Hello and welcome to another Polyreader Notes, where I take a quick look at EVERYTHING I’m reading and try to figure out how not to cry about it! It’s been a tick, hasn’t it? But I haven’t stopped reading a ton of books at once!
Actually, it’s usually a less dramatic process of deciding if anything I’m currently reading should be a DNF or a set-aside-for-now book so I can focus on some I have a chance of finishing by the end of the month.
If you’re new to my Polyreader Notes, you may be thinking, Ah! But what’s a polyreader? Very simply put, a polyreader is someone who reads multiple books at the same time. For example, I might at any time be reading a few non-fiction books, a couple fiction books, an ebook on my Kindle, and an audiobook. For some reason I do not get confused between books, so I like to match up what I’m reading with whatever mood I’m in at the moment. If you’re interested in a more in-depth dive about my particular reading habits, you can check out this blog post here!
THE CURRENT READS:
I’m actually rather proud of myself! I thought I’d started and forgotten a lot more books lately, but this isn’t a terrible list. For longtime readers of these lists of mine, I’ve also added the bracketed (WHEN THE HECK DO I READ THIS?) notation, so I can actually see if I have a dedicated time to work on it or not. Okay! Let’s dive right in!
The Artful Edit – (AWKWARDLY STALLED) – I’ve picked up a lot of interesting tips from this book so far, and am about 2/5th of the way through so far. It’s been very informative, but I’m starting to suspect it’s messing with my current editing process, though it’s also highlighted why editing can be challenging for me (hint: it’s because I’m an overaggressive editor and immediately spin out of control thinking everything is terrible, whether it is or not…) So I’m kind of resting on this one until I’ve finished wrapping up “The Trash King” so I can get it finished and submitted.
Daily Rituals of Women at Work – (NOT SURE WHEN I READ THIS THUS WHY I’M NOT MAKING PROGRESS) – I’m about halfway through this one, and it’s fascinating. I’ve picked up some lovely stories of other women artists and their lives, and gained some valuable insight into what it even means to be an artist, currently and in the past. I highly recommend it, and it’s easy to dip in and out of (right now, I’m mostly “out”). There’s a good ways to go in this, but I am curious.
Selfie – (DURING KID CLASSES/AFTERNOONS) – I’m 9/10th of the way through this one. SO FREAKING CLOSE. It’s been both fascinating and also the worst book choice for this time of year. It’s just…kind of a downer? I mean, I feel like I’ve learned a lot, but I also feel like it’s kind of disillusioned me about humanity, and I’m not sure I like that. Also, while it definitely states at the beginning that there’s a lot of variety within cultures as to how things manifest, it does feel–at times–a little foreign to me. Not all of it–certainly there are things I can see and witness in my day-to-day life that are absolutely spot-on–but some of the more hero/celebrity-worship side of things, which may just boil down to a microcosm of family culture (less, in my family’s case). I can definitely finish this by the end of the month, so I’ll try to wrap it up ASAP.
20 Master Plots – (IN THE CAR WAITING FOR PRESCHOOL PICKUP OR AT HOME ON OFF-DAYS) – 3/5ths through this one and I’m really enjoying it. It’s a fascinating look at some of the mechanics of storytelling, and not in a deeply prescriptive way so much as an analytic dive into common plot structures (the Adventure story, for example, vs. the Quest story, which often have different driving factors and a different emphasis on physical-action vs. interior-mindwork–fascinating!). It reminds me more of the articles I’ve seen out there on Kitsutenketsu–structural breaksdowns that explain reader expectations, which I–as a notorious flounderer in plot–am finding very helpful and useful. Probably won’t wrap this up this month, but probably by the end of next month.
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead – (BEDTIME BOOK) I’m at the climax of this one (one of three!), and it’s fabulous. I really think Olga Tokarczuk is one of my new favorite writers. She has a wonderful way of mixing the strange with the mundane, which if you know anything about me, you know I love. It’s not as dread-inducing as I maybe falsely expected it to be? But I have mightily enjoyed it. I’ll probably finish this one tonight or tomorrow. Certainly by the end of the weekend.
Monstress – (RANDOMLY WHEN I GET THE IPAD TO MYSELF) – I’m not actually sure how far I am in this–I feel like I’ve been reading it for years (lol, I think I did start it a couple years ago when I was on a graphic novel kick). Not that it’s boring or bad! It’s actually fabulous, and I enjoy it a lot. It’s very dark and gory, though, so it’s not something I can easily read with the boys around, and it’s on the iPad we all share, so, again, don’t get it in my hands all that often. I need to make more effort here, because I really love the mythology and world-building in this one. And the art-! OMG. Gorgeous.
