Rumours of The Death of Joy are Greatly Exaggerated

You don’t need to look at the Internet very long to find nostalgia content – some of it going back only a few years to the 2000s or 2010s with the message “Look how much better it was back in those days.” Like this:

It’s a close cousin of “Things are terrible, everyone is always on their phone and as a result the things we loved about life are gone forever.”

The content is not just wrong, I’d assert it’s more harmful than the behaviours it describes. “It’s all pointless. Technology has ruined the world and there’s nothing we can do about it.” Did you see that? The second you believed that there went your agency right out the window. They’re right, you know. Better to just grab the little bit of enjoyment you can from a few reels, like a few dance videos on TikTok and let someone know how wrong they are in the comments of a newspaper article. It’s like “weaponized nostalgia” – all the good is gone from the world so hunker down and tolerate the rest of your life.

My approach, as we enter 2026, however, is to double down on the opposite. The world is still pretty great, people are doing wonderful things (even on social media), and it’s all out there. You were just missing it while you were posting about how sad you are that it’s not and what you wish the world were like.

Instead of spreading disinformation, why not try something different. In the upcoming weeks I’ll be heading out into the world, seeing for myself what is out there in the world. Let’s start with what I did on Saturday afternoon. I had been thinking about posts like this:

“I just want to have a friend bookcation where we go to a cabin or the beach, bring our TBR (to be read) pile and spend all day reading. Then, at night, we go out to dinner and we talk about the books we read. Is that too much to ask for?!?!”

Check that out, at first glance I was inclined to agree, constructing whole scenarios in my head about a whole imaginary reality: “What’s wrong with people that they’re just going to resorts, drinking and dancing on cruises, or touring Instagrammable tourist destinations? Why is there no wholesome vacation like this?”

The more I thought about it, the more wrong it seemed on so many levels. The reason why this doesn’t exist is because the author made that choice. They are not being denied access to books, friends, or dinner. They even have the spare time to post on social media. Like many more pernicious ideas posted on social media, this is fully imaginary. All of this is possible. In fact, it doesn’t even have to wait for a ‘-cation’. It can happen any day you choose.

And so it was that I bundled up (it was -13C outside!), hopped on a bus. With my son at work and Sage getting over the flu, this would be a solo bookcation but those of you who know me know I don’t mind being a solo traveller at all. One hour later I was at Scarborough Town Centre. My bookcation began in the mall food court with Hakka chilli chicken, spicy rice and my ereader. Holiday decorations were still up and it was looking very festive. I opened There is No Anti-Memetics Devision by qntm which I had just started the day before. This book is a masterpiece of speculative horror where instead of being attacked by monsters, humanity is being attacked by “anti-memes” – ideas that infect one’s brain but also hide themselves by selectively deleting (or even eating) memories. It is one of my favourite kinds of books where I find myself both fascinated and disoriented at the same time. I have no idea what is going to happen next and I’m often surprised by just what does happen.

After lunch, I headed back out into the cold out past the Scarborough Civic Centre – one of my favourite modernist buildings in the city.

Within 5 minutes I’d arrived at the Scarborough Civic Centre library branch, Toronto’s 100th library branch.

In the cold and darkness of winter, I really appreciate the big windows to let all the light in that they can. Once inside, I found myself a couch in a corner and started reading.

As I sat there I was surprised to see a number of people sitting with suitcases. It wasn’t until about 20 minutes later when I saw a Megabus pull up outside that I saw that the library had become an impromptu bus stop. There are lots of ways libraries serve communities but this was a new one for me.

The view from my spot was really lovely. As you saw above, the space is very open with large beams above.

In the end I fell completely into the book, reading for almost four hours straight before finishing the book and heading out into a darkening city. I had read for so long and it was such a surreal book that my head was spinning with ideas as I stood on the chilly bus platform waiting to return home.

When I got home that night, as the meme suggested, I also shared my experience both in the book and out in the world – both of which were lovely.

I can say without hesitation that, contrary to what some on social media might suggest, bookcations are alive and well in the world and they are even better than advertised. I plan to go on at least one or two more before I return to work in 2026.

Looking back, there was a simple lesson in this exercise: Have a look at what you’re feeling nostalgic for. In my case, I have so many fond memories of sitting in a cozy indoor space reading a good book while it’s cold outside. I have fond memories of libraries and adventurous trips. Put them all together and you get a bus trip to a library I’ve rarely visited to spend the day reading a fascinating book in a cozy library while outside the weather was freezing.

I encourage you to go looking for the joys you think might no longer exist. Yes, thanks to the economy and current events, there are for sure some things that are not what they once were. However, there is no shortage of joy left to be found. Look for the clues buried in your nostalgia and see what adventures they lead you on.