By Mark Givens | Contributing Columnist Mark Givens runs a local publishing company. (Photo by Eric Vilchis, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) My stack of “To Be Read” books hasn’t changed in a long time. I shuffle the books around, restack them, flip through one or two, but the same books are still there. They serve a purpose beyond the worlds they contain, however – they are a comfortable reminder of the world they exist in. It’s not that I haven’t read anything all year. On the contrary, I’ve read a ton of tomes both in print and electronically. I’ve worked with some wonderful authors this year and released some great books through Pelekinesis and Bamboo Dart Press. I’ve also edited a bunch of other books and designed more with the Inlandia Institute. I’ve been surrounded by fascinating literature, and for that I am thankful. Sometimes the world can feel like a huge, scary place but the local literary scene is a constant source of comfort and closeness. I remember when the world only consisted of school, friends, family, and the neighborhood. I remember how big everything seemed and how small I felt. I remember staring at the sky and imagining our little speck, like the small pin-pricks of stars, tiny and insignificant, remarkable and so far away. I remember how safe and secure I felt in my little world. And in that safe little world I placed my first book on the stack. When we think about how simple life used to be, which I hear from my old friends frequently, I imagine that little world, that small and unencumbered world, expanding and contracting with challenges and possibilities. There is comfort and solace in the tiny concentrations of imagination that thrive all on their own. I think it’s important to take time to wrap yourself in thoughts, to really spend time in your little world, with your immediate surroundings. I think this type of solitude serves an important function as a means to refocus one’s outlook. Look at your stack of books, sitting there so familiar and comforting. You could interact with them, but you don’t have to. It’s your choice. Related Articles News | Lessons learned while writing the biography of actress and activist Frances E. Williams News | ‘Cartless: The Magazine’ gives those without a home a place to share their writing News | Cultivating a mindful relationship with social media News | Former journalist shares memorable experiences from reporting, writing News | Everyone has a story: Redlands Adult Literacy Program anthology shares unique experiences I’m not advocating for sustained selfishness, or a self-imposed permanent ignorance, only a brief respite from the larger world to concentrate on what’s important to you, what brings you happiness and comfort. Why not spend a little time with a good book? It could even be one from your TBR stack. Or sit with a cup of hot chocolate and think about a project you’d like to work on. Or spend time with family and friends, talking about time and space and everything in between. Or nothing — that works, too. So, even though by all appearances my TBR stack hasn’t changed, my literary life in this little corner of my world is fulfilling and robust. Not all stacks are good measuring sticks, even if they are filled with wondrous things. Mark Givens is the owner of Pelekinesis, a local publishing company, and Bamboo Dart Press, a collaboration with Shrimper Records. He is a part of the avant garde art damage group Wckr Spgt as well as a member of the Independent Book Publishers Association, Community of Literary Magazines and Presses, the Academy of American Poets, The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, and the Inlandia Institute.