We live in stressful times. We have to deal with racists, an endless steam of murderous gunmen, ISIS, waiting on the next Game of Thrones book — ugh! Fortunately, a new fad is in high gear that promises to relieve our anxieties and put us in a calm state of mind, and it’s not even Xanax.
It’s coloring.
Adult coloring books are incredibly popular right now. The AP reported that eight of the top 20 selling books on Amazon last week were adult coloring books. There's a ridonkulous amount of YouTube videos regarding the subject, and people often post their finished works on social sites.
The books themselves feature intricately and usually hand-drawn fantasy (see: mushroom trip) type scenes often involving enchanted forests, gardens, fairies, mandalas, animals, paisley, and flowers galore. They generally cost anywhere from about $6 to $20. Many have words in the title like "Relaxing," "Stress Relieving," "Balance," "Peace" and "Calm."
Many users report experiencing those feelings when they sit down and focus on filling in all the tiny spaces of the designs. Bored people say it keeps them busy. Stressed-out people say it helps them unplug and relax. Really busy people say, “Ain’t nobody got time for that.” Because seriously, this is some intricate shit.
Obviously this needed scientific testing, so I took a trip to Barnes and Noble. A rack of discounted adult coloring books was displayed right by the entrance doors. Further back into the store was a whole shelf full of various options. I settled for Mid-Century Modern Animals by Jenn Ski, and went home and sharpened my colored pencils.
3:31 p.m.: “Whatever, I’ll just color the first page. Some birds and flowery things. Meh.”
3:49 p.m.: “Feeling kind of calm, actually.”
4:04 p.m.: “I wish I had more colors. I need to buy some of those adult coloring markers.”
4:15 p.m.: “Oh yeah! I just remembered shading! My picture is going to be awesome!”
4:38 p.m.: My kid comes over and says in his sweetest voice, “oooh mommy, that’s beautiful,” which is a ploy because he’s been a bratty jerk all day, but I think, “He’s right. It is kind of pretty. Maybe I’ll hang it in his room.”
5:00 p.m.: “I need to start dinner ... but just a few more minutes.”
5:17 p.m.: “We should totally do this with some wine for a girls' night! ”
So, yeah, coloring is a pretty nice way to waste time. Plus, it’s somewhat of a backlash against all the technological gadgetry with which we’ve become inundated — simple, quiet, and a nice tangible thing on which to place laser-focus.
Plus, a Game of Thrones adult coloring book is in the works and should be out before winter comes. And surely before the flag debate ends, or mentally unstable assholes stop shooting innocent people. At least for now there's hope of spending some delightfully painstaking time on a coloring page of Jason Momoa as Khal Drogo.
