I’m stocking up! We’ve got a few already, including some of my favorites from when I was little. But give me all your recommendations!
Short post today – it’s Graham’s first day back at work and things are crazy. But they’re also wonderful and fulfilling and everything just feels so new and special. How lucky we are to be parents to our beautiful Lucy Lady. 😊
I’ve had a lot of trouble focusing on my creative writing lately. With everything else going on, it’s just been really difficult to get my mind in that creative, imaginative space. I’m not happy about it, but I know that all things in life ebb and flow. Luckily, even though I’m struggling, I have talented friends who inspire me every day to keep trying. Case in point:
Thomas Creeper and the Purple Corpse, by J.R. Potter.
I posted about the first book in this series when it came out a couple of years ago, and just like that one, I can’t recommend this one enough. Creepy, spooky, a good mystery, an unlikely, likable hero, a vivid setting, great illustrations done by the author – just so much fun. And reading it comes with the added advantage of supporting a friend in his own creative work.
It can be easy to feel down when the words just won’t come, and easy as well to be envious when someone succeeds where you are (presently, not forever) lagging behind. But I don’t feel either of those ways. All I feel is lucky. I’m lucky to have time to write (even though I’m not great at it right now), lucky to be able to make my old house a home (even though the process is long and sometimes stressful), lucky (so, so lucky) to be pregnant, and lucky to be surrounded by cool, fun, kind, creative people.
Tomorrow is a new day, and then there’s another new day after that, and so on. For now, I’ll read (and if you’re looking for something to read this week, definitely go for Thomas Creeper!), think about backsplash tile, and try to write words that fit together. Life is good, even when it’s frustrating.
Happy creating to y’all, whatever you’re working on this week, and onward!
One of my goals for 2022 is to read a fiction and nonfiction book every week. So, two books a week, essentially, trying to branch out into new topics and push myself to read new things. I’m a little ahead of the game right now at 56 books read. (Not a contest, but yay! That’s three more than I was able to read during all of last year.) But as you can imagine, I’m always on the lookout for my next read.
So tell me, what are you reading? What have you read lately? What should I read next? And if you’re looking for recommendations, too, feel free to leave me a comment! I’ve read lots of good stuff this year. 😊
This is not a book review.
For one thing, I don’t really do those, and for another, I haven’t finished the book yet. But I started reading Imaginable by Jane McGonigal yesterday, and I’m finding it really interesting so far.
I have anxiety. I don’t talk about it a lot, but it is something I’m dealing with. I tend to catastrophize when I’m stressed, and I fight off invasive thoughts – especially about the future and what I can and can’t do about it – all the time. Not as often as I used to, but still pretty often.
Like many people, these last couple of years have been a challenge for me. And with the news coming out of Ukraine, the state of American politics, the very real threat of climate change, and just the general list of “unknowns” that we as humans have to accept every second of every day, it’s easy for me to get bogged down in desperation and hopelessness. I’m a positive person, and I look for and work for good things, but man, it’s hard sometimes.
So when I came across Imaginable, I was immediately intrigued. McGonigal is a professional futurist (what a cool job!) and a game designer (also a cool job!), and the combination of those two fields makes for a really compelling exploration of how to imagine possible futures, how to think about the unthinkable, and how to then cope with it and get our minds around it.
I have a big imagination. It works for me creatively, but can definitely lead me down some dark alleys and scary paths when my anxiety decides to join the party. I’m really looking forward to diving into this book more deeply. I’m about three chapters in, and I’m hooked. I expect to finish it today.
And if you read it, too, let me know your thoughts!
I fear it might be a bit ambitious, but this year, I aspire to read two books every week – one fiction and one non-fiction. I’m off to a great start, I think, in that I’ve read ten books already, but I know it’s going to be a challenge to keep up the pace, and y’all, I’m going to need your help. Send me your favorites!
And, in case you’re looking for something good to read, I highly recommend:
Jade Fire Gold by June C.L. Tan
Or, if you’re looking for something a little different, this one’s next up for me:
The Heroine with 1001 Faces by Maria Tatar
I’ve said I think 2022 is going to be a good year for stories, and that includes reading them, as well as writing them. I can’t wait to see what ends up on my reading list this year!
We’re going on a little beach getaway for the next week.
I’m super excited, but the process of packing and getting ready has been sort of stressful. (I wrote a little about it in Monday’s post.) Normally, I’d have a reading list ready to go, but I haven’t had a chance to even think about it this week.
