Book Talk - Do You Let Yourself Read?
February 23, 2008 by QuoinMonkey
Do You Let Yourself Read?, Minneapolis, Minnesota, October 2007, photo © 2008 by QuoinMonkey. All rights reserved.
I had a voicemail from one of my writing friends yesterday. She said she was frustrated because she wasn’t giving herself time to read. Last year, she had structured it in: made a reading list, read the Classics over Summer, devoured books to feed the hunger — to be close to other writers.
This year, it was hard to give herself space.
I was relieved to get her call. I had the same thought process rushing through my head. I set aside one day a week (read — 5 hours) to work on my creative writing projects: to map out chapters, daydream, doodle, jot down ideas; to transcribe recordings from last June for my memoir; to scribble thoughts, future writing topics — to stare out the window and daydream.
I’m listening to Anne Lamott’s Word By Word in the car, to and from work (books on tape (CD) are the greatest!). She says every writer, every creative person, needs time to just sit and stare out the window.
You have to slow down and create space in your life for ideas to surface. Staring out the window can be productive for a writer.
Last year I was religious about giving myself time. I had the structure of a year long Writing Intensive with Natalie Goldberg to guide me. She assigned books to us, great literature to read. I read so many good books over the last two years.
What’s going on now?
Yesterday, during the 5 hours set aside for writing, I wouldn’t give myself the time. I tried staring out the window through the ash and oaks, listening to crows and the pretty pretty, pretty of cardinals, daydreaming about my projects. I felt guilty.
I thought of everything I had do around the house: give Kiev fresh water in her dish, make the unraveled bed, go through upcoming bills, slip in a load of laundry. I played tennis with Mr. StripeyPants on the bed. I fiddled with my hair. I took a long, hot shower. Still — no reading, no writing.
(Monkey Mind anyone?)
It took me a while to figure it out. What I really wanted to be doing was reading. Writers need to read other writers. People who have gone through the distracted pain, unspent joy, and daily soul-searching required to write a book.
I’ve started reading three books over the last month. I’m in the middle of Natalie Goldberg’s Old Friend From Far Away, Sinclair Lewis’s Main Street, and a book of Best American Essays - 1999. Not one of them have I finished.
Finally, late in the afternoon, I said, “Forget this!” (the language was not as kind), and settled in on the couch with Sinclair Lewis and Main Street. It felt so good to let myself read. I wandered the muddy streets of Gopher Prairie, Minnesota, met Dr. Will Kennicott, and got lost in Carol Milford’s head.
Do you let yourself read?
- WHAT: What are you reading? And I’m not just talking about magazines, the New York Times, or MSN online. I’m talking books. Tell me what books you’re reading.
- WHERE: Where do you read? Propped up in bed, stretched out on the couch, in the tub, out on the porch swing?
- WHEN: When do you read — late at night, early in the morning?
- HOW: How do you read? Do you slow down and savor every word?
- WHY: Why do you like reading. What inspires you to pick up a book?
Reading is good for the Spirit. I come from a family of readers. My mother read a lot when we were growing up. When we didn’t know the answer to something, she encouraged us to head down the hallway and grab one of the black Collier’s encyclopedias from the corner bookcase.
Did your parents read to you when you were a child? Who taught you how to form words? It is not only writers who should read — everyone should pick up a good book.
If you’re reading, let’s talk books. Tell me the what, why, when, where, and how. If you’re not reading, tell me why. Why is it the last thing on your list?
-posted on red Ravine, Saturday, February 23rd, 2008
I read, but not nearly enough. Joined a book club last year to push myself to make more time for reading … this has resulted, mostly, in me stressing out over the fact that I haven’t made more time to read. Feh.
What: St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves, The Year of Living Biblically, and Where I’m From
Where: anywhere I can, mostly on the bus and subway
When: whenever I can … but again, mostly on the bus and subway, so that’s morning rush hour and then late night
How: depends on what I’m reading … when I read
Moonlight on the Avenue of Faith — both times — I went more slowly than not because the book is so gorgeous I wanted to take my time with it … when I read The Kite Runner, I went more quickly because the book was so painful I wanted to get through it as fast as I could.
Why: because it is an utter pleasure, because I’m a writer and I love to see what else is out there, because I love language and love to see how people use it to express so many different things … just because!
I, too, am from a reading family. We made weekly trips to our quite fabulous library. Before leaving on vacations, our last stop would be to check out a trip supply of books to load into the trunk. We could all be home (five of us) and the house would be silent, all of us deep in the middle of something. When the time came to sell our house, we started packing up our books and books and books … a family came to see the house and the husband looked at our crazy array of books then announced proudly: “We don’t have any books in our house. We get the Sports Illustrated and sometimes the Readers’ Digest, but that’s it.” They walked out and my mother closed the door behind them and looked at me. “Those people,” she said, “will never live in my house.”
That’s a great last line from your mother. And how she didn’t want someone who didn’t read books buying her home. What a strong statement about how much she valued reading, literature, learning.
You bring up reading on subways and buses. Something I had forgotten about when I was writing the post. Those are great places to read.
I’ve never joined a book club. But I tell you, I get overwhelmed with too much of a good thing. I finally stopped ordering magazines (except Poets & Writers) because I could just never get them read.
So it brings up the question - how do you choose what books you read? If you have a book club, it creates a structure (but an overwhelming one). But if we don’t have a structure - how do we know what books to read?
I’m influenced by friends, other writers, teachers, and my intuition.
QM, I had wanted to comment on your previous post, Robert Frost (Miles to Go) (LINK), but think my comments will work here as well. I found your words “to stare out the window and daydream” to fit me perfectly.
You had commented on a 3rd grade teacher in the Frost post & it brought back memories of a teacher I had in the the 5th grade, Miss Engleka. She loved poetry & reading & she would read a poem or story with so much feeling that she inspired me to read. Her favorite poet was Robert Frost. Another teacher, Mr. Sprowls, my high school social studies teacher, often encouraged us to turn our chairs around facing the wall of windows, watch a storm that was passing through, the rainbow when all was calm, take notes & write an essay on our thoughts of what we had witnessed. He was a wonderful teacher & I will never forget those experiences & lessons learned from him.
My mother & father are both enthusiastic readers. My father more into books involving historical events, my mother mostly mysteries & spiritual books.
I read a variety of books. For the most part, whatever I am in the “mood” for. I read almost everywhere, but very seldom in my bed. I find that to be the most uncomfortable place to read. You are a great inspiration to all…D
It’s wonderful to see your meaty posts, QM, about writing and writers and reading and books.
I have not made time this year so far to read the books I got for Christmas. I started Ann Patchett’s Run, but then got sidetracked. I have Truth & Beauty, plus Lucy Grealy’s autobiography, and those are calling even more so than any fiction.
But, I am reading out loud most nights to the girls. We’re reading a book called Elsewhere about a 15-year-old girl who dies and goes to a place called Elsewhere (which is where all people and animals go when they die, I gather). It’s a fascinating book. It’s really got me thinking, plus it gives us a chance to talk about death and ghosts and afterlife and past lives. Really a great book for us to read together. Plus, I love to read out loud to my girls. Even though Dee is in middle school, she still loves to be read to.
And, I do read short stories, mostly each issue from The New Yorker. Just read one by Alice Munro that was kind of disturbing. I love short stories. I can read them before bed, and I’m done. Never any guilt associated with seeing the book next to my bed, unread for days, then weeks…and so on.
