Category: Journal

It’s been a long, long, LONG time since I wrote up a Poly-Reader Notes, and honestly, I miss them! They keep me honest about how many books I’m *really* reading at the same time, and often helps me highlight when I’m taking on (i.e. starting) too many books to make meaningful progress.

Last year, I read a lot, but it was mostly long things that took up a lot of time, so the numbers aren’t high, but the books were great! I finally finished Middlemarch and I tackled War & Peace at the same time as my husband–which was super fun! So far this year, I’ve finished two books: Several People Are Typing by Calvin Kasulke and How to Write Funny by Scott Dickers (the latter is a re-read for me as I ramp up to practice writing nonsense stories again and to prep for the book I just started, How to Write Funnier, also by Dickers). I also finished a tiny book by Biblioasis, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Captain of the Polestar,” which was so cute! I love their tiny story books!

So what (and how many) am I reading RIGHT NOW?

CURRENTLY READING

How to Write Funnier – Scott Dikkers – NF – Long-time editor of the Onion on how to write humorous short work. A followup to How to Write Funny. – Just started this one, so I’m not far, but I *just* finished rereading the first book, so it’s fresh on the mind and I’m excited to dig in. I felt like after the first one, I could see the moving parts of Key & Peele and Monty Python sketches much more clearly, and that actually just made them more impressive! So I’m excited to get into this one and learn more of the nuts-and-bolts of comedy writing.

Your Utopia – Bora Chung – SSC – Short story collection with a lean towards the weird/odd. – I started this one just after finishing War & Peace as a palate cleanser, and am so far enjoying it. Highly recommended by a fellow odd fiction fan, so I’m looking forward to where it goes!

Digital Souls – NF – What happens to our online presence when we die? – If this list has shown me nothing else, it’s that I’m currently reading a LOT of nonfiction. This one I started in the fall and it’s kind of fallen off my radar, but I’ve really enjoyed what I’ve read so far, so I’d like to finish it. I’m probably about 2/5ths into it at this point. Maybe a bit more.

Writing Down the Bones – Natalie Goldberg – NF – An alternative to the dominant Three/Morning Pages of The Artist’s Way, Goldberg–a poet–gives gentle suggestions on how to mine your past, present, and future for creative material. – I’ve read this book before, so it’s a re-read, but I’ve always really appreciated Goldberg’s take on notebooks and digging into one’s subconscious. It’s a little more guided, I’ve found, than the Morning Pages, and since I can spin my brainwheels endlessly on dumb, unimportant things and never get much deeper, I find it a helpful resource for digging into myself a bit more. I’ve had some wonderful breakthroughs and thought processes from this one in the past, so I wanted to revisit it to revamp my writing practice process. I feel like that’s something I’m missing in my day-to-day work, the training part of the running a marathon. More of that, please!

Searching for Dragons – Patricia C. Wrede – F – Reading this with the boys! It’s a re-read for me (multiple times) and Thing 1, but Thing 2 hasn’t ever heard it (or was so young he can’t remember), and they’re both loving it. Pretty sure my boys are both Telemain and Gypsy Jack, in that order.

Catching the Big Fish – David Lynch – NF – Director David Lynch talks about his creative process and transcendental meditation. – Started this one in December, but didn’t get a chance to finish it yet. But it’s fascinating. Definitely will be finishing this one shortly.

Control Unleashed – Leslie McDevitt – NF – Can you train a dog to learn how to better regulate their own emotions in stressful situations? Maybe! – This is required reading for training Mando with his reactivity. Mostly, it’s about pattern games, but I’m looking forward to finishing it and practicing some of these exercises. About 3/5 of the way through.

Niobe – Sebastian Jones & Amandla Stenberg – C/G – Comic from Stranger Comics: Elves and magic and prophetic Queen-to-Be Niobe is on the run from a vampire queen and her own father. – Just started reading this one a bit ago, but have probably hit the inciting event. Great art, interesting story, I’m looking forward to more of it!

Island Book – Evan Dahm – C/G – Graphic Novel: A young girl branded by the attentions of a sea monster that has wrecked havoc on her island runs away to find a solution that will allow her to be accepted by her clan. – I picked this one up (and it’s two companions) because of Dahm’s art style. Checking it out for appropriateness with the kiddos, but so far, it’s cute and sweet and thoughtful. Just started, probably 1/10 of the way in.

House Rules – Myquillyn Smith – NF – 100 Rules for Interior Design – or – How I Learned to Love a Styled Shelf – I’m almost done with this one (about 75%), and I’ve really enjoyed it so far. I’ve read a number of interior design books because for some reason my creative streak does NOT extend to well-designed interior spaces, no matter how much I’d like it to. That said, this is the clearest, most succinct book on the subject I’ve read yet, and I feel like I’m actually starting to understand how to THINK about designing a space. Although the sight of “rules” could be off-putting, even Smith regularly introduces contrasting rules that break previous rules, all with a smile and a wink to remind us that there are really no “rules” per se, but there are good techniques and thought processes that will help make decorating a shelf or redesigning a living space less daunting.

We Are All the Same in the Dark – Julia Haeberlin – Dark mysteries, mysterious deaths and ghost converge on the lonely Texas highway. – T – This thriller is honestly blowing my socks off. It’s a little exhausting to listen to on a day when I’m tired or freaked out by the daily news report, but for cleaning my bathroom, it’s a great energy pick-me-up. Haeberlin has some of the most in-character/unique metaphors and descriptions I’ve ever witnessed, and it’s an honest pleasure to experience her work.

