Usually I write about romance (obviously) but this week, I wrote about furlough reading for The Washington Post: Furloughed employees are filling workless days with books — lots of them.
It’s a rather substantial act of trust to place one’s time and energy in the hands of a writer, especially during a difficult period. A reader, especially a fan of certain genres, begins a novel confident that there will be a competent resolution, that all will be well in the end. For some furloughed workers unable to seek additional employment — and those adjacent to the terrible standstill — seeking literary solace is only natural.
I noticed that both Adam and I were reading a lot since the furlough email hit his inbox in December. And I thought maybe we weren’t the only furloughed and furlough-adjacent folks who are binge reading.
As always, on the internet, you’re never alone. Thanks to Stacie @BooksRFriends, who has read even more than the both of us. (I remain in awe of her reading total for January alone.)
Of course, as romance readers, we promoted the essential of any satisfying read:
I have a theory for why reading, especially reading genre fiction, offers solace beyond simply filling up extra time: There’s always an ending, and it’s satisfying. When something terrible happens, there’s resolution, retribution or both. Those who seek to harm the vulnerable will be brought to justice or, at the very least, rendered impotent.
Please note that my original working title was, “Reading Until The End of Time or Furlough, Whichever Is First,” and boy howdy, do I hope this crap ends soon for everyone affected.
I appreciate this article. 🙂 Am currently staring down the barrel of yet another layoff. It’s been in the air for 3 months and we may not know till the end of March whether my employer will be keeping the business that justifies my job. For the past nine months I’ve been dealing with job anxiety by writing, but if I do get laid off, I’m seriously considering take a week just to read.
Oh, bloody crap that’s awful. I’m so sorry. One small coping mechanism after another, right? A week off just to read sounds like a very good idea. Sending hopeful strength and ass kicking vibes your way.
When I quit being a teacher due to burn out and stress, I had the privilege to be able to spend a month just reading. Thankfully my husband’s continued employment allowed me to do that, and I was very grateful. I discovered Outlander, read all of the books that were available at that time (I think it was 7 books), then started over and read them again. It was nice to escape to the past with a bunch of big, thick books, and not worry about the present day so much. I hope all of the furloughed and furloughed-adjacent people get relief *very* soon.
I lost my job in October. Thankfully, I had another lined up, but it was only part time and didn’t become full time until January 2nd. During that period of time, I read dozens of books. I finished 2018 having read 75 books, according to Good Reads. I didn’t think I’d get anywhere close to my goal of 100 books for 2018, especially since I had a several months long reading slump over the summer. In September, I hadn’t even read 30 books. Yes, I had a lot more time to read, but the bigger part was that it kept my mind off of the fact that I was eating through my savings.
I hope this BS Shutdown ends soon. In my new job, I’m responsible for collecting rent payments and because of Fair Housing Laws I can’t let a federal employee slide because the orange buffoon wants his Racist Ego Wall and is throwing a gigantic hissy fit to get it. This month, no one was late because of the shutdown, but February is right around the corner, so there’s the possibility that I might have to start eviction procedures on some hapless federal employee.
I recently had a job interview with a furloughed government contractor who has been spending time catching up on our field through reading and online training. I admired the candidate’s way of taking advantage of the downtime. Short list behavior right there.
@ scifigirl1986 – I live in an area with a significant number of furloughed workers. Many mortgage companies, rental companies, utilities and the like are extending the courtesy of working with their customers to make sure they don’t go homeless or without necessities. I hope your employer will do the same.
There has been amazing support from local churches, restaurants, and food banks for the furloughed government workers around here. I just hope egos are put aside soon and we get a resolution.
As a furloughed worker, I’ve had more time to read WaPo, but somehow missed your article–so thanks for the link. I’ve been trying to stay positive and catch up on housework, reading, rest, etc. I’ve read about 20 books so far this month–which isn’t that much more than my usual, and my house still isn’t clean, so most of my extra time has apparently gone into the “rest” category. But that’s ok, too. I was briefly hospitalized at the start of this fiasco, and then my cat had a (very costly) medical emergency. I’ve actually been grateful to have the time to recuperate and nurse the cat without struggling to get into the office during a normally busy time of year. Small blessings.
Everyone has struggles, whether it’s this government mess or something else. Sending good wishes that you’re finding effective ways to cope.
I’m so sorry to all the furloughed workers being held hostage. I’m not furloughed, but my job relies on customers paying for IT services in my local area, and many of my clients are federal employees. I heard on our local NPR station that “only” 6,000 federal workers are affected in my state (Idaho), but I call BS on that. BLM workers are a huge chunk of federal employees here, but there are many, many other areas affected. I’m seeing a huge trickle down affect here because restaurants are being drastically hurt right now. All of the people on pensions and “entitlements” are pinching pennies too, and in the end it’s really taking a toll on everyone. I have several thousand dollars worth of services and goods billed out that are sitting unpaid due to federal workers not having their steady source of income (or comfort) to pay. I had to get a second job last week in a wildly unlikeable field just to have a steady source of income for myself while this lasts.
Fingers crossed this shit ends soon.
Thanks for an enjoyable article, Sarah.
Really appreciated this article, Sarah. My furloughed spouse and I, as a furlough adjacent person, are finding much solace in comfort reading and rereading right now. Thank goodness for books with happy endings to help keep our spirits up! We are striving to stay positive but I worry about my spouse as it is easy to become depressed about this situation (so much of our sense of worth & value in this country is tied to our work identity) especially when it appears that there is no clear resolution in sight.
Sending good thoughts and wishes out to others in similar circumstances and hoping this will be resolved soon.
@Stef: you’re so very right about how our sense of self worth is so tied to work identity. Sending good thoughts right back to you both!
I’m in the process of hunting for a job, and reading has been helping me when I feel like all I’m doing is yelling into the void.
Great article, Sarah. My reading has definitely increased since I was furloughed, and like you and your husband, I’ve spent a A LOT of time at the Montgomery County Public Library (shout-out!). A large pile of library books and meditation are pretty much the only things keeping me sane.
One thing I’ve been particularly enjoying is checking out random romance books from the library. I realized that it’s been years since I (1) read a mass-market paperback romance (my romance reading is in e-book format nowadays); and (2) picked up a romance book without knowing anything about it except for the description on the cover and few lines from a random page. Not all of them have been great, but it’s been fun. Like high school all over again.
Stay strong, everyone.
I loved your article. Thank you for highlighting it. I’m glad that books provided solace. When my Dad was dying of cancer I read voraciously, but not steadily. I would read two or three books in a day or so and then couldn’t digest anything for days. Like, I could not follow a sentence. And then it would be all books again for a few days. Romancelandia saved my life. I’m convinced of it.
Here’s hoping the government gets those checks to folks quickly. And I’m glad you and your husband had coping skills.