But, I do feel like I’m moving in the direction of carving out real time for reading and writing the books I want to read and write. I’m getting closer, and kind of dipping a toe in water until then.
Thanks for the post. It’s a good one.
Of all the authors I’ve heard over the past year, nearly all of them have talked about writing in the morning. They’d say it was so they can have guilt-free days. The further along this path I walk, the more I know the days full of guilt—not reading enough, not writing enough, not staring out the window enough, watching movies instead of writing, surfing the internet under the guise of looking for some tidbit for a story I’m writing…all the usual suspects. I didn’t know how loud and big the resistance would become.
My friends who are not writers read books for pleasure. They take the time to look at the Best Seller’s Rack at the bookstore, they read what Oprah is suggesting, they take their time and really sink into a book. I miss this. I often feel like it is a race against time to get everything read. It’s a hollow way to read.
I’m trying to follow their lead. I’m currently reading Will Weaver’s Red Earth, White Earth; he is speaking in Minneapolis in March. I want him to sign a book that has actually been read.
My dad constantly reading farming magazines and newspapers, my mom read romances. At 79, they are still both voracious readers–in their own ways.
Currently, I’m reading the controverial novel, Brick Lane by Monica Ali. But, I also read a lot of travel books.
I find it hard to schedule reading time into my life. I do the most reading on the train ride to work or waiting for the train. I also read a lot in the summer when I’m laying out on the deck or at the beach
Fun!
Sort of an aside: As I was reading your post, it occurred to me that red Ravine for me is kind of that space, sometimes. Sometimes I quickly, quickly try to work through my blogroll, parsing out a space of attention for friends and writers between the everyday demans, but when I come here… I know I’m going to take time. Sometimes I’ve clicked red Ravine, seen what there is to read and think about, and gone back to my blogroll to finish some the rest of the list first. When I come here, I take time, I think, I feel frustrated if I feel I don’t have time to click some of the resource links. And I usually save red Ravine till I have space to enjoy it.
What: Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Series & Under the Tuscan Sun.
Where: Either curled in the big chair or in bed before sleep. If I have a lazy morning, in the tub. (tub books can’t be hardcovers, in case of ‘dropsy’.)
When: When I need a break from other stuff, and before bed, and on lazy mornings.
How: I devour books. I consume.
Why: Gosh. Sometimes for comfort and familiarity. Sometimes to be taken on a journey or an adventure. Sometimes to escape real life. Sometimes just to feel words moving inside my mind without having to conjure them myself.
It’s so wonderful to wake up and read all these rich comments on books and readng. What a treat.
diddy, thank for sharing about the teachers you had that moved you. Mr. Sprowls, your high school social studies teacher, having you watch the storms - it reminds me of a story that Natalie talks about with one of her teachers, Mr. Clemente. He had them listen to the rain.
I love when people write about great teachers they had because those are usually some of the first people (outside of our parents) to inspire us creatively in the “real” world. And what they teach us, for good or bad, has a very lasting impact.
ybonesy, it’s great that you read to your girls. I think it’s something that doesn’t get old. It’s also a way to broach controversial issues (as you mention). I’ve heard a lot of parents who let their kids see Juno were able to then talk about the subject of teen pregnancy. It opened some doors for the conversation to happen. Reading together does that, too.
I think when we’re pressed for time, short stories are a viable alternative for good reading. I sometimes forget about them in favor of books. But I am trying to read more essays, because that’s the genre I want to be writing more in.
I think our parents role model reading for us, too. Well, they role model most things, don’t they? We soak up everything when we are young, we are like sponges. If reading is one of them, all the better!
BTW, ybonesy, I’ve been writing more of these posts on writers because they inspire me to dig into my own work. I had not planned on writing this post at all! But when my friend called, and I was feeling the same way, I knew it might resonate with people.
Though time-consuming, posting these is really helping me to focus on my writing. I get a lot out of them. And I hope this post is a place that people can come back to and keep talking books.
Teri, a couple of things you said resonate with me. How your friends read books for pleasure (I really miss that!). And once we become writers, it can feel like we should be writing instead of reading, somehow. The guilt and pressure can be very strange. And for me it comes at unexpected times. So much of it is Monkey Mind.
Another think you mention, about surfing the Internet or watching movies - sometimes those things can enrich our writing. I find movies to really inspire me to write and want to take photographs. But there are times, too, when I’m using those things to escape. Inside my gut, I know which is which!
amuirin, thanks for your compliment to red Ravine. I appreciate you sharing that. I know we sometimes get some heavy posts and comments going on here, and they can sure take time to get through. I’m just glad there are people who want to engage with us. I get so much out of these conversations and find them inspiring.
I really like what you said about Why you read. That rings true for me, too:
Sometimes for comfort and familiarity. Sometimes to be taken on a journey or an adventure. Sometimes to escape real life. Sometimes just to feel words moving inside my mind without having to conjure them myself.
LB, let us know how it goes with Brick Lane when you finish it. I’d love to hear about it.
Thanks everyone for listing all these great books. I hope you’ll come back and share after you’ve read them!
I am on the airplane all the time: Last 14 days–Seattle, Sacramento, New Orleans, DC. I come loaded with books and don’t do work on the plane. Read “Beautiful Children” by Charles Bock. First novel-took him 11 years to finish and he got a story in New York Times Magazine before it was released, the cover of NYT Book Review, listed in Editors Recommend and this week he’s on the Best Sellers list. I am insanely jealous. He is 38 and I met him 2weeks ago when he came to Las Vegas. My husband says, “Franny, you can’t get published until you finish the book.” Bock’s book is about Las Vegas, runaway and homeless kids and has a lot of obscenity but is beautifully written.
On the trip back from DC I finished “Someone Knows my Name” a historical novel about a slave who is relocated to Nova Scotia at the time of the American Revolution. Because I finished it in a five hour read on the plane, I was completely absorbed and so disturbed (very graphic) that I couldn’t sleep.
I grew up with floor to ceiling shelves of books-fiction and a huge collection of plays and read voraciously always.
My children (29 and 36) do not read even though reading before bed was a part of our life. I lost them somewhere.
So it brings up the question - how do you choose what books you read? If you have a book club, it creates a structure (but an overwhelming one). But if we don’t have a structure - how do we know what books to read?
Choosing for the bookclub is a kind of funny process. We have all these running lists of books people have suggested, but we often wind up choosing something that’s not on any of the lists. We alternate between fiction and non-fiction, so our lists are pretty free-wheeling.
When I choose for myself, I rely on all sorts of input: friends, book reviews, interviews on the radio … I also like to spend time in the book store once a month seeing what’s out there that I haven’t heard of that might interest me. I try to make at least one hefty purchase from a small book shop every month (as much as I love amazon and will go to Barnes & Noble in a pinch, I want the little shops to stay alive).
I have always loved being read to. I listen to “Selected Shorts” whenever I can because it’s still such a pleasure to have someone read me a story. A friend and I took a road trip a few years ago and my job — since she was doing all the driving — was to read to her as we drove. One of the books we read was Ana Castillo’s Loverboys. It was such a different experience to be driving for hours through the night reading and reading and reading like that. That friend is the most voracious reader I know. She reads faster and more than anyone I’ve ever met. I aspire to such feats!
QM,
I loved reading about all your different ways of reading. There are so many different ways reading enters my life: devouring a book for spiritual nourishment like a hungry person; savoring the latest book by a favorite author; soaking in a book, especially when the language captivates me; taking a well-crafted book apart to understand how it is made (usually on a rereading); reading and rereading powerful passages aloud — and sometimes even copying one by hand so I can feel how it moves through my body; escaping into a good tale the way I did as a child on the beach during the summer.
