The School Zone Effect

We’re All Adults Here

Book Recommendations & Other Musings

by Carol Tuttle

The School Zone Effect

On my drive to work I enter a School Zone while the lights are flashing, and speeds are reduced. I notice the drivers around me relax as they enter the Zone, both literally and figuratively. Cruising at 20 mph reminds us to slow down, take a deep breath, and notice the world around us. When the street sign marking the end of the zone drifts by us, we are almost reluctant to return to the anxious speeds of normal commuter traffic life. The coasting extends beyond the return of the regular speed limit. I glance at the drivers around me who are still cruising at reduced speed. Mentally, they are still in the zone.

Reading can be like that, if we let it. We read words all day: text messages, emails, web pages, to-do-lists. But that kind of reading is choppy, get it done, gotta meet the deadline stuff. What does it take to put on the brakes and lower the speed when we read? Move away from the TV and busy screens (unless you’re using the Libby app to read!). Create a dedicated time and space for reading in the zone. A quiet corner? A cup of tea? Maybe being wrapped an afghan crocheted by someone who loves you (or is this just me?).

Here is my reading zone:

Below are some titles to get you into the reading zone. Chapters that read like short stories. Soothing, creative sentences that are good for the soul. It’s important to carve out that time. Heed the flashing lights. Decelerate your reading and coast into the zone.

Carol is currently reading The Story of Arthur Truluv by Elizabeth Berg.

Books for Reading in the Zone:

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