Simon, I am one of your recent arrivals and am very happy to have found you. You may have started this substack with the ambition of creating a niche space. But the thing is, a niche can be very large space, when like minded people, who thought they were alone in their interest, discover there is a space where others can dwell and read together at their own pace.
Such a marvelous swimming story. I now watch my granddaughter in swim meets crisscross the lane with backstroke and come in last, but she still dreams of going to the Olympics, who knows 🙂 I am with you reading TSOK. Just not posting right now. Reading, learning, and packing to move to California, leaving a marriage of 50 years and saying good-bye to my beautiful New Mexico, home since 1973. It is difficult and exciting at the same time but it leaves me no energy for engaging online. I am so happy for you with the explosion of subscribers. It also gives me hope for the world. Going silent but hovering as if I were an angel.
Remember to pack your angel wings, Paula. It sounds like you need time and space right now to trace out the arc of a new life. I wish you all the best with it, and your granddaughter's Olympic dreams!
I have my old swimming lesson ‘report cards’, and they’re all marked “repeat this level.” 😂 But I can swim, so something must have stuck!
Slow reading has been something of a revelation for me, and I have been looking through other books on my shelves and realizing how many could be read this way. I have been trying to move away from scrolling and mindless screen time, and also to restretch my attention span (like so many others, I’ve found it has shrunk over the past years). Reading real literature even in short bits has been a help with this. Thx for all the work you put into this!
I was a slow learner with swimming, as I have been slow at most things in my life! I'm glad you've discovered slow reading and some of its wondrous benefits.
Wonderful to read about your son's first swimming lessons, Simon, and by the end I seemed to have water in my eyes myself... Thanks for including my book club, & good advice for budding writers too: 'You’re scared at first, but each time, you learn a little more, fear a little less. And doing it – the thing you thought you couldn’t – that feeling is like flying.'
Glad to hear I'm not the only one with impostor syndrome! Thank you for all that you do, Simon! War and Peace was a highlight of my year in 2024 and I included a clip in my one-year BookTube anniversary video that went out yesterday. I tagged you so you should have got a notification.
My son learned to swim during covid, with the community pool shut down, we found a person with an outdoor pool in their yard (pretty rare in this part of the country) who had a couple people giving lessons...it was quite the booming business when not much else was going on! Good times... I think?
Was that a typo about running not walking beside the pool? 😬 The opposite to what I was always told. But then again my teachers were nuns and party poopers, but still…
Congrats on all the hordes descending on your page. They’ve come to the right place👍
Thanks for the list of book groups and making my fomo worse. Miss our daily chats too 🩷
I’m a new arrival. This post took me back to my own children beginning their swimming journey. Living in Australia & having the ocean be such a huge part of our lives, swimming lessons were non negotiable. Both are now in their teens & very confident swimmers after a few reluctant patches of time. I feel like slow reads, had I known about them, would’ve been perfect for those 30 minute slots. I’m finding myself really drawn towards them since I started with W&P and Hilary mantel in January.
Thank you for pointing me to Henry Eliot last year, Simon (through your responses to his posts which appeared in my feed). I decided to join in the Anna K read along and found Henry’s first video simply delightful and so very helpful as a guide to improving my close reading practice.
Simon, I smiled at your wonderful description of your son and his swimming lessons. I long ago 'learned' to swim but somehow never put my face in the water. Now that I've taken up kayaking I must get comfortable with being fully immersed, learn to capsize! Now I'm taking one to one swimming lessons to get over my aversion / fear, so that I can advance my kayaking skills. I'll keep your son in mind as I face my fears.
BTW I'm loving Wolf Hall and I have no idea how you do all that you do.
Oh, good luck with your swimming lessons! Yes, I didn't really think about an aversion to being splashed by water until I had kids and realised they really don't like it.
How delightful to watch your son grow and now has taken a dive or should I say a big splash into the pool. He tells you to walk not run. Perhaps a leaf out his wisdom, for me to do the same with the books we are reading this year?
On another note, about the app, and I had contacted you earlier with regard to the app, I am following your recommendation to login through the browser. What a stark difference to my mental health! Your website is such a pleasure to read and thank you very much for the hard work you have put in to give us access to your resources and writings. Now, I will pop back into my bubble to continue “ to read the what’s going ons and gossips swept across Russia, India, England!”
Yes, geat advice from the little lad - even if I am always telling him to hurry up when we're trying to get out of the house! Very glad you've had a great experience of using the website. I've ditched all my social media apps this year, and it is really helping my own mental health and concentration staying away from my phone.
Simon, you tied your son’s swimming lesson to reading a daunting book very beautifully. I grew up in an urban city and didn’t learn how to swim until I was 14, this typically happens with city-goers but at 9 years old I had a close encounter with the waters of the Pacific Ocean. Because of this encounter I am a little paranoid with my 4 year old, but I know I must do as I say I would and start her swimming lessons this Spring.
Simon, I am one of your recent arrivals and am very happy to have found you. You may have started this substack with the ambition of creating a niche space. But the thing is, a niche can be very large space, when like minded people, who thought they were alone in their interest, discover there is a space where others can dwell and read together at their own pace.
You deserve all your success.
Let's just say we are a very large and welcoming niche!
Hear Hear!