Reading takes a different concentration for me than writing. I need to set aside different time and space for reading than I do for writing. And I have to be ruthless about my choices. Reading a book is a huge commitment for me. I have to make the best use of my time on this earth. Life is too precious to waste on books that do not nourish me.
One of my favorite ways of reading is with other passionate readers, each of absorbed in our own encounter. Some of my most intimate memories are of time spent with my family at the beach, reading in beach chairs at the edge of the surf to escape the heat, each person lost in their own thick paperback, waves flowing in and out over our feet and under our seats, moving our chairs back a few feet whenever the tide asserts its claim on our territory.
My interests are all over the place and I have both books I have purchased and books from the library surrounding me. I recently started Natalie’s new book, Old Friend From Far Away; from the library I checked out 740 Park, The Story of the World’s Richest Apartment Building. From my bulging shelves I just added Edge of Taos Desert to the next in line pile; You on a Diet (scared to really get into that one); Reasons to Believe by John Marks; One Drop by Bliss Broyard. There are too many books to read them all so I try to acquire as many as I can afford so that I can take them with me everywhere and read under any conditions.
I discovered books on tape/CD about ten years ago. In the past two years, I have always had a book going in the car. I gave up listening to the radio or music so that I could listen to stories. They are great on my frequent drives to Florida. In fact one time I was so involved in a story (Eat, Pray, Love) that when I attempted to stop at a rest stop, I couldn’t break away from the story enough to decipher the signs and ended up back on the highway for another 30 miles, still needing to go to the bathroom.
I have a lot of books that are unread because I keep finding more books to read. I keep the unread books close by in case inspiration strikes. There is a place here in Baltimore where you can get free books and also donate your finished books. From there I am accumulating a set of Great Books, all of which I keep in the trunk of my car so that I will never be without a book to read, say should I get stuck in a blizzard or something and have no books on tape/CD at the ready. I read in bed, while watching TV, in waiting rooms, on the exercise equipment at the gym, during my lunch hour, while waiting for an event to start, in line at the post office. At the bookstore. I don’t read in the bathtub anymore, not since I dropped a library book in the water and the library made me pay for it. I listen to books on tape/CD while cleaning out closets, taking a shower, brushing my teeth (currently What I Believe).
I first learned to read at four years old, used to read my brothers text books (he was two grades ahead of me) and didn’t get a library card until I was in fifth grade. I have been hooked ever since. The day my father took me to the library is still vivid in my mind. An entire building full of books to read for free??? Anytime??? Really?
I don’t recall being read to as a child. It might have happened and I just don’t remember. However, from the time I discovered the library, I regularly went. The librarian, a friend of my mother’s, always directed me away from the section on sex and towards the classics when I became a teenager. I have lived in several states and the first things I would do at the new location was register to vote and get a library card. No one in my family read books. My mother read The Daily Record, my father read the Bible and both of them read the newspaper faithfully. My older brother avoided reading his books, my younger brother started to read regularly in his twenties; his wife lambasted me for buying her a book as a Christmas present one year as she informed me that a book was an insult because she didn’t read. Enough said on that.
Why I read is a harder question to answer. It is like a deep need that must be fulfilled. Sometimes it is for information ( I read the instruction manuals that come with stuff) or to satisfy my curiosity and sometimes it is pure escapism. Lately it is to honor my increasing appreciation of the craft itself. I took a semester long class last year on the structure of fiction as a way not to improve my writing so much as to better understand the writing of others. Big payoff on that one.
I read because I don’t know any other way to be.
Rich commenting here. I find it totally inspiring.
Franny, I love this line - “Franny, you can’t get published until you finish the book.”
I can sure relate to that. The Bock book, it took him 11 years to finish it, wow. I’ve been thinking a lot about how much patience it takes to be a good writer. You have to be willing to wait - and follow the process. And never give up.
I’m really interested in“Someone Knows my Name” the historical novel about a slave who is relocated to Nova Scotia at the time of the American Revolution. I’m drawn to want to read that. I’m happy to hear from you here in the comments. I really miss you and hearing you read your writing.
girlgriot, thanks for coming back and commenting on the question. And thanks for reminding me of Selected Shorts. I used to listen to that all the time on NPR and now, I never seem to hear it. I’m wondering if it still airs there, or another station.
It is so great to be read to. I like your cross country story and reading out loud to each other along the way. I don’t read very quickly at all - very slowly in fact. And I easily get distracted. So when I do read alone, I like complete quiet and to really get lost in the book. But once I’ve started, a tornado could fly by - I wouldn’t hear it.
Elizabeth, I like your idea of reading and rereading passages that inspire. And especially, of copying a few paragraphs of brilliant writing by hand -
reading and rereading powerful passages aloud — and sometimes even copying one by hand so I can feel how it moves through my body.
The idea of a passage moving through the body, that really is writing down the bones, isn’t it?
You brought up another good point - setting aside different space for reading than for writing. I have to do that, too. It’s a totally different mindset. Thanks for reminding me that I can be deliberate about that structure.
I really like your beach story. I went to the shore in Maryland a few summers with my sister’s family and my mom. It was heaven and I loved the relaxing family time. One of my fondest memories is watching Mom get absorbed in the lastest Harry Potter book on the beach. It was perfect ocean reading. And she just couldn’t put it down!
I have a hard time reading on the beach for some reason. There is often a lot of glare. And I tend to just want to sit and stare off into space, listen to the ocean, feel the breeze, just be. I guess there is room for both!
I’m really intuitive about the way I choose books to read. But once I start something, I usually make the effort to finish it. I do like all kinds of books though. From mysteries to astrology to literature.
Jackie, love following the flow of your comment. From Baltimore to Florida. Happy to meet another book on CD/tape fan. I can’t say enough about books on tape for people on the go. I used to have a longer commute and got through a lot of books. I spend much less time in the car now, but still try to have a book going.
I think I mentioned before, that a few years ago, Liz and I both checked out The Master Butcher’s Singing Club, a novel by Louise Erdrich. And we listened to it at the same time in our separate cars. When we’d come together for dinner (this was before we lived together), we’d compare notes about the book. It’s historical, set in Minnesota and North Dakota, so it was really fun to read. I tend to like books about place.
Anyway, your idea about keeping a stash of books in your trunk and everywhere you go is delightful. I always try to carry a book with me everywhere, too. I can almost always squeeze some reading in while I am waiting.
I’d like to hear what you think of Edge of Taos Desert when you get to it. Many who read here have a strong connection to Mabel Dodge.
And I like what you said about taking classes:
I took a semester long class last year on the structure of fiction as a way not to improve my writing so much as to better understand the writing of others. Big payoff on that one.
I think Elizabeth mentions it, too, in her comment - that taking apart the structure of the books we love, understanding the writing of others, helps us to be better writers.
I presented on 3 books over the last few years. Read them, took notes, learned about the authors, put the books in context of time and place, and really studied the way the authors structured their books. I can’t tell you how much I learned from that. It completely absorbed me and took a lot of time. But it was worth it!
