Prose fiction isn’t exactly my go to storytelling medium. On both an artistic and an entertainment level, I prefer visual storytelling, so I’m more likely to gravitate towards comics and film. I did get mad at myself for letting those muscles atrophy to an embarrassing degree in my 20s, though, so I’ve worked a bit to remedy that. Pretty foolish thing to completely neglect if you can help it, imo! Currently making my way through Mexican Gothic, which is pretty rad. I do also read my Bible regularly, which I’m sure people could make Very Funny and Original jokes about. But like, obviously religious writing is a different beast, lol.
Books are great. My unpopular opinion is that most people should probably read more. Theres a reason most masterpieces of any medium have “literary” qualities.
Haha is that unpopular? Every single person should read regularly. You really do allow those skills to atrophy when you stop reading A very funny thing I’ve seen are dorks who would never pick up a book in their lives bragging on LinkedIn or IG about reading grifter self help money management books. Your brain needs fiction as well
I'm going to have to side with Steve on this one. If I'm listening to music, and I mean actively listening, then I have to be doing something that requires little to no thought or I stop paying attention. A lot of the time I'll play something simple like a nonogram game or a point and click game or a pixel coloring game. Something that keeps me occupied while my mind focuses on the music.
Reading while listening to music with lyrics is definitely not a good time for me. My attention is gonna be pulled between the two, and I’m not gonna really take in whatever I’m reading.
I guess I should rephrase and say what do you mean by “active listening”? I feel like the most focused I am in terms of listening to music is when I am reading. My brain is locked into one thing, rather than aimlessly scrolling my phone or posting on this dumb website. Outside of driving, that’s pretty much the only time I am fully locked in
Yeah I can only play ambient/instrumental stuff when I read. Although I listen to music when I read the forum all the time so idk
lol, if I’m reading or participating in a conversation deeply enough, I’ll occasionally pause what I’m listening to for a moment.
I definitely have been leaning into more ambient/jazz/instrumental more in the past few years, so maybe that’s why I am able to do it more easily. Overall, though, I’ve definitely drifted away from being a lyric-centric listener. The first couple times I listen to a record are mostly for the sound/melody/general vibe. Occasionally something will catch lyrically and I’ll stop to play it again
Reading’s been really difficult for me the last couple of years because of my ADD. I think I’ve read 7 books of varying lengths this year which has been great. I miss being able to read all the time though. My brain just won’t let me focus on it sometimes
This is definitely why you're able to do it. I also just get very easily pulled into whatever I'm focused on. When I worked in call centers and was on a call, I had to shoo away anyone trying to get my attention or I'd end up missing something the caller said, and that was always frustrating. But yeah, if I'm reading something then I'm not focusing on what's happening in the song, and I like to know what the vocalist is singing about. But even musically, if I'm distracted, then anything else just becomes a blur. That's what I mean by active listening, versus passive listening where it's just background noise.