Such a marvelous swimming story. I now watch my granddaughter in swim meets crisscross the lane with backstroke and come in last, but she still dreams of going to the Olympics, who knows 🙂 I am with you reading TSOK. Just not posting right now. Reading, learning, and packing to move to California, leaving a marriage of 50 years and saying good-bye to my beautiful New Mexico, home since 1973. It is difficult and exciting at the same time but it leaves me no energy for engaging online. I am so happy for you with the explosion of subscribers. It also gives me hope for the world. Going silent but hovering as if I were an angel.
Remember to pack your angel wings, Paula. It sounds like you need time and space right now to trace out the arc of a new life. I wish you all the best with it, and your granddaughter's Olympic dreams!
You got this Paula!❤️
🩷
All the best to you for your move Paula
I have my old swimming lesson ‘report cards’, and they’re all marked “repeat this level.” 😂 But I can swim, so something must have stuck!
Slow reading has been something of a revelation for me, and I have been looking through other books on my shelves and realizing how many could be read this way. I have been trying to move away from scrolling and mindless screen time, and also to restretch my attention span (like so many others, I’ve found it has shrunk over the past years). Reading real literature even in short bits has been a help with this. Thx for all the work you put into this!
I was a slow learner with swimming, as I have been slow at most things in my life! I'm glad you've discovered slow reading and some of its wondrous benefits.
Wonderful to read about your son's first swimming lessons, Simon, and by the end I seemed to have water in my eyes myself... Thanks for including my book club, & good advice for budding writers too: 'You’re scared at first, but each time, you learn a little more, fear a little less. And doing it – the thing you thought you couldn’t – that feeling is like flying.'
Exactly!
Glad to hear I'm not the only one with impostor syndrome! Thank you for all that you do, Simon! War and Peace was a highlight of my year in 2024 and I included a clip in my one-year BookTube anniversary video that went out yesterday. I tagged you so you should have got a notification.
Thanks Cams! Next time I'm on YouTube I'll go check, thanks!
Miss our daily chats Simon!
My son learned to swim during covid, with the community pool shut down, we found a person with an outdoor pool in their yard (pretty rare in this part of the country) who had a couple people giving lessons...it was quite the booming business when not much else was going on! Good times... I think?
All the odd things we did because of covid. Zack was a classic covid baby, who hardly saw anyone for the first year of his life.
The slow-reads list is invaluable. Thank you for getting me started last year with War and Peace, and for creating the directory. I'm hooked.
Was that a typo about running not walking beside the pool? 😬 The opposite to what I was always told. But then again my teachers were nuns and party poopers, but still…
Congrats on all the hordes descending on your page. They’ve come to the right place👍
Thanks for the list of book groups and making my fomo worse. Miss our daily chats too 🩷
Haha, that was a very dangerous typo. Corrected. Thanks!
Haha No worries
I’m a new arrival. This post took me back to my own children beginning their swimming journey. Living in Australia & having the ocean be such a huge part of our lives, swimming lessons were non negotiable. Both are now in their teens & very confident swimmers after a few reluctant patches of time. I feel like slow reads, had I known about them, would’ve been perfect for those 30 minute slots. I’m finding myself really drawn towards them since I started with W&P and Hilary mantel in January.
Thats' lovely Bree. I've been using those 30 min slots to do my own swimming!
Thank you for pointing me to Henry Eliot last year, Simon (through your responses to his posts which appeared in my feed). I decided to join in the Anna K read along and found Henry’s first video simply delightful and so very helpful as a guide to improving my close reading practice.
Wonderful! I'm so glad.
Simon, I smiled at your wonderful description of your son and his swimming lessons. I long ago 'learned' to swim but somehow never put my face in the water. Now that I've taken up kayaking I must get comfortable with being fully immersed, learn to capsize! Now I'm taking one to one swimming lessons to get over my aversion / fear, so that I can advance my kayaking skills. I'll keep your son in mind as I face my fears.
BTW I'm loving Wolf Hall and I have no idea how you do all that you do.
Oh, good luck with your swimming lessons! Yes, I didn't really think about an aversion to being splashed by water until I had kids and realised they really don't like it.
Thanks for maintaining the list and updating the status!!! You're a winner, Simon!
Simon!
How delightful to watch your son grow and now has taken a dive or should I say a big splash into the pool. He tells you to walk not run. Perhaps a leaf out his wisdom, for me to do the same with the books we are reading this year?
On another note, about the app, and I had contacted you earlier with regard to the app, I am following your recommendation to login through the browser. What a stark difference to my mental health! Your website is such a pleasure to read and thank you very much for the hard work you have put in to give us access to your resources and writings. Now, I will pop back into my bubble to continue “ to read the what’s going ons and gossips swept across Russia, India, England!”
Yes, geat advice from the little lad - even if I am always telling him to hurry up when we're trying to get out of the house! Very glad you've had a great experience of using the website. I've ditched all my social media apps this year, and it is really helping my own mental health and concentration staying away from my phone.
Embarking…powerfully conveyed here. Thank you Simon!
Such a lovely story. Kudos to both of you for facing the deep.
Simon, you tied your son’s swimming lesson to reading a daunting book very beautifully. I grew up in an urban city and didn’t learn how to swim until I was 14, this typically happens with city-goers but at 9 years old I had a close encounter with the waters of the Pacific Ocean. Because of this encounter I am a little paranoid with my 4 year old, but I know I must do as I say I would and start her swimming lessons this Spring.
All the best Helen with her swimming lessons. I'm sure it will be fine. Hard to master your own nerves though!
Thank you ! I definitely need to make it less about me and more about her. 😅