I can tell when I’m getting stressed, because I start a lot of books. Note: start. I see something that looks interesting, and I crack the first few pages, and plunge into it (sometimes dramatically–50, 70, 100 pages), and then right as I’m making progress…I start a different book. This is especially true of “writing” books when I’m struggling to make time to write. I also tend to pile up on nonfiction more than fiction, perhaps because when I’m especially stressed out or busy, interruptible nonfiction is less frustrating than spending any significant time trying to get into a fictional narrative, just to have my focus shattered a few minutes later.
We’ve got a lot going on right now. From end of school shenanigans, to training a reactive puppers, to coping with a major construction project (we’re building an in-law suite for my parents off the back of our house, which also compounds the pupper’s stuff since one of his things is hating people on our property), and Thing 2 being sick post-Legoland, is it any wonder I’m feeling overwhelmed? Add to that that finding writing time has been a major challenge these last two weeks, which means I’m getting that pressure build-up which makes me itchy and cranky, which does not help. I also haven’t been arting in any other mode, either, which means the creative pressure is REALLY cranking, and my head is in a whirl of static making it impossible to think straight.
Thus, picking up many new books. I’m still not reading as much as I feel like I ought to be, but I’m reading a lot. It occurred to me that it was time to do a quick post to hold myself accountable on what I’m actually reading so I don’t completely go off the reading rails.
I Will Teach You To Be Rich – Ramit Sethi – Started this one after Andy and I watched the Netflix show. As our family financial guru, I was intrigued by the idea of automating more of our savings/retirement stuff, and Andy’s our resident saver, so he was interested in investing and saving more. It’s been an interesting book. I think they had him tone down his attitude for the TV show so he’s not *quite* so financial frat-boy as he is in the book, but there are some interesting lessons here. If I’ve learned anything about myself, it’s that I’m 100% behind automating/simplifying everyday life responsibilities as much as possible (first it was FlyLady, then The Clockwork Muse, then Simply Clean, then the wonderful Atomic Habits, then Work Clean, Marie Kondo, Minimalista, Project333, and the absolutely fantastic Curated Closet and Four Thousand Weeks). So this fits that mentality, and has given us some good ideas, despite the kind of influencer-y title, which I loathe. Basically–don’t be flashy, be consistent is the message, and I appreciate that.
The Laws of Creativity – Joey Cofone – From the BaronFig founder, this is one heck of a HUGE book with a lot of interesting thoughts on the creative process. The only issue I’ve run into is that it’s so long, and some of it (of course) covers things I’ve already encountered, but I’d still like to finish it. I enjoyed reading it in bed while Thing 2 fell asleep, so I may have to start that again.
The Elements of Eloquence – Mark Forsyth – This may be one of the most important books on writing craft that I’ve ever encountered. I’ve stalled out a bit because I got sidetracked, but I basically want to practice each and every one of these rhetorical tools (and used one in my recent publication, “Catching College,” for fun!). I think this book would be a great cue for writing exercises, if I can get my butt in gear and start working in my writer’s diary daily.
Writing Fiction – Janet Burroway – Speaking of a writer’s diary, this has been an amazing book on writing. Every other page has something mindblowing that I flag to come back to and practice. While the Writer’s Diary came out of–I believe–On Writing and Failure by Stephen Marche (which if you haven’t read, do yourself an immediate favor and do so–it takes so much pressure off what it means to “be a writer” or more specifically, what “success” means), this book also has a lot of great potential exercises to stretch writing muscles I definitely *haven’t* developed yet. This one’s high on my list to finish soon.
The Year of Less – Cait Flanders – Just picked this one up on a whim, but it resonates with the other simplifying books listed above. I’m about 60 pages into this one having started it yesterday (this is one of my “started” books), and I’m enjoying it. It inspired me to clear our my bookshelf (thus the “Book Purge” in the post title). Don’t get me started on the whole internet flap about Marie Kondo’s 35 books thing (if you’ve read her book, you’d know that she actually says if you’re a writer or a journalist or just love books, then having a house full of books could very well be what brings you joy (just as having a closet full of hundreds of shoes will bring someone else joy), so keep them! But the average person reads about one book a year, so having hundreds of books they’ll never read may not be necessary if they make you feel bad that you haven’t read them–and she’s not wrong there, either!)–DEEP BREATH–okay. But, with the construction going on, one of the things that has to be cleared out is the library corner in our great room, and most of those books are mine. It felt like time to go through them again, because I could TELL there was a definite sinking feeling when I looked at some of those books. I’d hauled quite a few of them through several moves, which begs the question: seriously, am I going to read some of these? And the honest answer is…no. Plus, there are so many books I want to read out there, if the unread books on my shelf aren’t what I reach for when I want something new, then I need to re-evaluate what I’m keeping. Never fear: I kept PLENTY of books. Many, many, many. More than I could read in probably five years if all I ever did was pick books from my shelves. But they’re all ones I REALLY DO want to read. I managed to gather two boxes of books to donate, and a whole box to send to Powell’s, so not bad! And it’ll help make clearing out that corner a bit easier.
Gentle Writing Advice – Chuck Wendig – Just started this one last night, too, because boy am I needing a little gentle advice right now. I do have to remind myself that it’s June, and every June, I hit a downer rut that makes me feel like shite about my writing. And reading about writing is often my fallback when I feel like the words just aren’t working. Whether that’s a GOOD idea or not is still up for interpretation. Notice, I’ve already got three other books on writing going, which is usually a big red sign that I’m not writing as much as I need to. *sigh*
Not pictured:
Little Eyes – Samanta Schweblin – This is my current fiction read, and I’m enjoying it, despite finding it a bit of work to maintain all the separate story lines. I don’t typically have a problem with this, so I chalk that up to my general distractibility right now. It’s a fun, strange concept, which is totally up my alley: people can buy furby-like kentukis, little mechanical animals which connect via the internet to a kentuki-dweller, or a human somewhere else in the world who controls the animal. They basically wander around your house, spying on your life, and interacting with you in limited ways. The kentuki-dweller gets to vicariously live in a life different from their own, getting emotionally entangled with the lives they observe. It’s got so many cool implications. This is my before-bed reading, and I’m making good progress.
Tomi – Juni Ito – This one’s a body horror graphic novel (HUGE), and I really enjoy it. It’s just so long, I got distracted and forgot I hadn’t finished it yet. >_o So I’ll probably be picking this one up again soon.
Monstress – Book One – I’m absolutely loving this graphic novel (comic?), and am reading it on our iPad, which is a great way to read comics. I’ve been picking at this one for most of the year, more because time on the iPad is limited as I share it with the boys, and rarely have uninterrupted access to it. But I’ll get there! It’s well worth it, I just need to find a good time to squeak it in.
^ ^ ^
So that’s it for my reading-in-progress! Spelling it all out at least shows me some red-flag areas I need to address, particularly the writing-adjacent books. I think I’ll focus on finishing Writing Fiction and Elements of Eloquence, and then after those are done, I’ll pick up Gentle Writing Advice and The Laws of Creativity. And I’ll focus other reading time on finishing Tomi and Little Eyes. I’m also so close to finishing IWTYTBR, that I do want to wrap that one up. After that, I’ll continue on with The Year of Less.