QM, I wanted to come back & comment here again. The comments I have read in this post are very interesting to me as a “reader”. I often research the author’s of books that I read. I guess I have that need to know who they are & I especially liked Franny’s comment about not being able to publish a book until she finishes it. As a reader I always feel a sadness & loss when I read the the last line of any book. I’m not sure why that is, but I shared this feeling not long ago with a dear friend that I met & email thanks to red Ravine. She shared the same feeling. I suppose maybe that is why it takes some writer’s so long to finish writing their works. I think if I were to write it would nearly be impossible for me to finish. I don’t think I would be willing to let go. D
QM, great post. I’ve felt a similar urge to read more lately. Seems like I’m always ordering books, yet they grow in unread piles around my bed.
I have been reading a lot of poetry lately. I like collections by a single author, slim volumes of maybe fifty poems. I just finished Modern Life by Matthea Harvey, and A Country Between Us by Carolyn Forche.
I’m reading a novel in Spanish by Mayra Montero, called Dancing to Almendra.
But it’s not nearly enough. I feel impatient. I used to sit in a chair and read all day, for hours on the weekend. Now I write much more than I read, and read only for an hour before I go to sleep. I read in bed.
I hate it when I waste time. Staring out the window is productive for me, as are the haiku walks.
What isn’t productive is surfing the web. I think I need to limit my time blogging, reading only my faves (like red Ravine!).
You don’t know how many times (just today, in fact) that I’ve wished I had a book to read while waiting for some thing or another. We do so much waiting in our lives, and like today, we were at a store purchasing a tractor (!!!), there was nothing to look at, nothing to do except leaf through tractor brochures. Well, so I practiced just sitting. (I’m sure the tractor man will appear in one of my writing practices some day…oh, and the Rush Limbaugh talk radio in the background that suddenly made me regret buying the tractor from him.)
BTW, back to your comment #8, I took Dee to see Juno weekend before last. Em had a sleepover, and so we had a little night out, just me and Dee. At first I was immediately worried that the movie was way too mature for her, but it turned out to be a great movie. We talked about Juno and her pregnancy and choices. You know, if you wait to take a girl to this kind of movie when she’s old enough to be sexually active, it’s probably too late.
But, back to reading…I remember my mother reading every night in bed. She loved lots of types of media — newspaper, magazine, books. Of the books, she read lots of romance. She checked out oodles of books at the library, blasted through them, returned them, then checked out another round. She also read National Enquirer and other rags. And Good Housekeeping and Ladies Home Journal. I would lay next to her and read “Can This Marriage Be Saved?”
Dad read history-related books, autobiographies, and some novels. He had Gore Vidal and other authors who I’m now forgetting. He must have read at night, before turning in, but I don’t remember seeing him read the way I remember Mom, surrounded by reading materials on her bed.
Great comments on this post, btw. I know what you mean, diddy, about the sadness that often comes with the last line in a book.
QM ~ Very interesting post!. Thank you for all the time you put into it.
I too am from a family of readers. I love books, and I love to read. My problem is I always have too many books going at once. I need to be more disciplined about finishing one before buying or checking out another one.
I always carry these things with me no matter where I go they are in my car…bottled water, healthy snacks, my camera, sketch pad / pencil, and at least two or three books. That is my survival kit in case I am waiting or stranded somewhere.
Thank you again for posting this. I plan to read it again.
reading. one of the things that i retain pride in as a parent is curling up with my daughter and reading. We covered a wrinkle in time, the harry potters, we read classics. i read anne of green gables while she cleaned her room. (several chapters a week to match the several bags of garbage that we emptied each week). we read the little house on the prairie books. we read books that i read as a young person. as she got to highschool, i read her summer reading with her. Pearl S Buck the good earth, Dr. Zhivago, charles dickens, brave new world, catcher in the rye, and Frankenstein. It was good to re-read those i had read before.
i love to read. it is an escape from day to day things. it allows me to be someone else. i usually have several books going at once. and on my floor, on my bed, and what is there now is: a book about Buffy the vampire slayer as archetypes, a book by the dalai lama, the senator and the priest by andrew greeley, and since i am in the midst of my MBA, i am reading accounting, the world is flat, international business articles (not really true reading but i guess i have to count it as it consumes my time).
i like to read in bed. they say that it doesn’t help to go to sleep. i defy anyone to say that is true in my case. i can fall asleep anywhere, anytime. (ask R3 about the couch) i like to read when i get to bed. sometimes a chapter is all i can get through before i begin nodding off to sleep. it is a way that i wind down from very busy days. i also have several Games magazines and pencils on the bed. one never knows when one wants to get busy in bed.
favorite books: The Beekeepers Apprentice by Laurie King, well worn from all the re-reading. (and the rest of that series), Sherlock Holmes - i have a growing collection, Carol Nelson-Douglas writes about Louie mysteries (he is a cat along the sam spade line of detective), and Janet Evanovich’s series of Stephanie Plum the bailbondsman. i like stories that make me laugh aloud as i read them. i like happy books. i rarely read things that make me cry.
i used to dream of writing a novel. but i like reading them too much. writing a book would take away the reading time. not sure i want to trade that one off.
My literature journal tells me that up until my early thirties, I read about 150 books per year. In the last three years, though, I’ve almost completely stopped. My concentration is gone; I simply can’t focus. I can still read blogs, because they’re interactive, and the potential for me to give input keeps my mind on track. But the moment I sit down to really read, all I can think about is my financial problems,or my therapy sessions, or what the hell I’m going to do with myself when my mother dies (long hence, God willing) or what I’m going to do when my cats get sick and die (also long hence, but one of them is twelve, and time is running out,and on and on and on and on).
I can’t remember the last time I really got lost in a book.
I just finished Barack’s Audacity of Hope. I felt really glad (considering his role in America right now) to know more intimately his views, his background, his life with Michelle. He mentioned John McCain several times in his book. Little did he know.
Holy moly, DR, 150 a year. What a great record. Imagine all the books that added up to be! I think I’d be hard pressed to come up with 150 books I’ve read, period.
Hooray! The 3 books I ordered arrived today! Perfect timing too, as I have a cold or the flu (well, something nasty). Now I have to decide what to read first! It wouldn’t be an issue if I had ordered just one! D
Thanks for all the great comments on this books and reading thread.
ybonesy, good point about Juno. Waiting until a girl is sexually active might be a little too late.
reccos62, I had no idea you read that much! And you are passing along your legacy to your daughter. I really like Laurie King, BTW. I have to hope one can make the room to both read and write! At least, that’s what I’m shooting for. Maybe you’ll want to write your books someday.
DR, interesting that you’ve stopped reading after the 150 books a year! Someone else commented on how creating the space to read requires a certain mindset, a different one than all the other active things we do in the course of a day. I’ve been thinking more and more about that. We have to quiet the mind to read.
Sinclair, thanks for coming back and sharing the book you just finished. I hope more will do that on this post as they continue to read. That’s my plan (if I make it through the books I’m currently reading!)
gypsy-heart, sounds like you carry a book survival kit as well. I think Jackie mentioned that and it seems to be a common reading thread! A good idea, too.
diddy, I read in another comment that you’ve decided to write your own memoir! I’m so happy that you’ve been inspired in that way. Let us know how it goes this summer when you start Natalie’s book and move through the chapters.
Hey, I wanted to say one other thing about that - her books tend to be interactive. But I read a few of them before I ever started to do the Writing Practices in them. So don’t feel like you have to hold off on her books if you’re not ready to write. In the beginning, I skipped the exercises and just soaked in what she had to say about writing. It can also be applied to simply living!
