I've noticed two changes as I am aging. I can't eat as much as I used to and I don't read as fast or as far as I used to. I get quite full with a smaller amount of food. I need more time to ponder, reflect and consider material I read. I spend more time pondering, reflecting and questioning what I read. I guess the difference applies more to non-fiction than to a story, although I can spend quite a bit of time asking if what the heroine is trying to do makes sense or if there is a better choice of actions in her situation.
I have wondered if the act of eating, of just sitting down and serving my plate and taking some food is somehow registering differently with my mind, memory and appetite. I wonder if the quantity of food matters less than having gone through the steps of a meal. I do think that I have become better at noticing my actual state of hunger and taking into consideration how hungry I am instead of eating because of the time of day. With winter and Covid, I am certainly doing less walking and biking so I am not burning calories very much. Plus I am old and I don't burn as hot.
There are many commentators who say that the internet, smartphones and social media have fractured people's attention. Ever since I started reading with a Kindle reader, I have been aware that in addition to the book I am looking at, right in the object in my hand are many other great books that I haven't been reading and could get back into. Besides, I quite enjoy highlighting smart sentences and notable insights by highlighting them. If I am going to highlight them, I might as well share those gems. It is easy and fast to share highlights on Twitter, whether or not anyone ever looks at my sharing. The presence of a handy computer, smartphone or tablet makes it easy to look up facts about the author and see what other books that person has written. Finding that the author was born in Podunk, I may take a moment to look up the location and history and population of Podunk.
No wonder I take forever and still don't finish a book!
