Read to Escape and Reduce Fear

“Today, 27% of adults say they have not read any books in the past year,” according to Pew Research Center.

Damn, that’s scary for writers, especially for someone (um, that would be me) who has a book coming out on October 15, 2020, three days from this essay’s writing!

With all the effort, time, and discipline it takes to write and self-publish a book, what are the chances my book will be read? Pile on the fear that the financial ROI won’t add up to the effort, time, and discipline. It’s mind-boggling that books are produced at all. But it’s more than that, it’s downright fearful. If you’ve ever hit submit to KDP or IngramSpark, then you know that gut-wrenching feeling. But with that is an equally thrilling, exhilarating feeling. So there’s that.

Consider this: according to Bowker, “The total number of print and ebooks that were self-published in 2018 was 1.68 million in the US.” That’s 4500+ self-published books per day. That doesn’t include books published by small and traditional houses.

Back to Fear

Fear is a funny thing. Not hahaha, but one of those unexplained, sometimes not justified, and often, unfounded things. Yet, we live with fear daily. According to a study by the Earl Babbie Research Center at Chapman University in its annual Study of American Fears, fear of public speaking and dying used to be two things on the list of things to fear. Those things don’t bother me. And apparently, don’t worry you anymore either.

These days, real fears are grounded in politics and health-related issues—government corruption, gun control, terrorism, clean drinking water, pollution, and climate crises. One of my current fears is that we’ll lose power from a catastrophic storm, so this summer, I installed a massive generator.

What Does Fear Have to do With Reading and Writing?

Let me tackle reading first, since I’m a reader first, a writer second.

Since COVID has brought our social life to a screeching halt, I have more time than ever to read. I love getting lost in a thriller, a memoir, or learning something new. Reading curtails my fear of turning into full-blown anxiety. As an added bonus for my peace of mind, I’m reading profoundly and critically these days. All that means I’m getting comfortable writing reviews and combatting another fear, that what I have to say doesn’t matter, or worse, that I’ll get it wrong.

I’m taking tiny steps. On a rare occasion, I put a book review in my monthly newsletter (link in bio) or post one on FB. Though they aren’t my most engaging posts. Whether it’s an algorithm thing, content, or my friends and fam like, huh? Where Cooper?

I’m working up the courage to post reviews on Goodreads. Idk why this intimidates me. Some people have a fear of heights, I apparently have a fear of expressing my viewpoint about.what.I.read. What’s happening (as in the exact moment as I type these words) by singling out my fear, I’m creating accountability.

My Current Reading List

In the last three weeks, I bought Rancher, Farmer, Fisherman by Miriam Horn, The Outpost by Jake Tapper, Again by Christine Shields Corrigan, A Dog’s Perfect Christmas by W. Bruce Cameron.
From Overdrive, I downloaded The Lonely City by Olivia Laing, The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett, The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien.
On BookShop, back-ordered and pre-ordered: All We Can Save by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, and The Best American Food Writing by J. Kenzie Lopez-Alt, respectively.

Reading not only enriches my life and reduces fear, but it fulfills my desire to escape from the 2020 election, if only for one chapter at a time.

I can’t commit to reviewing all of these books, but then maybe I will. I’m already forming opinions about several. I feel like it’s my civic duty to review the books I read, to try to help others (perhaps you) who might not be aware of such books, hopefully, inspire you to read, or at least consider the issues presented.

The Writing Angle

I write to understand the words swirling around my head. To make sense of the world around me. To create a version of a world I want to live in.

If you’re still reading, bravo. If you’re a writer, don’t despair about the Pew statistic mention above. You will find your tribe, or they will find you. Of course, that’s me talking to me.

Thanks for reading,
xo