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Many of us are in self-isolation, working from home, or just in a different routine due to the nCOVID-19 pandemic. Random’s post in our “What are you reading in May 2020?�� topic, about how she is not commuting, not reading as much, but doing all kinds of other things got me thinking. How are things different for you?

I know some of us are still working under very different conditions or helping educate our children. Some of us are retired. We’ve maybe had vacations cancelled, events postponed, or family members fall ill.

If you would like to share what’s different for you, please feel free.

Falling in the "elderly" catagory, I am taking the hunker down restrictions seriously. I've been catching up on some reading but am behind in noting those that I've finished on ŷ������. I find it's a good opportunity to re-read some old chestnuts.

My usual activity as a volunteer at our Friends Of The Library bookshop has been halted. I miss it big time. I'm a little anxious about it reopening because the aisles are narrow and it's well nigh impossible to avoid close proximity to customers.

My younger son has been taking care of some of our shopping needs and is meticulous about being cautious and sanitizing. A huge help.

I consider myself extremely lucky to be able to choose when to be out and about (which is pretty seldom). Who would have thought that Staples Office Supply would end up being my main source of toilet paper.

Hoping for a return to sanity at some point.

I am "working from home," but most of my job is field work, so I'm doing 10-20% the amount of work I normally do. I feel fortunate in that my partner and I have not had our income affected, so we've tried to reach out and help friends and family as much as we can.

We mentor two teenagers who are seniors this year, and I can't even imagine what it would be like having your prom and graduation cancelled. We're trying to do what we can for them to make them feel special.

I guess all in all I just feel really helpless and sad for other people, and a bit guilty that all I have to complain about is being bored. I've been reading a ton.

Take care everyone. <3

I don't think the amount of my reading has changed, but certainly the nature of my reading has; I'm gravitating more towards light reading, nothing too meaty or heavy, or re-reads of old favorites. I'm trying to virtually teach 8th grade science, while helping my third grader manage his virtual learning and shepherding my preschooler through some of the activities that her teachers are sending home. My brain is too fried for serious reading right now so I'm in full escape mode.

Like Jim, I am in the “older�� category, and retired. We have no children and our closest family (siblings or cousins) are over 100 miles away.

We have been doing our own shopping and errands—we live in the country so we already consolidate trips for groceries, household supplies, and other items. Now we try to do that even more.

I prefer not to cook (although I do), so we have been doing some prepared items from the grocery deli and lots of drive-through and take-out from local restaurants. Masks and lots of sanitizing for everyone trip out of the house,

I am reading as much or more than normal, although I have been letting my magazines piles up. I usually read them at appointments, which we haven’t been having. Also watching movies and some streaming shows. And trying to exercise every day.

We rebooked the trip we were supposed to take later this month for next May and are deciding whether to book travel for fall or just wait till 2021.

The biggest thing I have noticed is that I have no motivation to do anything productive beyond basic chores like dishes and laundry.

In March my brain was so scattered I could barely manage to read short stories. Best bets were rereads or familiar characters (Star Trek novel, Doctor Who novel, etc).
Somewhere about mid-April my reading-brain seemed to recover, & now I'm much better able to focus, read novels, etc.

Kathi wrote: "The biggest thing I have noticed is that I have no motivation to do anything productive beyond basic chores like dishes and laundry."

Same here. But it's heating up here in the Central Valley of CA and I'll have to start summer-proofing our yard soon.

I am in the elder group too. Staying in and my two sons are doing my shopping. You would think I would be doing a lot of reading but I just could not settle down as everything went downhill. I am just now beginning to do some reading. It has to be light and fun. Nothing serious

My husband and I had planned to spend a week on the coast this summer that we cancelled once the lock downs started. I'm disappointed as my vacation time last year was taken up by family emergencies and I was really looking forward to it.

I seem to be doing everything except reading. I've been listening to a lot of music. Mostly Early/mid 90s stuff. I also found out that, despite the prediction I made in my early 20s, you can still enjoy Meatloaf once you get older.

Oh, and I was very strongly reminded of the deal I made with my husband before we got married.

"I do so solemnly swear that I will never sing, hum, or whistle within 500ft of your hearing for as long as we both shall live."

Nothing ever grows in this rotting old hole,
And everything is stunted and lost
And nothing really rocks, and nothing really rolls,
And nothing's ever worth the cost

Yeah, seems I forgot that. :D

I also dug out my colored pencils and some coloring books. Hey, I can color during meetings and no one can tell! For that matter, I can get some actual work done while in meetings!

I will get back. Not sure when though.

So glad to hear I've got company! I was concerned that I just haven't been able to concentrate on anything for very long, but apparently I'm not alone. I've picked up a number of books on my shelves, but I can only stay interested in the lighter ones that don't require too much mental investment. The Invisible Library and Old Man's War series have been do-able.

I will say, though, that it's getting easier to get back into reading now. And puzzles. Lots of puzzles.

Still working but from home. I have school aged kids, so we are trying to manage that on top of virtual meetings and actual work, which has been challenging in unexpected ways. (Never have I been so happy to have so many internet-connected devices!) I'm grateful our income hasn't taken a hit but we seem to have less time during the week than before.

I've been doing a lot of sewing and am nearly done with several languishing projects. I've also been cross-stitching like mad and am nearly ahead by 2 years with Christmas ornaments for the family.

We've run into a funny problem where we're sort of out of things to watch. My spouse and I have a limited set of overlapping tastes in TV shows and we seem to be at the bottom of the barrel for the moment. We're trying out Great Courses' streaming service for now.

My reading suffered for a few weeks, although I seem to be picking up again. I've shifted to shorter, lighter reads, so that helps.

I seem to be reading less & work is getting better service from me. When I had to go into the office, I'd do my time & would only take care of stuff if someone called. I'm an IT guy, so now I'm basically working as I need to & checking in 24/7. Yesterday, I spent most of the day in my wood shop, but I spent more than half today working on issues with the servers. Unfortunately, this schedule is choppier & uses up a lot of brain cells, so I've been happier listening to music in the shop. Mowing is becoming a priority, so that means more audiobooks.

I've been reading a lot more. I've also read more novellas/novels than the last couple of years where I read a bigger number of comic books. That's the only noticeable change.

In the beginning I tried to tackle books I've had on my shelf for years rather than go for books I just discovered... but that changed pretty quickly. I also tried to read a bit more of non-fiction or even non-fantasy, but I got bored with it so fast.

I'll second that! I have been reading a lot more too! I am actually glad because it has given me a chance to slow down a bit and peruse the pages (the reader's equivalent of smell the flowers lol).

The other thing that has evolved is that I have created a spreadsheet to estimate how many hours I will spend reading each book that I have selected to read this year (I still have a few spots open!) - *and* I now have 5 pages of shelves on my GR page so that I can track what own and have read, what I own and have yet to read, what I don't own but have read, and what is on my wishlist - I also have a "will never read" category!

Yeah... so I like *totally* went wild on the reading tracking thing this year!!!