Reading:
I haven’t done the best job in 2013 of cataloging all the books I’ve read. But, here are a few currently on my desk.
David Sedaris’ Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls is hilarious and easy. I’m not adding a single new note to the choir. Sedaris is beloved.
I am enjoying it particularly so because the short stories are quick. I sit outside under a palm tree during my lunch break, savoring cold leftovers and often covering my mouth because I am laughing so hard. 4 out of 5 bananas
Otherwise, the F in Exams book was a silly and appreciated birthday gift. It is on my office table as a conversation piece. And Stitched Gifts is providing ample ideas for the holidays — of which I have decided will be mainly embroidered and sewn.*
In the last few months, I’ve also read:
The Emperor of All Maladies: a non-fiction look into cancer. This Pulitzer winner reads like a textbook, and is obviously applauded. I found it too heavy, especially during October when my news feed was, for the first time, full of graphic breast cancer photography. I struggled with this book, swallowing my own fears with each page. 3 out of 5 bananas
Chris Bohjalian’s The Light in the Ruins was an easy, read. It wasn’t nearly as well crafted as Midwives, but I enjoyed it all the same. Set in World War II Italy, I learned much about renaissance Italian art, rural Italian living, and Italy’s divided heart during the great war. 3 out of 5 bananas
Life after Life by Kate Atkinson was a delightful read. While my book club did not agree with me on this one, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is a different take on time travel — what would happen if you could start your life over, and over, and over again. And what if that life could go back to change Hitler’s and prevent World War II. 4 out of 5 bananas.
I’m currently reading Running the Rift — and loving it. Set in Rwanda, it is the fictional story of a track and field great who is trying to survive the genocide and compete for his country in the Olympics. I’m also reading my first issue of Taproot, which is simply divine. It is a great mix of country living writing, photography, crafts, recipes and simplicity. Five out of five bananas, absoloodle.
Writing:
Still on those last 5 chapters to finish draft 1, novel 2. I feel like I’m at mile 20 of a marathon and would rather just sit down for a bit. Or get a ride home.
There is carousel of emotional baggage that comes with being this close to the end of such a project, having faced the praise and critics once before. I need to slap on some bravery and get after it, already. (If you hate it, you hate it. I do think it is a pretty good story.)
~K
* Oh, the holiday planning. I’m annoying my friends with Thanksgiving recipe lists — we are helping our friend Trond host. And Christmas! The gifts and the planning and the cards and the bunting and the tiny white lights to be strung from the patios! Truly, my very favorite time of year.