Stellar Cafe

Sheep in wolf’s clothing

Not really a fan of the background with this one, but I have things to do and can’t linger on it rn. I may later. Anyway.

no, you don’t have to date that guy just cuz he wants to date you.

no, you don’t have to stay with her because she doesn’t want to break up.

no, you don’t have to keep dating them even though they haven’t cheated/abused you/whatever horrible thing is your only reference for ending a relationship.

this is a great question and i wish i had a better answer than "i am unable to be alone with my own thoughts for more than two seconds because i get bored sooooo fast so i bring a book with me literally everywhere." but that is how,

but if you are looking for tips i actually do have some advice!

you gotta find books you like. this sounds very obvious and stupid but it's true. if you are not excited to pick the book up, you won't read it. now, there are of course some books that one might want to read that isn't Fun, per se--eg. i am reading some stuff right now that is out of my usual reading comfort zone (woolf's Orlando is the big one. virginia woolf you vex and challenge me) (to be fair Orlando is very funny; but fun =/= funny and the point here is that this book requires more concentrated effort from me than others). but i like to have something easy on the side to turn to, eg, at night before bed or when i need to relax. i have been reading the murderbot diaries between lengthier school-related books and having so much fun

seriously, there is no reason to punish yourself. if you want to push through reading something you're not completely excited about, because you think it'll be worthwhile/you'll learn something/etc, more power to you. but there is also nothing wrong with leaving a book unfinished. the moment i find myself thinking, "fuck, i want to read but i don't really want to pick X book back up," i either dnf that book* (*easier said than done with my ocd but i'm getting better) or i add a pure fun/relaxation book into the rotation to reward myself

semi-related: if you want to get into short stories or poetry or something, one [story/poem] a day or week can be a nice way to ease into things! most poetry i've read has been because i decided i wanted more poems in my life, so i put a poetry book on my bedside table and vowed to read one poem per day, either in the morning or at night. now obviously i didn't do this every day, because what do i look like. but i did read more poems! (one short story per day might be harder depending on length, but obviously tailor this to your own needs, do it weekly or even monthly, etc etc)

i am trying really hard to get myself to read for 30-60 minutes before bed each night, actually less so i read more and more to lure myself into bed so i stop having bedtime at 3am. i haven't been able to do this for more than, like, three consecutive nights at a time and i've been trying since january but i do love pre-bed reading time and i endorse it, especially for people who are better at doing things they like to do than i am

OKAY THIS IS THE IMPORTANT ONE. are you listening. i'm gripping your shoulders. bring the book everywhere. you don't have to read it everywhere. but bring it with you. and sometimes. when you're having a moment where you would usually be On Phone. (on the bus, or in the bathroom, or waiting in line for something, etc, your mileage may vary.) consider opening the book. you don't have to pick book over phone all the time, or even, like, most of the time. but if you give yourself the option and you're carrying around a book you like and are excited to read, sometimes you will do this instead of phone and wow you can read so much when you have that thing on you at all hours

if you're thinking, "this won't work, i like Phone too much," put the book On Phone. you can rip epubs from plenty of online websites and open them in a mobile app. (allegedly. i would never pirate anything, etc etc.)

or try audiobooks, for that matter! i am pretty bad at those because i have a bad attention span, but i've been trying to get into them because i've been working a job that involves lots of menial labor where i get to have headphones in. i <3 sorting things while listening to an audiobook (or podcast) play

but seriously. bring the book everywhere. get yourself a shoulder bag and put the book in it. you probably won't open it half the time that you bring it with you, but you never know when the bus might be late or when you might get trapped in the college dining hall because of a tornado warning (my headphones died) (there wasn't even a tornado), and then... book has it for you