Hi everyone,
As you can see, the newsletter is a bit different today! That is because I’m so very excited to announce that The Nature of Reading is launching a new podcast: Attending Together, a place where we’ll be reading nature books to discuss the art of paying attention.
You can listen to our first introductory episode in the podcast player above, and I’ve written down some of what we’ve discussed below.
Before I go, I just wanted to note that next week I’ll have limited hours at the shop as I take a little late summer break!
I’ll be closed Tuesday 8/19 and Wednesday 8/20. Thursday 8/21 - Sunday 8/ 25, I’ll have limited hours: each day I’ll be open 11am-4pm.
I’d love to hear any feedback or questions you have about the new podcast! Just reply to this email or comment below the post.
With that, I hope you have a most restful weekend and I’ll see you back here next week.
All the best,
Hailey
Why attention?
What we pay attention to is how we spend our time, and ultimately, how we spend our lives. I started The Nature of Reading to be a place where nature, books, and creativity meet, and I think each of these things provides us with a really unique lens to discuss attention.
To truly be present in nature, we have to engage our senses and pay attention to the plants and trees and birds around us. To truly get lost in reading, we need to pay attention to the words on the page and let them build the world in our minds. To truly create art, we have to focus our attention on the unique aspects of our subjects to transform one reality into another form.
At the end of the day, books, nature, and creativity all lead back to attention. But our capacity for attention can also be used against us within the attention economy. In order to address the biggest issue of our time, the climate crisis, which is fundamentally connected with so many intersectional humanitarian, social, and political crises, we need to be able to focus our attention on what truly matters and the concrete actions we can take to bring about widespread change.
Who Are We?
Why are we interested in attention?
All three of us have been on intertwining journeys of trying to focus our attention on what truly matters to us, a lot of which is community, nature, books, reading, creativity, and I’ve met so many people through the shop who likewise want to refocus their attention on what matters most to them and who likewise share these values of environmentalism and community.
How does this podcast work?
We will be reading nature books with two main focuses: to learn how we can better pay attention to the issues that truly matter in our world, and to learn how we can reclaim our attention to form deeper connections with our local environment, our communities, and our selves.
We’ll be reading one book every two months (6 books a year) and we’ll be releasing our first book discussion in September - we’d love for you to read along with us.
What Book Are We Reading First?
Upstream by Mary Oliver. As Mary Oliver is the patron saint of attention, I couldn’t think of a better author to start with. Upstream in particular is all about nature, books, creativity, and attention, which gives us so very much to discuss.
If you live locally, you can get your copy from The Nature of Reading by clicking here.
If you live further afield, you can order your copy through our Bookshop.org storefront here.
How can we follow along?
We’ll be releasing the podcast here on Substack, where you’ll be able to engage with us through notes and comments. You can also reach out to us by sending us an email at attendingtogether@thenatureofreading.com, or sending us a message on Instagram @attendingtogether.
When will the first discussion episode be released?
Tuesday, September 17, 2024.
What have we been attending to lately?
Katie: Insects & arachnids
Victoria: My garden
Hailey: The idea of rest
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