It's raining books in Karachi

Edited BY


G P Kennedy

Tassy - Karachi, Pakistan

 Hi everyone. This week’s format is slightly different from other weeks. Today I will share with you my reading habits in the time of Corona! I have always been a reader, and at any given point in time, I have 6 books on my bedside table, which I am either reading concurrently or some which I intend on reading soon.

When lockdown started early March for us here in Karachi, a part of me I have to admit, started to look forward to two weeks of free time and an unanticipated break to do all those things one ordinarily never has time to do. My classes were canceled and this was the time I thought would give me the perfect opportunity to spring clean, cook, watch TV shows, paint, and catch up on all those books I wanted to read but never had time for, amongst other things. 

 

 That lockdown period kept getting extended every two weeks, and the free time felt more riddled with concern and anxiety about the future. After exhausting ways to occupy the new free time, reading continued to become my escape. I am fortunate to be a member of an online library here in Karachi where they deliver books in sealed bags and collect them from your house.


I took full advantage of that service and found myself having access to a stash of books without having to pay anything for it or leave my house. I do have a kindle but I still prefer the actual handling of paper, turning pages of a book, the smell and weightiness of a book, the use of a real bookmark, and so on.

I was never one for watching television but that soon became the best way to find out what was happening around the world on the COVID front. After the initial couple of months, however, of being totally on top of the latest global virus figures, latest developments in medicine, new symptoms of coronavirus emerging, and so on, watching the news became progressively depressing as time went by. Sometimes I would use my time on the treadmill to switch on the television and watch some BBC or CNN to catch up on more news on the virus but somehow that always made me feel worse as the news simply just wasn’t getting better. I found myself actually staying away from television and not even reading the news on my phone or computer.


 We had unsubscribed ourselves from getting daily local newspapers at home, but suddenly they felt useful. I found myself reading the obituary section most regularly - finding out about who had passed away from the virus was important to know. I also found myself more interested in knowing what was happening in my own city rather than reading or watching what was happening around the world.

 I was never one for audiobooks so I never took to that during the lockdown. I continued to listen to some podcasts whilst walking on my treadmill.

 My reading habits have now reverted back to what it was in February before the crisis began. I tend to read up to two fiction books a month. I always have a yoga book or a book on spirituality or self-growth which I read at the same time. One delightful and memorable book I read over these months was a memoir by Glennan Doyle called Untamed.

A friend highly recommended the book to me. Frankly, I hadn’t heard of her and even wondered whether I should bother reading a memoir of a person I didn’t now. In hindsight, it was a great decision as I ended up really enjoying it.  It has a feminist-leaning and I recommend it particularly to all women out there. She is brave, she is brutally honest and she is funny. I liked her high level of self-awareness. She shows her vulnerability to the core, and gives us some inspiring and liberating stories.  I have to warn you there are large elements where she seems to be patting herself on the back but despite that it was a quick, good read.  I have now started following her on Instagram.

 



 



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