Television to the Rescue!
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It occurred to me not long ago that I'm watching a lot of TV.
That's a fairly new phenomenon for me; I've always preferred curling up with a book. And of course I can point to the plethora of excellent movies and series available via the different streaming services (I don't have cable/network television, or this probably wouldn't be an issue); there's quality viewing out there for sure. But it doesn't explain how much time I'm spending with it.
I was chatting with my friend Susan recently and realized that I'd been watching a super-engaging French drama series—fine—but had also been watching it obsessively, night after night, while my TBR pile languished unread. And of course I immediately felt guilty (my go-to response, it has to be said) as though I were succumbing to some vice or panacea. As though it were something I had to hide.
I've been thinking about that a lot since then.
The truth is, we live in pretty terrible times. I don't have to point that out to you. And I am reminding myself of one of the reasons people read the books I write: because there's a satisfying ending. Terrible things happen, yes; but in the end the culprit is caught and justice is done. The world is completely unfair, but mystery novels give us a place to go where things are, in fact, fair. It's not just escapism; it's a reordering, albeit temporary, of the world when the world itself is too much to take. Likewise my historical fiction: terrible things happen there, too, but there's comfort in knowing that particular period is over, wars ended, social progress was made.
I write these books because I like telling stories, but I also write them in the knowledge of the gift I'm offering readers. The opportunity to enter a world different from the one around us. A place to find justice, to conquer tumult, to recover peace.
That doesn't wholly explain my (temporary) rejection of novels in favor of streaming content, but it reminds me that our souls and our hearts reach for what can bandage—if not heal—in times of crisis. We cannot always be protesting, writing signs and letters, calling our legislators. We must do all those things, and more; but we also need to step back from them so we're healthy enough to stay the course.
And how we step back shouldn't be an occasion for shame. At the end of the day, we are, each of us, doing the best we can to stay sane. Whether that means cooking for friends and family, taking up a new hobby, or... watching an absorbing series on MHz.
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