Something horrible happened to me during law school. I lost my ability to read for pleasure.
It has been a while since I have been able to finish a non-legal book because no matter how interesting the book was, no matter what time of day I was reading, no matter how awake I was before I started reading, I would fall asleep after reading a couple pages. Out cold. I actually started reading magazines during law school because I knew I could at least finish an article before falling asleep.
I think my reading narcolepsy stems from the same reason of why I fall sleep if I am just watching a movie. I lost my ability to do one thing at a time. I am a serial multitasker. Even if I was reading the most boring case in the world, the reason why I stayed awake was being I was simultaneously taking notes. While "active" learning was worked for law school, I miss leisure reading. I remember how much I loved going to the library to pick out a new book to read. Heck, I even wanted to be an English major I liked reading that much.
So another goal for my post-graduate life: read a book a month. I have a few options on my shelf: Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet, which I have been working on for a year or so; True Compass, the Teddy Kennedy Memoir; Rediscovering Lone Pine, a fiction story written by one of my former professors; and a few others. By the end of October, make sure that I have written a book report to prove that I have read something.
2 comments:
Very interesting. Though I can't relate entirely, I feel as though I had the same experience reading certain works by philosophers in college. I didn't think anyone else shared the same onset of fatigue from reading. I enjoy reading, and continue to do so for both work and pleasure. However, I remember certain philosophers were a challenge to get through. Reading first thing in the morning when there were little to no distractions helped. Did you make it through law school and are things better now?
I also suffer from what I call, 'reading-induced' narcolepsy - LOL. Like you, when reading, I'd fall asleep quickly and completely after only a few paragraphs. It does not matter what I am reading, how interested I am in the material, where I am when I read it, how much sleep I get the night before, how much coffee I drink, etc. I actually 'Googled' the subject today, which is how I found your post! I also posted on the subject today on my blog. I read your post after posting my blog or I'd have added a link to your post as well! I'll get you in the next post ; )
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