Sarah Jessica Parker isn’t letting age-related vision problems stop her from reading.
The actor, known for her roles on the series Sex and the City and And Just Like That… and in films including Hocus Pocus and The Family Stone, talked to USA Today about how presbyopia—the gradual worsening of the eyes’ ability to focus on close objects—has affected her favorite hobby.
Parker has long been an advocate of all things literary. She’s the founder of two publishing imprints and served on the judging panel for last year’s Booker Prize. She also recently produced a documentary on librarians fighting book bans.
Parker told the newspaper that she read 169 books during her time as a Booker Prize judge. “There are only five judges, so you can’t hide. You have to be fully prepared, but there were times at the end where I couldn’t see,” she said.
Parker said that she used to read on a Kindle while traveling but is back to packing physical books in her luggage. “I would rather have the books than the extra two shirts or a skirt,” she said. “I want a book in my hand.”
But she doesn’t judge people who’ve ditched print books in favor of audiobooks. “I don’t think we should judge the way people are consuming books,” she told USA Today. “Even though books have had a great year, reading is down significantly…so I don’t think there’s any wrong or right way.”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
