Hey cHEwY gum gums!

So yesterday was Australian Reading Hour and like everything in 2020, it was a different take on what is normally a celebration of reading. This year’s theme is Australia Reads At Home, and honestly I can’t think of anywhere better to do some reading.

Mick Elliot and I have been involved with Australian Reading Hour for the last 2 years, going to Yetman in 2018 and last year, doing a storytelling battle in Floriade, Canberra. Today, I’ll be celebrating by reading some Jerry Seinfeld and starting Will Kostakis’ Rebel Gods, the sequel to Monuments.

In past years, I’ve shuffled my reading time to transit periods, such as at the airport or train stations. But with travelling being cut out of my life at the moment, I’ve been reading on the couch or bed instead. It’s pretty cool, and while I am a massive gamer, I feel like I’ve been reading more books than ever this year. This is mainly because I am doing reviews for my Virtual Oliver P channel. And also because I want to support my fellow authors out there.

Books have never been more essential than ever, mostly because it’s the perfect off-screen activity. We’re zoomed out. We want to rest our square/rectangle eyes on some actual pages…and yes e-readers count as off-screens too because the Kindle/Kobos have got some neat paper-likeness to their devices these days.

So what will you be reading today? And have you found that you’ve been reading more books than ever before this year?

O.W