---

See, this is why I like doing these posts! They make me take a serious look at what all I’m reading and where there might be conflicts slowing me down. I’m also aware that I’m now clocking in at eleven books, which is one shy of my absolute max before I force myself to put books down and focus on fewer. Good to know! I’ve got a lot of comics/graphic novels (C/G) going, so I need to pick one and focus (probably Niobe first, because it’s shorter). I’m also reading a LOT of non-fiction (NF). I often read a lot of different non-fiction at the same time, but I’m noticing a few (3) all fall under the CREATIVITY/WRITING header, so I may be overloading that subject. They’re all quite different, and WDtB is a retread, so I may not go all the way through that one so much as dip in and out as needed, so we’ll keep the list AS IS for now.

Check back in next month to see what (if anything!) I’ve finished, and what else I’ve picked up and added to the Currently-Reading Pile.

A little glimpse of yesterday:

Just a day in the life…

I still hate mornings…

On January 1, 2026, I logged out of Facebook, maybe for the last time. I deleted Instagram off my phone. The rush of AI slop made it easier to let go, in some ways, but ultimately, I’d been wanting to step back from social media for a long time. I’m still on Substack, with mixed feelings, but mostly to keep in touch with a variety of zinesters I quite enjoy following.

Everybody’s talking about analog these days, and while it feels driven by AI-irritation, I do think we’ve all been craving more reality over the past few years. AI-slop just makes it simpler. The joy of funny animal videos or cool artists crafting things that turn out to be fakes? Who wants to see that? It gave me the kick in the pants I needed (and wanted).

I let my friends and family on FB know I was logging out in advance, and left a breadcrumb for how they can find me if they need me, but the ball’s in their court now, since I won’t be checking messages there. I’m just so tired of the endless influx of garbage. I want something new, something fresh, something different, something mine.

I haven’t set goals for 2026. I haven’t made resolutions. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed just playing around and following my inspiration over the past few months, and I fully intend to keep doing that in 2026. I might learn Japanese a bit more (something I’ve been talking about doing for ages, but keeps getting put off). I might paint more, make more zines, go to a zine fair, start a Little Free Library in my neighborhood, take an art class, make felted insects, make a comic. The comic-making has been particularly hot of late, and I’m jonesing to turn one of my flash stories into a little comic, so I may do that. I’d like to learn more about comic making, and comic writing. I might watch all 30 episodes of Blossoms Shanghai which is the TV show by Wong Kar-wai on the Criterion Channel. I might discover new music via the Radiobox app and tuning into specialty small-time radio stations. I might write a lot of letters and postcards, because that’s just fun. I might play some pool, because my angles are getting rusty. I might see some shows (in fact, I absolutely will, because we’re seeing Birthday Massacre and going to Masquerade this month). I might try a little paper-cut animation for fun. I might work on rearranging our living space, decluttering, lightening. I might track down a polaroid camera or something similar to take photos for collages. I might watch a lot of horror movies (in fact, absolutely will). I might write a whole slew of strange lit stories. I might put together a collection of such things. I might try collaborating with some fellow artists/writers to create a mini-magazine of reprint stories. I might build myself a trellis for my roses. I might actually thoughtfully garden this year, planting things on purpose rather than just hoping they don’t die. I might finally visit the comics store near me. I might work through Lynda Barry’s Making Comics book. Or Alphonso Dunn’s inking workbook. I might actually organize my library a bit more thoughtfully. I might created a bunch of new placebo bottles for The Placebo Emporium, or just a few. I might listen to a bunch of albums from Side A to Side B. I might host a family reunion at my house in the summertime. I might write a whole bunch of new flash stories. I might subscribe to a physical newspaper again. I might make some good fresh progress on Mando’s training. I might finally pot my little plant trimmings that honestly need some soil at this point. I might organize my painting room. I might finally finish a good draft of this silly novel. I might design several more guitar pedals for my cousin. I might decorate my grey filing cabinet with wild colors and collage-style cutouts. I might finally hire my neighbor to put in a split-rail fence around our front yard. I might start working with Thing 1 to plan out a little tea garden on our forested knoll, or at least a first leg of it. I might attend a comicon somewhere. I might attend a writing convention. I might take a painting class back in Worcester. I might knit more. I might make my own clothes or throw pillows. I might rearrange the furniture in our bedroom. I might finally try to make PokPok chicken wings. Or Swedish almond knot buns.

There are just so, so, so many things I’d like to do. I won’t do them all. I might not even do most of them. But the year feels wide-open, and that makes me excited to try. Another thing I fully intend to do this year is restart my Polyreader Notes, because I find they help me keep track of what I’m reading more so than if I just let things slide through my consciousness. So keep an eye here, and we’ll see what ends up happening this year, together.

Take care of yourself,
if you’re bored, then you’re boring,
start the conversation with a stranger,
try new things that excite you,
toodle-oo!

M

Just kinda wanted to share some of the images/pictures I posted this week on other random sites. One thing I’ll miss if I step back from social media in the coming year is the ability to easily post random things that catch my eye or inspire me.

This week, my shares are mostly art, mostly mu own (though that wee Smol Cat is by the amazing Tina Connolly). Wrote a bit this week, met with a writer friend online, and came to the conclusion that I really need to summary draft the next chunk of the novel WIP. So I’ll focus on that for the next week or so til the holidays strike my home.