Month: August 2026

Past Books

Fallton Havenstonne

I was recently sorting through books which I had bought many years ago, and it was interesting to see how much has changed up till now. For example, there was a book about filmmaking that explains the technical aspects of film photography. Now it is virtually universal that everyone uses digital photography, and film is the exception. And as I read about films of the past, particularly those in the mid-twentieth century, it made me realize how those works were important at the time, but now it’s the newest series and movies that are being released year after year.

It was like looking back in a time capsule as I browsed those books, how information is constantly changing, particularly regarding technology. Even the way we research information is different, as there is so much available digitally, that it’s far less common to research facts and technical information in a book than on the internet. As technology improves and with information constantly being digitized, will past books, such as encyclopedias and textbooks, be used less and less for research, being relegated as auxiliary resources?

Progress

Fallton Havenstonne

With books that can be read in a couple days or a week, it’s worthwhile to see the progress one makes as the book mark slowly reaches the last pages. But for longer books that take weeks or months to read, progress can seem barely noticeable, as if we just started when we actually read for hours.

But what keeps me going is not how many pages are left, or when the chapter will end, but simply the habit of reading. I know that if I read consistently, that no matter how long it takes, I will eventually reach the end. It could be just a few pages a day, or it could be a certain number of minutes, but as long as I stay consistent, the road towards the end will get shorter and shorter, until finally, I’ve reached the end.

After a Book is Read

Fallton Havenstonne

After a book is read, I’ll give myself a break–about a day or two. I often find myself unable to leave that literary space–that world I was immersed in, unable to put aside everything that I’ve experienced. Reading is as much an experience as a visiting a new place or watching a movie. It’s full of moments and scenes that stay with you, and when you can empathize with the characters, it’s like meeting people who are sharing their experiences and thoughts candidly.

Each book is different for me, in which some books linger longer than others, but they all remain in the back of my mind. Often times I learn something from them, see things from a new point of view. It’s kind of like hearing someone share their story about a trip or a topsy-turvy day they had, and finding out things that haven’t been talked about or discussed before.

But books can also impress quotes upon your mind, passages that stay with you because they describe something so clearly and unequivocally in which you had a hard time putting into words. It is those parts in the book that stir up new modes of thinking, new modes of analysis, and make you appreciate what you’ve read and learned.