Well, QM, I thought long & hard about ordering one of Natalie’s earlier books, but since I already knew that I wanted to write my memoir’s for so long now, I decided to take the plunge. I need writing practice to help guide me. A lifetime of memories can become so scattered & since I have already made my decision to write my life story into written word, I have had to face the fact that some of it will be ugly. Strange, but I take many memories to bed with me & for several weeks now, a lot of my past & present appear to me in dream. I have a great recollection of them upon waking up.
Anyhow, if not for people like you & YB (my fierce warrior angels, who inspire & who’s posting’s sustain me) I would probably have allowed my decision to be nothing more than a pipe dream.”Some may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one”…Camp will be the perfect retreat to write & read. We are seriously considering buying a pontoon boat (used, of course) & I can see it all now. Strolling the river with my best friend J & it might be easier then. D
diddy, I’m so happy you are going to start writing your book. You sound so ready to begin Writing Practice. And the fact that your dreams are communicating with you, tells you that everything is right there at the surface.
I think it was you that mentioned in another comment, how hard it is to finish a book. I think it’s equally hard to start. And that’s part of what I love about Writing Practice. I can do it, get something down on the page, even on days when I don’t want to, can’t, (or won’t let myself), do anything else. I can always come back to that structure.
Your RiverWriting sounds perfect for you. And kind of Mark Twainish, too.
I can see you sitting out on the dock, writing away. Maybe right now you are composting, pulling everything to the front of your memories. If you aren’t writing, at least keep a pocket notebook beside the bed (or in the living room next to your table), and jot ideas down.
And thanks so much for the compliment to ybonesy and me. If we have inspired even one person to write, I could not be happier. It’s part of the reason we do this blog (the other part being that it keeps us close to our art and writing, helps us to finetune, and also continues to keep us close to a creative community).
Being called a fierce warrior angel is one of the greatest compliments of all! I can’t think of anything better. And today, when I need to get going on my 5 dedicated hours to my book, it really reminds me that somewhere, I’ve got that fierceness inside me - to not give up, and get down to the business of creating.
Ditto, diddy. Thanks for the compliments!!
I’m so excited about your journey (and your pontoon, and your journey on your pontoon
).
The only advice I’d share is to give it time. Once you make up your mind to write your memoirs, it’s like busting through a door. I know the first time I realized I wanted to write about my life, I then wanted to race to the finish line. But I’ve learned it’s not the race I originally thought it was.
Back from a family-visiting trip to Florida, reading the posts and comments: ybonesy, I broke up laughing at “coffee, four creams” — now that’s my kind of chutzpah… I tucked a book in my bag for the plane, almost a 4 hr. flight, and had no clue it was going to be so gripping I would not want to put it down until that last page was turned. The best book I have read in ages - The Tenderness of Wolves, by Stef Penney - very highly recommended. If you like snow, or reading about snow while you are warm, you’ll love it - great plot, characters and beautiful chilling descriptions of the frozen wilderness within and without.
Thanks for the book recommendation, Linda. It seems appropriate for this blog, as many of our posts and comments have been dedicated to snow and winter and animals.
I wonder if you flew the direct flight Southwest has from ABQ to Florida — is it Orlando? Not many flights out of ABQ that are 4 hours long, being as how most of our flights are hops to PHX or Dallas or Denver to transfer to a longer flight.
I meant to ask you how the Florida weather was. I was in Phx last week, and it sure was lovely to be out of the cold and into the 80-degree days. I felt so overdressed in my sweaters and leather jacket.
Linda, thanks for commenting. I’ve heard that title, The Tenderness of Wolves, bouncing around a couple of places now - maybe I should read it! Plus, I’m in love with Winter, snow, ice, the whole shebang! It seems like there are many books with wolves in the title. It brings me back to our discussion on wolves in the Totem and Wolf Moon posts.
I’m loving hearing about what everyone is reading. It is so diverse. I made more progress on Main Street over the weekend. I’ve decided I really like novels that are set in places I have lived or do live. It’s like a walk back in time.
Hi - yeah I thought you’d like a book about snow QM, and a colder, more deprived place than you’ve probably ever lived, lol.
The flight was nonstop Abq-Tampa - it’s great once you get there. Weather was changeable - balmy, cloudy, windy, hail, rain, tornado warnings, chilly, sunny - take your pick. We exercised our jaws and did some heavy sitting. Came home and had a little snow. Melted before 9 am, the best kind.
Yeah, I wonder if I could stand the starkest of snow and cold places. I often see these documentaries of men and women who go to the North and South Poles on foot, by dogsled. I don’t know how I’d do in that harsh of an environment. But I’d like to visit.
Florida - ah. I haven’t been there in years. A friend just got back from Sanibel last week. I haven’t checked in with her yet. Or asked her what books she read!
“We exercised our jaws and did some heavy sitting” -
this is funny. Sounds heavenly. I can’t remember the last time I took a vacation and just relaxed (not combining it with writing, research, workshops, or work). I’m overdue.
At least when I finally do go, I’ll have a great list of books to read!
I sat over a year under Natalie Goldberg’s wise instruction. She talked constantly about learning from good writers. “Watch the mind of the writer,” she’d said again and again. I felt like a chronic novice at this–convinced I was always missing the boat.
I just finished Red Earth, White Earth (Comment #5), and can say for the first time (with absolute confidence), that I was following the mind of the writer, Will Weaver. I am thrilled, if I do say so myself. Will kept constant pressure on the protagonist, Guy. I somehow knew how to watch Will’s writing, to hear the story but also see his craft. The pressure on Guy didn’t let up until the last page, and it kept me hooked. And it wasn’t car-chase pressure. It was a subtle, emotional driving force underlying the entire book.
What a breakthrough, Teri! Remember the conversation about “narrative drive” (or “narrative thrust”
in the session when we worked on our essays?
No, ybonesy, I am drawing a complete blank on “narrative drive.” What do you remember?
It came up when we were talking about what propels the essay forward. It was very similar to what you described as the thing you recognized in this book.
Teri,
I’m looking forward to going and hearing Will Weaver, too. I hope I get the book read before he comes. He’s going to be with a filmmaker, too - I can’t remember his name. But it’s a collaboration, right?
I think it’s great that you were following his mind as you read Red Earth, White Earth. I’ve started doing the same thing with some of the books I read. Now that I’ve learned about book structure, I naturally pay attention to it when I’m reading. It doesn’t seem to detract from the enjoyment of reading the book either.
I’ve noticed I’ve been doing the same thing with Sinclair Lewis and Main Street. (I haven’t been making enough time to read and am only about 1/2 way done.) What I’ve noticed is that, in this book, he is fantastic at the details and about laying out place, and developing his characters (in this case in the Midwest). But (at least to me) he is weak in the dialogue department.
Strong dialogue is something not every writer is good at. I’ve also noticed the way he lays out his chapters, then, the whole book. All of this helps me with ideas in my own writing.
ybonesy, I remember having the discussion on narrative drive (what gets us to turn the page). But I can’t recall the details at the moment. It was around the essays we were writing for the Intensive. I’m the first to admit, I don’t know much about the formal language and breakdown of literature. I’m not even that well read. But I can recognize patterns in what is good when I see it.
Anne Lamott talks about being asked by a student at one of her workshops, when she was going to teach about plot points. Anne replied, “I don’t even know what a plot point is.” She went on to say, there are lots of books out there about the formal techniques of writing. But she just sits down and writes (by her own admission, very bad 1st drafts!). And she teaches from her own experience of writing. Not from a formal education around it.