Slewfoot – (DURING CHORE-TIME AND WHEN MAKING DINNER IF I DON’T GET TOO INTERRUPTED!) I’m so, so, so close to being done with this one, too! In fact, all my fiction books are on the cusp! No wonder I’m so FREAKING STRESSED! All the tensions are coming to a head like the multitude of tides in Piranesi! (Which is also a fabulous book if you need to read something short and blazingly smart.) I’m audiobook-ing this one (yes, that’s a verb), and only have maybe a couple hours left, if that. SO CLOSE. Things are happening! Death is coming! EEEEEEEEEeeeeeee! Will finish this one in the next week, most likely.
How to Keep House While Drowning – (DOWNSTAIRS RANDOMLY) This one’s a short little book, and I’m almost halfway through it, so I bet I can get this wrapped by the end of next week. This book has been great for framing the moral stressors of keeping a clean/tidy home, and how hard it can be to meet cultural standards (or self-imposed standards) when you’re struggling with ADHD, depression, anxiety, neurdiversity that makes executive functions challenging–it’s been very encouraging so far, and while I already do a lot of the tips/tricks the therapist-author recommends (linking an enjoyable thing you want to do with something you don’t want to do, i.e. watching Love is Blind only when folding laundry), there have been a few others and a few mental reframings that have been very helpful. It also leans hard into the “your house works for you, not you for your house” mentality, which I’ve been very intrigued by lately (thus drawn to newsletters like Your House Machine about using systems and project management skills to organize your life more efficiently, and mis-en-place as found in books like Work Clean, about having systems and realistic time blocking skills). I’ve enjoyed it so far, and if you feel like you’re drowning and just…can’t with the laundry AGAIN, this could be a good read for you!
A House with Good Bones – (READING FOR ME WHILE LYING DOWN WITH THING 2 AT BEDTIME) – Phew! And here’s the third one I’m just about done with. I’m on the climax yet again, and we’re digging deep, if you know what I mean. I’ve enjoyed this one a lot–it kind of reminds me of It’s Not a Cult mixed with Grady Hendrix’s How to Sell a Haunted House. If you’ve liked either of those, you’ll probably like this one, too! I was kind of hoping it’d be a bit spookier (dread is my horror style of choice, if you can’t tell), but I’ve still really enjoyed it. I’ll probably finish up with this one tonight or tomorrow.
WHOOPSIE – turns out I forgot two… Yeah, that’s feeling more like the weight of books I’ve got going right now…
THE FORGOTTEN BOOKS ALSO ON THE LIST:
Your Nine-Year-Old – (I FORGOT THIS ONE, BUT YEAH I SHOULD FINISH IT BEFORE THING 1 TURNS 10…) – Picked this one up because Thing 1 has been pretty moody lately, and I wanted to get a gauge on what’s normal-ish for the age. While some of the stuff in these books feels a good bit dated, the generalities are interesting and often helpful in understanding what Thing 1 is going through and how to help (or step back, as needed). It’s a short one, just a few chapters, so I should probably just power through it and get it done. He’s not getting any younger!
The Dark – (RANDOMLY) – This is another one that I started ages and ages ago, but I LOOOOOVE it. The only issue is that I whipped through a lot of the shorter stories when I was on my 4-5k story kick, which left only the novelettes at the end. That said, the second-to-last one is by Lucius Shepherd who is one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE ghost story writers (omg, DREAD TO THE MAX, but so beautiful and tender and UGH HE WAS SO TALENTED!!!). So this one’s just a matter of making time for it, and I can probably do that in the afternoons post-chore work. I just hate getting interrupted while reading it (he’s such a mood-generator!), which any of you with small kids know, HAHA, yeah, quiet time for yourself isn’t really a “thing”. And it’s too large/heavy to hold to read in bed like I usually do, or at the boys’ bedtimes, so that’s been the one limiting factor. I’ll probably just need to commit to bringing it to the boy classes this next week or two, but there’s no reason I should be able to wrap it up this month.
###
And there you go! All 11 books that I’m currently reading! (Thank goodness: I thought I’d hit my dreaded deadly-dozen. For those not in the know, when I hit 12 books going simultaneously, you know I’m reading too many similar books and/or am actively avoiding a few, which slow everything down). Hopefully by this time next month, I’ll be back down to a more reasonable number again.