and the second one is the deciding on the intention why I read. So what did I do to maintain the peace that I get from reading? I can share with you three things. The first one is to find pockets of time for reading. So for me, the minimum amount of time for me to satisfy my reading cravings is 10 minutes, 10 minutes of reading right. So I included a 10-minute reading session in my morning and evening routine. So usually when I wake up, when the world is still quiet and before I log into work, that's when I read, and I read also before I go to sleep. So throughout the day, when I'm wanting a break, I spend a few minutes reading as well. And when I'm outside, I'm also on the hunt for short windows of reading, like when I'm commuting or when I'm waiting on the line, and this is where Kindle gets handy, actually. So that's the first one. The second one is to have multiple books that I can juggle for reading. This may be counterproductive to finishing a book, but this addresses the intention that I have. For a reading session, for example, it might be that I want to finish a book for a reading challenge, or maybe I need to learn a new skill, or maybe I just want to read something light.

Richmond: 5:32

So having options of books to read addresses the varying intention and state of mind that I have when I pick up a book. So what usually happens is that I have three kinds of books One fiction in ebook format one non-fiction, also in e-book format, and one physical book. That might be either fiction or non-fiction. So I'm reading the fiction one when I don't want to think too much, or maybe I just want to get lost in the world, or if I want to fall asleep. I usually read the non-fiction option in the morning when my head is still fresh. Fiction option in the morning when my head is still fresh and I just want to have a physical option in case I miss holding a physical book or I want to step away from the digital world. So even if I'm juggling multiple books, there's a higher possibility that I can read them faster, since I can adapt depending on my intention or my mood. I don't have to force myself to just finishing one book, even if I don't have to force myself to just finishing one book even if I don't have the right mindset to read it.

Richmond: 6:32

And lastly, is to give myself some space to digest what I just read. So this is especially helpful on non-fiction books, but also applicable to fiction. So when I'm reading non-fiction books, I like to highlight passages and quotes from the book Before I get to the next chapter. I read those highlights and write my thoughts about them in my journal. It allows me to really think about why that particular passage resonates with me. And it's active learning too. It reinforces the concept discussed in the book. Reading too, it reinforces the concept discussed in the book. So those three things allow me to maintain my pocket of peace when I'm reading. So these small actions allow me to enjoy reading books the way I want to. Books have been my consistent companions and I can't imagine myself not reading one. I hope you also find adventure, peace and answers in the pages of the books you read. You've been with Pockets. Thank you so much for sharing this space with me. Now go embrace the moments, build your pockets of meaning and keep curiosity a sure guide.