Reading like it's my job #4 - TV, Movies, and Reading ADD
What a week! There’s a famous saying: “No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy.” That’s been my week. My reading plan made contact with Stranger Things 3, Spider-Man: Far From Home, and my inability to focus. Let’s get right to it.
Addicting TV
Last weekend I started watching Stranger Things 3 and got hooked after 1 episode. There is a noticeably different vibe from that truly magical first season, but now I'm 4 episodes in and I like it more than season 2. The character groupings and “mini mission” plot lines are exciting and the show creates that nagging need to know what is really going on and what is going to happen next. I’m trying to discipline myself to one episode at a time rather than binge-ing (because binge-ing makes me feel gross), but even 1 episode at a time has adversely impacted my reading plan.
Marvel Movies
Marvel movies get me every time. Every. Time. I love them, but I also hate them because I love them so much. Spider-Man: Far From Home was a highly enjoyable Spider-Man movie. Not quite as good as Homecoming, but there's still plenty to explore when it comes to Peter's situation of balancing the desires of an ordinary kid with his extraordinary abilities/responsibility. I enjoyed the overall premise and had plenty of laugh out loud moments. Tom Holland and Zendaya (even as an awkward nerd) are infinitely charming. The movie even demands a second viewing due to some things revealed at the end. That’s how they get you – those post-credits scenes!
Reading ADD
The purpose of the reading plan is to know what to read next and focus on those things until I finish them. The plan in July was to read about the Apollo program, both for myself and with my kids:
Rocket Men by Rob Kurson
First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong by James Hansen
Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream by Tanya Lee Stone
I am Neil Armstrong by Brad Meltzer
I also wanted to read about the Revolutionary War:
1776 by Robert McCullough
Independent Dames: What You Never Knew About the Women and Girls of the American Revolution by Laurie Halse Anderson and Matt Faulkner
George vs. George: The American Revolution As Seen from Both Sides by Rosalyn Schanzer
Even as I’m typing this, I realize this was way more than what I’m capable of in a month! First, my kids are too young to be “educated” during each reading session. Most times they want to be entertained. My 4 year old wants me to read The Adventures of Tintin to him every night and after two nights of me saying “we will read Tintin, but let’s talk about George Washington first,” he was frustrated. The 2 year old is currently obsessed with Archie and the Bear and Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb and couldn’t care less for the engineering feats of the Apollo program. Those obstacles aside, 1776, Rocket Men, and First Man are just big, long books and while I’d like reading to be my full time job, it still isn’t at the moment. The reading plan needs to be feasible.
New Plan
I decided to shelve all those books and focus on Strenuous Life badge reading. The InfoSec badge is really important for me right now so I picked up Dragnet Nation and The Art of Deception. I’m hoping the books will lead to taking steps toward better data security for myself and my family. I have both of those in hard copy from the library. Goal is to finish both in July.
I'm also listening to The Second Mountain by David Brooks during my commute and it has been inspiring though not wholly satisfying. I'm not sure what is missing. Brooks talks about the importance of commitments and of dedicating yourself to a vocation, spouse and family, faith and philosophy, and a community or village. While I could be more committed to all four of those, I've picked a career, I’m married with two children, I am active in my faith, and have settled in a community that I plan to be in for 10 to 15 years. Making commitments isn’t what's missing in my life, but perhaps dedicating myself more fully to them is what I can get out of the book. We'll see.
So yeah...
Bit of a bust this week, but I'm committing to do better and read more. I'm teaching Acts 10-15 in Sunday school so I need to make time for that. The fate of Dustin, Robin, Erica, and Steve Harrington will have to wait...
Until next time, thanks for reading this and I’d love to know what else you’re reading.
Kyle