So, who still reads books? I've been forced to acknowledge that my reading is down maybe...I don't know, at least 50%.
I still read probably far, far more than other people. However, I certainly read way less than I used to.
What else is taking up my reading time? Reading online, and recently, going down the rabbit hole on the Charlie Kirk assassination. Though it certainly didn't start with that. I've been reading more online for years now, and watching more videos.
And what I read now (online) is more of a "dopamine hit" than books are. It's more "junk food" type dopamine-hit reading, vs the more substantial, more timeless reading I get from books.
Anyway, yesterday I did a digital detox again. As usual, it's very useful to clear my head and get a TON of projects done.
AND...I started on a really interesting book. I'm only about halfway through, but I highly recommend Hunters of the Great North by Vilhjalmur Stefansson. You can get it for free here: https://annas-archive.org/md5/4c1be49db47536f9b19e934e9b416f31. (It's in the public domain, though annas-archive.org also has books that are not in the public domain).
It's a fascinating memoir of Vilhjalmur Stefansson's life in the far north, mostly northern Canada, starting in 1906. He lived mostly with the native Eskimo, and learned from them all their techniques for hunting, shelter building, and traveling in -50°C temperatures.
Stefansson spent a good amount of time with those Eskimo least touched by "civilization", including those that had copper tools - the "Copper Eskimo". He's a very matter-of-fact writer - even the most upsetting incidents, like when he almost dies while traveling on a sledge, or is cheated by someone he considered a friend, are treated very dispassionately.
It's a very enjoyable book if you're interested in that kind of story, and want something that completely takes you away from the present day.
To me it's particularly interesting because I'm carnivore, and this is where he first starts eating carnivore only - mostly because that's the way the Eskimo ate, and he lived with them. Salt is apparently something that the Eskimo did NOT need, want, or even like at all.
But tea and tobacco, on the other hand, they were introduced to in the 1850's by the whalers, and many couldn't live without it, and would go to great lengths to get it.