It hasn’t been one of those weeks where the the planets (or stars) align, the clouds part, and a beam of light lasers down from the heavens, but some things are coming closer together than they have for a while.
At the moment I’m plugging away on three non-fiction books. Before work I read for fifteen to twenty minutes in a book about China’s Great Famine, which took place roughly between 1958 and 1962. It’s fascinating to read as a study of cultish dictatorships; the details of what happened as millions of people were forced to starve to death — or do the unthinkable in order to try to stay alive — are upsetting and difficult to comprehend. But it’s important to know that this happened, so that we cannot allow it to happen again. I’m reading from what appears to be the incredibly rare hardcover edition, selling on Amazon for anywhere from $197 to $509.46 (plus $3.99 for shipping, of course), depending upon how gullible you are, because I was given a copy by one of the book’s Chinese-to-English translators. If you’re interested in reading Tombstone, I’d recommend the paperback version. I would also recommend reading a few Auschwitz accounts, just to warm up to atrocity.
At lunch I’m reading a lovely little book called Dante and the Early Astronomer. The chapters vary wildly in length, so some chapters take one lunch to read and others take two or three. The “early astronomer” in this case is Mary Evershed, an amateur astronomer and Dante aficionado who read Dante’s works with such attention that she attempted to reconcile his descriptions of the universe with what she was able to see from the Indian observatory where she and her husband lived and worked. (tl;dr: I haven’t finished the book, but I’m pretty sure Dante messed up.)
In the evening I’m reading, two chapters at a time, Indy Split: The Big Money Battle That Nearly Destroyed Indy Racing, by John Oreovicz. I became acquainted with the author through a series of open-wheel racing discussion boards from the 90s and 00s, and now on Facebook. Even though Amazon lists the book as not yet released (until May 30, which may have something to do with USAC?), it also lists it as the #1 title in the Automotive History category. I already have mine because I ordered directly from the publisher, where it’s cheaper and more of the money goes to the author.
I hesitate to predict the future, but so far this is working for me. It’s a joy to be able to read so much again. Let’s not think about quite yet the books that I stalled out on last summer. I’ll resume reading them when I can. I just don’t see the point of abandoning a current book to resume a book that was abandoned earlier.
By the way, here’s a link to Monkey, the novel I mentioned in a prior blog post. It’s kind of an outsider book and it’s not written in a traditional format, but it’s a good read and a story whose twists and turns would be very hard, if not impossible, to anticipate. The author has vowed to keep writing, so I’ll keep reading.
So I’m not finishing books, but I’m still making progress.
This weekend I had the opportunity to work on organizing one corner of one room, and I actually did what I had set out to do. The room as a whole looks greatly improved. I can now access and use my electronic keyboard at a moment’s notice — a form of practice for the free baby grand piano I would like to have in Next House — and I actually donated a box full of DVDs, VHS tapes, CDs, and unneeded instruction books for guitar, keyboard, trumpet, and alto saxophone. And I recycled or tossed a pile of shipping materials (AKA “good boxes”) that have been waiting for a year or two to be re-used. Guess what, I don’t need to keep those items for that long. I got rid of a LOT of clutter that was sapping my strength.
So I didn’t make over a whole room, but I re-organized two corners of a room. And I messed around on the keyboard a few times.
But I also did three rather surprising things this week: I did some freewriting, I started a new knitting project, and I dreamed. I really enjoyed the freewriting, which I was able to do because my workspace is now a bit less cluttered. I was able to sit and write speculatively for quite some time; it helped that my Mom-load was lighter this past weekend so I was not interrupted quite so often. I cast on for the new knitting, a toddler hat in pink and pink-purple colors, while I was waiting for Eldest to finish his dental appointment. Lo and behold, by the end of the week I ran into someone I hadn’t seen since the Before Times… who is now 32 weeks pregnant with a little girl. Hmm, wonder who will get that hat?
And last night I dreamed; remembering my dreams is pretty rare for me, so this was a nice one to catch. In my waking life, a close friend is about to step away from my life for an indefinite amount of time. In my dream, they found a way to leave me a card packed with all kinds of personalized clippings and notes. Considering that I don’t do lucid dreaming and I doubt that they do either, that was pretty slick. I woke up so happy and feeling that everything was going to be fine.
So, onward! More books and more knitting and more writing, and I’ll stay busy until my friend is able to return.
Chocolate Sheep 