Sharing marked-up books a great way to connect

As Ontario is in the throes of its second wave, residents are again being asked to follow public health guidelines: stay home, avoid close contact with those outside your household, and only go into public when it’s essential. Nearly nine months into the pandemic and Ontarians are painfully aware of the isolation, loneliness and depression that staying cooped up can bring.

This loneliness can be even worse for the elderly, who, in addition to being a high-risk group, often lack access to the internet and the arsenal of communicative applications (Zoom, Facetime, etc.) that it brings. However, there is an easy and, dare I say, quaint tool that may help limit this isolation: marginalia and book trading.

Anybody who has ever gotten lost in a good book knows how easy it is to forget about reality for hours on end, but there is also the distinctly social side of reading, too. Marginalia, notes written in the margins of books, express the thoughts and feelings of the reader at a particular moment in the story.

The reader is able to indicate something they find funny, or briefly mention something that they’re reminded of. To this end, trading marked-up books can help us feel connected. A joke or thought scribbled by a friend, especially if they’re written with a book trade in mind, means a conversation is taking place between the readers.

Even though we can’t see our friends, it still feels as though they’re with us in some way, just through their words. Write a short note or letter to accompany the book and suddenly the connection is even stronger.

The social elements of reading and book exchanges have been known for centuries; this is not a revolutionary or original idea. Friends have long traded books that they thought another would enjoy, and book clubs have been a cultural staple for decades.

But in the age of COVID, getting together with friends for a reading session isn’t possible. However, dropping a book in the mailbox and quarantining it for three days (the time it takes for the virus to die on paper) is a reasonably accessible option.

For those with a phone line, a call after reading gives friends something to talk about. Depending on whether there’s a larger, organized program, it may also introduce you to new friends.

This is, by no means, a solution to all of the mental health problems that the pandemic has made more prevalent.

Serious investments need to be made in the areas of mental health care. People need access to counselling, medication and other supports if we are to make it through what is sure to be a very, very dark winter for us all.

But for those missing conversations with friends and coworkers, this may be an opportunity to get some of that back.

In a time of disease, death and isolation, who among us couldn’t use some connection and escapism?