I can relate to that. I’m not a literature major. Just a simple writer. But I’ve learned how to look at book structure (and the minds of other writers) from Natalie. And it’s been invaluable to me. The more books I read by a single writer, the better I get at it, too. It’s good to read a writer’s whole body of work. You can really get an understanding of her/his mind that way.
The other day I was trying to jump from introducing characters to getting them to talk to each other. The second I tried to do it, I couldn’t remember a thing about dialogue. I tried to think of books I had recently read. Do they start talking on the first page or on page 20? How does it happen? What are the first words?
I was glad I could reach for good literature on my shelf to look at for guidance. And like the experience of watching Will Weaver keep the pressure on in Red Earth, White Earth, I can learn about dialogue by watching what the masters do. So…this is why Natalie keeps telling us to read. Hmmm….I’m finally catching on.
Yes, Will is going to be joined by Ali Selim (film director) to talk about how Will’s short story “Gravestones Made of Wheat” became the sensational movie “Sweetland.”
I started Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe today. Isn’t this one of your favorites, QM? Again, so interesting to see how Fannie Flagg structures the book in short, newsy articles. It seems like a very manageable, gentle way to write.
QM & Teri, the book Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe is one of my all time favorites! I should take it off the shelf & read it again!
I am currently reading The Problem with Murmur Lee, by Connie May Fowler. Very interesting book & I haven’t had much time to read it the last few days, but pick it up daily & read a chapter or two. I can’t wait to finish it as I am over half way through, but for right now I have too many other things on my plate. It is very much structured in the same way that Teri explains, in short newsy articles. D
Teri, I LOVE Fried Green Tomatoes. And the movie that was made from the book certainly does the book justice: Kathy Bates, Jessica Tandy, Mary-Louise Parker and Mary Stuart Masterson. I’ve seen the movie countless times. It’s probably one of the few I own. It sure would be fun to pull it off the shelf again.
What I love about people writing about the books they are reading is that it reminds me to either go back in memory to when I read it, or to head forward and pull the book off the shelf. No matter how old a book is, or when it was published, when we read it for the first time, it becomes new again. I just love that.
diddy, sounds like a great book. I didn’t know much about Connie May Fowler before you mentioned her in one of your comments. I found a bio (LINK) with an interesting tidbit:
in 2003 Ms. Fowler performed in The Vagina Monologues alongside Jane Fonda and Rosie Perez in a production that raised over $100,000 for charities. She is currently writing her seventh book, a novel with the working title How Clarissa Burden Learned to Fly.
She sounds pretty progressive. I did read a little about the characters in the book you are reading, Murmur Lee. They sound kind of wild!
I have the DVD version (Fried Green Tomatoes) that has a rather lengthy piece about how the movie was made and the impact on the town and crew.
In it they interview the four main actresses, and something Jessica Tandy said has always stuck with me. She said she loved being a part of a movie that showed human beings at their best, their most generous, their kindest. It did do that, but it wasn’t fluffy or overly sweet. It was real and earthy and full of sadness, too.
Teri, I don’t remember ever seeing that. I’d like to see the extra sometime. It’s true about that movie. Full of real life struggle and sadness. But also the kindness and generosity of human beings - to show up for each other in the ways that matter. Makes me want to see the movie again.
Was it the town in Georgia where they filmed that was changed? Or the town in Alabama, near where Flagg was born? When I looked it up, I saw that The “Whistle Stop Café” is loosely based on a real-life restaurant, the Irondale Café in Irondale, Alabama. But the set used as the Whistle Stop Café was in Juliette, Georgia.
QM,
It’s the town of Juliette that has changed. It was nearly abandoned, and now it is a tourist attraction. In fact, I was thinking maybe you could take a day trip down there when you go back to Georgia the next time—try some authentic fried green tomatoes.
I’ll loan you the DVD with the extra features. It may have been the anniversary edition or something.
QM, try Connie May Fowler’s book Before Women Had Wings. I really think you would like it. I loaned the book to K & she liked it also. Like me, she found it difficult to put it down.I thought I had read that it was to be put into a movie version.
The Problem with Murmur Lee is truly wild, however, if anyone is offended by curse words, it would not be for them. It is indeed full of many colorful characters! D
Teri, great idea. Looks like Juliette, Georgia is located in Monroe County, more in the center of the state, almost directly west of where I will be (I’ll be in east central, on the Savannah River at the border of S.C. and Georgia). I’ll have to see how far it is in miles. This year’s trip, I hope to go to Savannah to visit some of my ancestral history there. I’ve never been there before. So much to do, so little time! Sure would be fun to see where the movie was filmed though.
What you said about revitalizing the town when the movie was filmed there - that’s one example of how the Arts can impact a community (LINK). I was just reading about all the ways the Arts keep our Minnesota communities alive. Juliette is a living example of how the Arts can affect local economies in positive ways.
diddy, I’ll keep the book in mind. But I might just have to rely on you telling me about it! I’m so far behind in the reading. I’m glad I have people to talk to who can fill me in on other great writers that I may never have the time to read.
QM,
Isn’t it hard to admit that we’ll never be able to read every author we want to? When I read your last comment to diddy, I felt both relief and angst about that fact. It’s too bad that we have to spend time doing things like shopping for groceries and going to work.
I’m enjoying my practice of starting to read more locals authors these days. In the past two years I’ve been reading about the Rio Grande, the desert, the Bronx, the Brooklyn Bridge. I don’t know why it’s funny if something happens in Queens, or why the exact same thing would never happen in Manhattan. But when I read about Fargo, I know Fargo. When they talk about the woods on the Iron Range, I’ve been there. If someone contemplates their life while staring at the bluffs around the Mississippi River, I am right there with them. I’m going to say, it’s quite nice for now.
Yes, it’s so hard to admit - I’m never going to get everything read I want to read! I just keep going as I am able. I agree about the local (and also regional) authors. I was just reading about the impact of being a regional author in Poets & Writers. We are connected to other local and regional authors by virtue of our work. And we all have a similar frame of physical, geographical, and cultural reference. It’s cool to think about that connection.
Hey, I like the new widget.
OK, here’s what I’ve read since my Comment #4 (above) on this post:
I finished Lucy Grealy’s Autobiography of a Face. Then I immediately read Ann Patchett’s Truth & Beauty. Both were superb. I want to re-read them both. I promise, I *will* do a post on them.
The girls and I finished Elsewhere. It was good. Fun for us to do together.
I haven’t gone back to Run. I am reading out of Natalie Goldberg’s new book, Old Friend from Far Away. I pick out a chapter — they’re short — when I want inspiration for writing.
I’m ready for something new, preferably memoir. I don’t think I have any unread ones on my shelves. Jim did take out a box of his books, and I saw a couple there — one Hemmingway and one Kerouac — that I’d like to read. But I’d prefer memoir. Any suggestions anyone?
ybonesy, Can’t wait for your post on Lucy Grealy’s Autobiography of a Face. And Ann Patchett’s Truth & Beauty. I read the latter and loved it (up and down relationship between two writers). Have not read Lucy Grealy’s yet. I should pick that up.
Hey, one new memoir I’ve been drawn to is “The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food” by Jennifer 8. Lee. Has anyone read it yet?
I heard her interviewed on NPR and was immediately pulled in by her angle. (Of interest - there are basically two people in the country who write most of the fortunes in fortune cookies. People also play the lotto based on fortune cookie numbers.) But her exploration of class and culture from the fortune cookie angle drew me in. The book is billed as part memoir, part travelogue, part cultural history.
