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Lately, I have been reading with every free moment. It started as an effort to stop scrolling through slop, but once I got back in the habit, it's easy. I just make sure I have two ebooks, two audiobooks, and some physical books ready to go all the time (for when I'm in waiting rooms, in the car, or somewhere where I don't want to use my phone).
I don't remember who said it, but I remember a quote by an author that went something like "A writer should read so much that he barely has time to write". I don't think I'm quite there, but it feels good to want to read and write after a couple months of break.
What have I read?
I read Ficciones, finally, after it sitting on my to read list for years. I read Piranesi in the fall, and the world that was set in was based in part on the infinite library, so I wanted to read some Borges, and I love the way his mind works. Meeting yourself in dreams, possessing Shakespeare's mind, the Zahir, the library, I consumed it all in a day and a half.
I read Sula, which was actually my first time reading Toni Morrison. I think I wouldn't have appreciated it as much if I was younger, but maybe I would have, because it does have a little bit of Gabriel Garcia Marquez to it, and I loved many of his stories in college. I am still chewing on it a week later, as I think I will be for some time.
Between the World and Me (Ta-Nehisi Coates). I wasn't drawn in by this book at first, despite all the praise, and then about 1/3 of the way in it hit me, and I saw the beauty of the writing. The arguments were crafted so artfully that they snuck up on me, and I was rushing to finish it even as I needed to slow down to digest it all.
Parable of the Sower - also my first time reading Octavia Butler. I feel like this one was so timely, because I have been stuck on one of my HG fics for months, and the plot and themes are similar to what's happening here. I need to meditate on this one a bit… not sure if I'm ready to read the sequel right away.
Also some nonfiction, including Zephyr Teachout's Break 'Em Up. As part of my preparing for my novel, I read a lot about the 2014 NYS gubernatorial election (I also lived it, but wasn't following it that closely). I wanted to read one of her books because she was a compelling character in that race, and she is a really intelligent writer.
What have I written?
About 6000 words of Revue Starlight fanfiction, about 2000 words of a new HG fic I will have to restart (but the ideas are there), I have about 40,000 words of a different HG fic that's about ¾ complete, and 20,000 words of a novel draft that also needs to be rewritten. meh. But, my newest writing already looks better, so I guess what they say is true, and I guess I will just keep eating up books.