Is This Just Fantasy?

There is a nationwide book store chain called Half Price Books and it is awesome.  It's only in sixteen states, which is sad because it is a place that all book lovers would make a trip to.  It is just as their company name says.  They sell books at half the price of the cover price (rare and collectable books excluded).  They also buy books.  You won't get a ton of money, so it'll be like when you traded in your college text books all over but you didn't pay in the three hundred dollar range initially.  

We were there this past weekend because we had a coupon.  As I walked up and down aisles looking for books, any books that caught my attention, I started to think about the books that were on my bookshelf at home.  They were mostly pretty heavy books.  And as fun and satisfying as reading an engaging novel can be, I wanted something different.  I wandered over to the 'sci-fi/fantasy' section.  The main reason I thought about this section was because I started re-reading the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy and realized I did not own 'The Hobbit'.  I've read it, just didn't own it.  

*side story*

I tried reading The Hobbit in fifth grade and I remember not liking it.  I don't remember why I didn't like it, I just remember finishing it and being not impressed.  

*side story concluded*

So I grabbed the book thinking that it might be my only purchase.  Then I started looking up and down the shelves of the section and thought 'I should read more fantasy stuff'.  One daunting task is finding what you want to read.  What I didn't want to get was one book that looked interesting only to find out that there's, like, seventeen other books(!) in the series that you need to read in order to fully grasp what is happening in the story.  And one thing that is cool at Half Price Books is that they group book series together.  So if you did want to read an eighteen book series, they would all be on one or two shelves.  

By the end, I found a random book trilogy by an author I had never heard of. Thanks to technology, I was able to look up reviews of the trilogy and the author and make an informed decision.  He has written a series of books that take place in the same world, but from what I can tell, all the books don't tie together.  There are some references to other characters and stories, but he writes stand alone books.  

One reason I decided to read some sci-fi/fantasy is because it's a genre I have always enjoyed (come on, I have a bunch of Star Wars books at home).  But for some reason I ventured away from the genre when it has come to books in my adult life.  Sci-fi and fantasy books have a certain quality to them that other novels can't touch.  It's at another level of creativity from a writing stance.  Think of the 'Lord of the Rings' books and world. J.R.R. Tolkien created an entire fucking language when he wrote those novels.  That's unreal!  

More than anything, it's just fun.  And that's what reading really should be about.  I have history books and political books and classic novels, but they aren't as fun to read as sci-fi and fantasy books.

It's Not You, It's Your App

The nice thing about having a smart phone is instant access to a multitude of things.  Whether you want to stay on top of breaking news, track a snow storm making it's way to your city, or play games the technology is there.  I have several apps that I use on a daily basis.  I have one to check the road conditions for my work commute (very helpful in the winter time).  I have an NHL and MLB app to keep up on the latest games and standings.  Podcasts and music apps are used more than most.  I have several games that eat away at my phone battery.  Plenty of things to keep me occupied so I don't have to make eye contact or small conversations with people.  You know, like phones are suppose to do.  I also have Twitter and Facebook on my phone.  One of them is close to going by the wayside.

I have stated several times over that Facebook just isn't something that I need to use on a daily basis.  Facebook is just kinda around for me.  It's just there to see what some friends and family are up to.  The mobile app is problematic because it has a tendency to just regurgitate statuses that were posted half a day ago.  It doesn't always show the most recent posts.  On the other hand, Twitter is constantly updated with new stories because they know what they are doing.  Unless something gets retweeted, you won't see a tweet again unless you go back on someone's timeline and purposely look for it.  I suppose that has a downside in that you will miss some things from time to time.  That is where Twitter has the upper hand over Facebook.  Plus, there are fewer '...and you won't believe what happened next!' links.  Clickbait is a terrible thing people.  

It has gotten to the point where I look at the Facebook icon on my phone and think 'do I really need this on here?'  In fact, I have moved it to a folder that I do not use all that often in an attempt to use it less.  I have seen people go on social media breaks before and they come back with a rejuvenated approach.  Lots of 'I took a few months off from Facebook and it was great!'  I see those posts and wonder, 'why did you come back then?'  And I understand why people come back.  It's to stay connected with others.  That is the point of it all isn't it?  Could you go a week without social media?  How about a month?  A year?  Does not having social media make your life better?  Probably not.  But think of what you could be doing with all the time you spend on those sites. 

Is social media a new addiction?  Do we need to set up detox centers for social media users?  Let's be honest with ourselves here and admit that having instant access to social media sites can be a terrible thing.  It distracts from being actually social with people that are around you.  Having the willpower to set your phone or tablet down is a step in the right direction.  Don't get me wrong, having Facebook and Twitter and whatever other social media you have is great, but being connected to it all the time isn't. 

I feel like I am just steps away from flat out deleting the app from my phone, and just having it on the computer at home.  The more I think about it, the more I like the idea.  With the lack of fresh stories coming up on the mobile app, I don't feel like I miss much.  Plus, just having it on one device and logging on less frequently, it would make me more excited to use it.  Well, I don't know if 'excited' is the right word.  More interested maybe? 

One last thing.  And this is kind of what is driving me towards removing Facebook from my phone all together.  If I get one more goddamn request to play a stupid version of Candy Crush or Farmville, I'm likely to just snap!  Okay, not really.  But those notifications are super annoying.