Nearing the end of December of 2021, I found myself scrolling on my TikTok For You Page, and I came across a video of someone’s list of recommended books. I opened the comments and there were tons of people raving about some of the books shown in the TikTok. Around this same time, I had been listening to Emma Chamberlain’s Anything Goes podcast, and she discussed why she got back into reading and how it can benefit you as well. I still needed to think of a New Year’s resolution and thought to myself: this is the perfect opportunity to get back into something I once loved to do.
I began creating a list in my Notes app of all the books that were said to be five stars from the people on BookTok. The one that I kept seeing everywhere was The Song of Achilles By Madeline Miller. I love Greek mythology and the synopsis seemed like something I would be interested in, so I made it the first book I would read in the new year. I ordered it on Amazon and began reading it whenever I had free time.
I have to be honest, it was difficult for me to read at first. Not because of the words or language, but because of my attention span. After years of being on social media and the internet in general, most of our attention spans have gotten shorter. It is now much harder to focus on one thing for a long period of time. After around the fifth chapter of the book, it started getting easier to hold my attention, and I noticed I was reading pages faster. The story was also getting more interesting. Each day I was more eager to open my book up.
The feeling of finishing a 370-page book was a satisfaction like no other. I felt so accomplished and proud of myself. I am glad I chose The Song of Achilles to read as well. It was such a beautiful story of love and war (and yes, I did cry at the very end).
If you are looking to get back into reading books for entertainment, I highly recommend The Song of Achilles, especially if you are into Greek mythology. I am currently reading Circe by the same author, Madeline Miller. Her word choices and the way she describes things are captivating and make you feel something as a reader. I can promise you, reading instead of scrolling on TikTok, Instagram, or Snapchat for hours is much more fulfilling and better for your mental state. Make a change and start reading for fun again!