So, help me out! What are your favorite beach reads? Anything I can’t miss? Anything that just makes you think of summer? Give me all the recommendations, y’all! And thank you! 🙂
I mentioned in my Q&A last week that my non-writing life has been unexpectedly chaotic this year. I’ve not been able to hike as much as I’ve wanted to, and I’ve not had time to work on some of my other creative goals. These things, I expected. Something has to give, right? But a surprising consequence of the chaos has been that I’m in a bit of a reading rut.
I read a lot. Normally over 100 books a year. I like reading. It’s a thing.
But this year, I’ve only read 24 book so far, and I’m having trouble getting excited about new books or looking for my next read. It’s weird, actually, and I’m certain it’s not permanent.
Which is where I hope y’all can come in! What are some of your favorite reads from this year so far? What should I read next? What book can I absolutely not miss? Send me recommendations! I like lots of different genres, and I love discovering new things. If you read it and liked it, tell me about it.
And I’ll get myself out of this rut, one story at a time.
I didn’t plan to write another post for Women’s History Month, but it seems the universe had other ideas, and here we are.
I’ve been working my way for the last few days through If Women Rose Rooted by Sharon Blackie.
I’m not finished with it yet, so I can’t recommend it completely, but it is certainly making an impression. And there’s one quote from it, in particular, that I just can’t get out of my head:
We are wild creatures still, at heart, and if we listen to our hearts we will remember how to listen to the song of the fierce-beaked, wild-winged little wren who, hopping from tree to stump, shows us the way home. When we stop, when we let ourselves see, when the torn veil of this broken civilization lifts away from our eyes – we can find our way back home.
I’ve been thinking on this one for days – women as wild creatures, the unrelenting call of home, nature as a partner, and as something sacred, and the things, a million little things, that pull us as women away from ourselves.
The older I get, the more I notice. And the more I notice, the more determined I become to explore and discover my own magic, and to live in it and share it without shame or fear. And I suppose that’s my wish for all women, as we continue to make history – that we find our magic, that we let our magic shine, and that we leave a path for others to follow.
Back in 2016, my friend Liz gave me this book as a housewarming gift.
To be fair, I don’t know that it was meant to be a housewarming gift, as both Liz and I love a good ghost story and she just thought I’d enjoy it, but the timing worked out. And it’s more special than a “just because” present. It’s signed by Frank Raflo, the author.
He passed away in 2009.
I felt like it was time to revisit this book today. After I read it the first time, I tucked it away on my bookshelf and didn’t really think much about it. But stories are the gifts that keep on giving, and I thought it would be fun to re-read these, since it’s spooky season. There are lots of good stories in this book, but, as it turns out and after reading it today, there’s one in particular that I just can’t get out of my head.
And next week, I’ll tell you why. 😉
*In the meantime, if you’d like to know more about some of the ghost stories I grew up with living in Virginia, I recommend the Ghosts of Virginia books by L.B. Taylor, Jr. I devoured them when I was younger, and I come back to them often.*
The short answer is: It is not.
I read this book recently, which gives brief descriptions of the routines of famous writers, artists, and other creatives.
I’d recommend it, if you’re looking for a fun, quick read. And it did get me thinking.
When I decided to pursue writing as more than just a hobby, I thought I’d develop a routine and habits, in the same way I’d developed them working in an office – a 9:00 a.m. coffee, a quick walking break mid-day, a late afternoon rush of productivity. But that never happened. I do write a fair amount, most weeks, but never on any kind of schedule, and never as part of a regular practice. And when people ask what my routine is, I never really know what to say.
“Well, while still in last night’s pajamas, I sit in the recliner in my living room and I drink coffee until I’m jittery, and then I type frantically on my laptop until something happens. And then I keep at it until it’s done, which is sort of indeterminate and looks different every day, but I really can’t focus on anything else until I hit some kind of stopping point and please don’t ask me to. And then it’s usually time to eat something or at least drink water because I’ve forgotten to do that all day.”
Like, is that a routine? That doesn’t seem like a routine. But it works for me, at least most of the time.
Though I hate to be asked, I confess I do find it fascinating how different people approach the act of creating. I feel like it’s deeply personal to each creator, and that’s probably why it’s often hard to explain. Or, for some, why it’s easy.
A Virginia Writer's Diary 