Here are couple of links:
Smith Magazine Interview: Jennifer 8. Lee, The Fortune Cookie Chronicles (LINK)
Boston Globe Review: An author finds her Chinese identity, one dish at a time (LINK)
I, too, anticipate your post, ybonesy. I’ve read both books, but both were read in haste–I was in one of those white-knuckle races to read everything before I die. I’d like to read them both again. Slowly. I’ll wait for your inspiring post, however, before I begin.
I’ve started Maya Angelou’s six-part autobiography this week. Actually, I’m not promising to read all six books, but the first one (I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings) has me under its spell. She was in Minneapolis a week ago, but I just couldn’t drag myself to one more event. I’m kicking myself now. Hard.
Teri, I wish I had gone to see Maya Angelou, too, when she was here last week. But when you live in an urban area, there’s always so much going on. We have to make hard choices.
BTW, I heard her on MPR that week. She was talking about how she is turning 80 this year, and about all the life she has seen. Think about it - she was born in 1928. SO much has happened since 1928. She has lived through a lot.
I also love the tone of her voice. And how slowly she speaks and reads her work. When I listen to her, the depth of her work really has a chance to sink in through her steadiness and pauses (in just the right places).
Finally, watching Fried Green Tomatoes again (Comments 40 - 47). Really makes me want to read Fannie Flagg’s book again. And visit the Whistle Stop set in Juliette, Georgia. The music is great, too. Bonus. The movie has so many layers going on. Jessica’s a good storyteller. And Idgie Threadgoode, the bee charmer from Alabama.
Teri, I watched the extra feature on Fried Green Tomatoes last night where they talked about the town of Juliette, Georgia being completely revitalized by the film being shot there (Comments 40 - 47). The director, Jon Avnet, seems like a truly wonderful man, too. He wrote the movie for Jessica Tandy.
I was intrigued by the writing process he went through. He hired the writers, Carol Sobieski, then Fannie Flagg herself. But as fate would have it, they both stepped off the project and he ended up spending 5 years writing it himself. Then Flagg stepped back in at the end. Fascinating process with the writers.
Fannie Flagg had no idea anyone would ever want to make the book into a movie. And Jon Avnet had so much passion for the project, he would not be tossed away.
I think what makes that movie (and the book) so good is the universal appeal to humanity. The book covers everything: poverty, class, addiction, racism, intimate relationships between women, kind and caring men, age differences, growing older.
And I think you’re right - it taps into basic human kindness. I can’t remember which actress said it now, but she said that the average lower to middle class person is real America. Basic human kindnesses toward other human beings. They aren’t trying to make their mark or have their 15 minutes of fame - they are just living everyday with as much integrity and honesty as they can.
I’m going to watch the other special features this weekend.
Did you notice that Fannie Flagg makes a cameo appearance in the movie? She is one of the motivational speakers that Evelyn goes to in an effort to save her marriage. What a kick for Fannie to get to appear in the movie–sort of like when the real Erin Brockovich played the waitress in the movie about her life.
So the obvious question is…will you be going to Juliette in June? It has a nice ring to it, don’t you think? JuoinMonkey joes to Juliette in June. Just think of the great post you could do, the pictures waiting to be taken, the locals to talk to…
I’ve been just kinda listening in to this conversation on ‘my comments’. I love that movie, Fried Green Tomatoes, never read the book.
But the bee charmer thing really gets me. There’s something indefinable, but definitely tenacious between literature and bees. There’s almost a mysticism to it, it’s like people who keep bees, and people who write about people who keep bees, and people who just love literature and the unseen realms of other worlds, they’re all connected. Bee-keepers show up in a lot of my favorite books, from Sue Monk Kidd to Barbara Kingsolver, and you can always trust the bee-keeper in a story. They’re like a preserver of magic, a keeper of secrets, always.
Teri, well that remains to be seen. Will JuoinMonkey go to Juliette in June? I would LOVE to go. But I have to see how it fits into my schedule. I want to make it to Savannah for sure this time to revisit some ancestral things there with Mom. I’m going to keep it on my radar though. Keep my ears perked to see where the Universe is leading me.
amuirin, the bee charmers - I totally agree with you. Magical. Anything to do with having a calmness, a presence with bees, is something to be revered and respected.
I had forgotten about the connection to Sue Monk Kidd and Kingsolver. The unseen realms of other worlds. Yes!
It reminds me, too, when I watched The Last Mimzy (connected to comments in the Coloring Mandalas post (LINK), part of the mystery was that the boy character was able to tap into the universal knowledge of listening to the insects. He could hear the language of bees and bugs.
And he heard the noise the spiders made when they built their webs. It was part of his gift. Part of what he contributed to the main female character’s ability to listen and speak to future otherworlds, to create a bridge.
What do I take away from all this? Everything has always been, and will always remain, indisputably connected. Some of those connections can be found through the lost arts of the alchemies. The alchemists (I consider bee charmers alchemists).
Though with science, humans try to explain away all the magic. It’s still there. It’s my belief that us strange ones, the writers and artists, keep the magic alive in literature and the arts. We are still willing to go there.
Oh, Teri, I forgot to mention, it was Liz who pointed out Fannie Flagg when she popped up in the movie last night. I had forgotten she was in it!
Flagg talked about how strange it was to actually step on to the set that up until then, only existed in her mind. Then, through the movie, she stepped right into the pages of her book and helped Evelyn Couch (Kathy Bates) come into her own. TOWANDA!
amuirin, your comment really made me stop and think. You’re right — there is something magical about bees in literature. My father turned me on to The Secret Life of Bees, and now I’m trying to remember where he learned about it from (I think it was my sister). Dad’s very much a mystery and New York Times Top 10 Bestseller book guy, so it was kind of cool and unusual that we all passed around and loved this particular book.
But the other thing I want to say is, I just left a comment on the WRITING TOPIC - INSECTS & SPIDERS & BUGS, OH MY! post (LINK) regarding the fact that when Jim and I bought this house, we inherited three honey bee hives and a beekeeper’s suit. We also inherited some box turtles that were still in hiberation and a big, old bullsnake, but the honey bees were different. I had a sort of “wow” thing going on, as in, “wow, what do we do with bees???”
You know, honey bees make the world go ’round. We depend on bees to pollinate trees and flowers and foods. Bees create the sweetest nectar in the world — honey. Bees are powerful and gentle all at once. Some people can die from a bee sting. Honey bees are busy and industrious and their world is so amazing, with the queen bee and the worker bees.
And I have to admit, I can only approach the bee hives, make sure they’re still healthy (because so many around the world are dying out), and wonder, OK, what next? Fortunately, the bee hives are harvested by a natural homeopath who sells the honey to people with allergies. He also does bee sting therapy.
Anyhow, I’m not in the league of people-who-keep-bees, and I’m not even sure I’ll ever aspire to that league. But I, too, am awestruck by honey bees and the people who nurture them. Amazing stuff.
Wondering do you want to see some snapshots of the Whistle Stop cafe, in Juliet GA? We watched the train come through town and ate a rather ordinary meal on melmac with the condiment being ketchup and vinegar. Cute town though…
this is from my blog - a visit from January 2006 - but it was fun to remember.
http://chickenlil.blogspot.com/2006/01/fried-green-tomatoes-at-whistle-stop.html
Linda, yeah! The pics are *great*. It’s a pretty old place, isn’t it? And small. What took you there?
