Turn It Off. Pick It Up

Julie Bolejack

— 3 min read
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Turn It Off. Pick It Up
Photo by Iñaki del Olmo / Unsplash

There is a particular kind of silence that only arrives when the television is off.

Not muted. Not “on in the background.”Off.

The phone is face down. Notifications quiet. The house settles into itself again. And in that space—something almost forgotten happens.

You begin to think.

Not react. Not scroll. Not consume.Think.

We have slowly trained ourselves out of reading. Not because we don’t value it—but because everything else is faster, louder, easier.

Reading asks something different of us.

It asks for time.Attention.Patience.

It is, frankly, a terrible activity for the modern attention span.

Which is exactly why it matters.

This is your gentle nudge for next week:

Turn off the TV.Put the phone down.Pick up a book.

And take your time.

This is not a race. There is no prize for finishing first. No one is handing out medals for speed reading.

A book is not something to conquer. It is something to sit with.

Let it take an afternoon. Or a week. Or longer.

Let it interrupt you a little.

Let it change your mind about something.

There’s a writer I admire, Ryan Holiday, who has built a career not just on writing—but on reading. He’s known for constantly recommending books, pulling wisdom from history, philosophy, and literature and placing it into our hands.

His approach is simple:If you want a better mind, read better books.

Not more noise. Not more takes.Better books.

And what’s interesting is this—his recommendations are rarely trendy. They are often older, deeper, quieter. The kind of books that don’t scream for your attention, but reward it when you give it.

So here is a Summer Reading List inspired by that spirit—some drawn from Holiday’s Stoic-leaning world, others from current 2026 recommendations and book circles.

Not a list to rush through.A list to live with.

A Mindful Summer Reading List

For perspective and calm:

  • Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
  • Lives of the Stoics by Ryan Holiday & Stephen Hanselman
  • Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer  

For understanding the world a little better:

  • America, América: A New History of the New World by Greg Grandin  
  • The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer  

For thoughtful fiction (the kind that lingers):

  • After Annie by Anna Quindlen  
  • Twist by Colum McCann  

For something new and current:

  • Island at the Edge of the World by Mike Pitts  
  • Honeysuckle by Bar Fridman-Tell  

For when you just want a good story:

  • The Jills by Karen Parkman  

You don’t need to read all of them.

Pick one.

Just one.

That’s the trick no one tells you—reading isn’t about volume. It’s about depth.

One good book, read slowly, will do more for you than ten skimmed in a hurry.

There is something else, too.

When you read, you are not just passing time.You are reclaiming it.

From algorithms.From outrage cycles.From the endless churn of things designed to keep you distracted, not fulfilled.

Reading is a quiet act of resistance.

It says:I will choose what enters my mind.I will sit with it.I will decide what matters.

So…..BEGIN!

Not with urgency.Not with a checklist.

With a chair.A cup of coffee.A book.

And a little less noise.

If this resonates with you, share it with someone who might need the reminder.

And if you’d like more reflections like this—calm, grounded, and just a bit outside the noise—subscribe at julies-journal.ghost.io.

No algorithms. No overlords. Just a thoughtful pause in your week.

Thank you for reading.

Julie Bolejack, MBA The Mindful Activist

P.S. I wrote a book and if you’ve been following me you know that. It’s called “Bloom Again - A Memoir of Reinvention” on Amazon

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