With all this talk about Fried Green Tomatoes, I’m going to add the movie on my Netflix queue. I saw it ages ago, but it’s been long ago enough that I’ve forgotten most all of it. Recently, Dee mentioned wanting to see it again. She saw it last summer at a friend’s house. It’s a good movie to watch with middle-school aged kids, I think.
BTW, I was reading through the comments on this post and realized how many book titles there are listed. I was thinking about Jackie’s comment about carrying some of The Great Books in the trunk of her car. When I lived in Santa Fe, I learned about Saint John’s College (there’s one in Annapolis, too) and its curriculum based on The Great Books. I lamented that I hadn’t gone to a college like that. Good for you, Jackie. It’s a big goal to take on.
It is very small - Juliet - and is basically a movie set. It is the location where they filmed the movie, and is only one main street of tiny buildings and a railroad stop. I think it was almost a ghost town, rundown and moldy, till they revitalized it for the film. The trains go by all day with coal to a power plant. A couple of gift shops, some private old mill wooden houses, and the restaurant, which is not too clean. The food is fried everything, chicken, okra, taters and greens. But anyway, we went exploring there with our daughter and family, Noah was 4, visiting when they lived nearby in Georgia.
ps I will add here, I freaked when I saw your Child of the Earth. We used to have those clear-bodied aliens in our first sandy yard in Corrales, the kids called them white dragons. I thought they were scorpions but among the undead, like zombie bugs. We had moved from Taos where no such thing existed.
Noah has been studying an amazing bug book, where the dust mites are blown up a thousand times.
Linda,
I wonder, would your recommend Juliette to something passing nearby? (Fried Green Tomatoes” had sort of a magical quality, and I wonder if going there “ruined” it for you, enhanced it, or was just simply neutral.
I’ve been to Madison County, Iowa where Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep filmed “The Bridges of Madison Country.” Much to my surprise, seeing all those wooden bridges and the spots in Winterset, Iowa that were in the movie added to my fondness for the story.
When you said the restaurant in Juliette is dirty, I imagined Itsey and Ruth shaking their heads is great disapproval.
Linda, I’ve got the same question Teri does. Did the trip change the way you felt about the movie? How did they play off each other?
BTW, great photos of the Whistle Stop Cafe at your link (Comment #61). It’s fun to see them. The film was released in 1991, I think. And looks like you visited in December 2005? I wonder if it has changed since then and if the town is still feeling revived.
I’m still interested in visiting there sometime. I just don’t know if it will be this June trip. So much to do in so little time. One thing I noted was how darn hot it was in August when they were filming the movie. And mosquitoes! It reminded me of my summers as a kid, sweating to death outside in Georgia. I never liked the heat and humidity. If I do visit, it might have to be fall or winter!
Hey, ybonesy, where can you see a list of The Great Books?
QM,
Do you know why there is a dragonfly on the cover of this book? I don’t remember what from the story points to that. I have the copy with the egg inside of a box. I assumed it meant Ann (the strong one) protecting Lucy (the fragile one). Or, maybe it symbolized Lucy who appeared strong on the outside but who was very breakable on the inside.
Any thoughts on either?
Teri, I admit, I had to do a little research on the image on the cover. I assumed it was a grasshopper, for the grasshopper and ant friendship that Ann Patchett refers to in Truth & Beauty. But then, it only looked partly like a grasshopper; so I had to see if grasshoppers had wings.
Yes, they do. Two pair. One in the front (slender), one in the back (wider and more membranous). So I’m guessing the image on the cover that I have is a grasshopper in flight. But in real life, we rarely get to see those wings because of how quickly a grasshopper flies from place to place. Does that make sense?
Oh, while I was researching, I found a short older interview with Ann. And here are a couple of grasshopper links. And a blurb on the grasshopper and the ant. You know how I am.
Hooray For Grasshoppers (LINK)
Grasshopper Information on Insected AZ (LINK)
BEA 2007: An Early Q&A with Ann Patchett (LINK)
The Ant & The Grasshopper: Aesop (620–560 BC), a story-teller who lived in Ancient Greece told a tale called The Ant and the Grasshopper. In this tale, the ant worked hard preparing his shelter and stores of food all summer, while the grasshopper played. Once the winter came, the ant was prepared and the grasshopper, having no shelter or food begs to enter the ant’s house. The ant refuses and the grasshopper starves to death.
I don’t think that’s quite the way it seemed to happen with Ann and Lucy. But isn’t it weird how the Writing Topic this week was on insects and bugs.
Nice research, Bug Lady. I had forgotten the reference to Truth and Beauty about “the ant and the grasshopper.” I continue to feel anxious to read the Patchett/Grealy books again. I wonder how ybonesy is coming on that post. Hmmmmm….
Is there a reference in the book to boxes and eggs? I don’t want to send you off on egg research, and since your book doesn’t have the blue cover perhaps you shouldn’t have to care.
Shall I try emailing Ann? Do you think she’d answer?
I would recommend the trip to Juliet as a byway - if you are passing through the area. It will interest you for about an hour. The feeling is reminiscent of a movie set, but it is actually occupied and so is not completely disneyland. The restaurant is real, just felt pretty funky to me, and not exceptional. Kind of white bread and gravy with hanging plants. But it was a little slice of life, and we enjoyed a pretty afternoon there, the last day of 2005. I imagine in the summer it could be pretty sultry.
Today I was thinking about the Depression, which in the 30s they called by that name, now god forbid, we are hesitant to say recession…but obviously we’re in something of a volatile economic funk, and I reread The Grapes of Wrath recently…with that captivating dialogue and the characters - it was great– except that in those days, Steinbeck was sure the Government would save everyone, they were the good guys. Who are the good guys now?
chickenlil, everyman, everywoman. I think the everyday woman and man are the good guys. The people that step in, give what they have, help others out. The longer I live, the more I am convinced of that.
I saw it in Fried Green Tomatoes. And I saw it again last night when I watched the movie Sweet Land. It’s about a few farmers in Minnesota in the 1920’s, how immigrants came to settle the land. It’s about real people pitching in to help other real people out. Really great movie.
This morning we are watching the commentary of the Director, Ali Selim. He’s going to be at the Minneapolis Central Library with Will Weaver on March 28th at 7pm. Will and Ali are going to discuss fiction writing, film making, and the process of adapting a story to a feature length movie.
I’m really looking forward to it. Sweet Land was a low budget project that Ali Selim spent 15 years writing - a work of passion. It’s inspired by the Will Weaver collection A Gravestone Made of Wheat & Other Stories. I haven’t read the the book yet.
Sweet Land starts off with a quote: Let us hope that we are all preceded in this world by a love story.
Teri, don’t know the reference to the box and the egg cover for the newer Truth & Beauty (Comment 68). I always wondered why they chose to change the covers when they reprinted. Is it to make them more modern? Or just to distinguish the newer editions from the older.
I kind of like the cover I have better. You’re on your own with the box of eggs.
Maybe ybonesy can shed more light on the ant and grasshopper when she does her post.
Oh, BTW, I think Ann Patchett might indeed answer if you wrote to her. She said she’s a letter writer. And was very accessible when she signed our books. But then, she also said she gets 1000’s of letters. How could she possibly read them all?
Then I also remember something else she said - she doesn’t remember her books after she writes them. She’s moved on to the next one. She just lets go.
I just revisited the last Patchett post. What a great night that was. I felt like a writer.
Ann Patchett - On Truth, Beauty, & The Adventures Of “Opera Girl” (LINK)
Yes, I will try to write our dear Ann. As I recall, she lives in Tennessee; maybe my letter will arr