As always a lovely read - I think Pollen (who did his BA in creative writing) may have some copies of these important reads I should dust off. I especially love the photo of the redwing blackbird mixed in there. Every day I am hearing more and more birds returning and it reminds me that a) my time for reading those books on my list is waning, and b)that spring is returning!
I really enjoyed reading this piece, Megan. Great writing and interesting topic. I also chuckled and inwardly cringed thinking about the teenage self and books. I used to cart around my older sister's books thinking they made me more mature and hip. Vonnegut and Hesse. I'm so impressed that you read War and Peace in a month!! I'm curious what time of day you find best for reading more dense material. I've planned to read The Seven Pillars of Wisdom for about 30 years. You've inspired me to finish "second sock", so maybe that's next. But first, some Moroccan chick pea stew. That sounds perfect for today.
So funny how we link our sense of who we want to be to certain books as young people especially! My preferred reading time is first thing in the morning, in bed with coffee. I have my schedule working so that I get 20-30 minutes of reading time before getting up during the week and weekends I like to get an hour or more if I can.
Another great piece Megan. Sharing your experience of early attempts to read "War and Peace" took me back to my first adventure with that epic. The difference being made under a cedar tree in Whiterock when an ocean breeze and the calming ever present lapp of the waves reset my 15 year old brain on absorb. Unfortunately the immersion into 1800s Russia was so deep, I neglected to pay attention to the sun's rays. To this day the mention or sight of anything Tolstoy calls to mind the sting of sunburned skin and smell of the vinegar Mom assured me would quell the pain simultaneous to my sighs as I turned the final page and lay back in awe of the work I had just read.
I finished Don Quixote last year after many failed attempts as a young person. It was profound on a deeply personal level I couldn't have appreciated until recently.
Oh... and my 15 year old reads now just like we did then. All's not lost!
I love your description of your teenage attempts to read War and Peace. I had the same teenage attempts to read it, as well as Being and Nothingness. I remember actually laughing out loud at the library about how incomprehensible Being and Nothingness was, in spite of my pretentious teenage focus on being an intellectual.
I'm also working hard on reclaiming attention from social media and the internet, and trying to notice why I get sucked in when I do.
It's always a pleasure to read your writing, I really appreciate it.
Oh, our teenage selves are so cringe-y! I'm glad to finally be at a place in life where I can just laugh at my younger self a bit. As I just wrote to another friend, as much as I've fixed some of my attentional problem - I'm still far away from where I want to be, but that might just reflect the fact that sometimes work is a drag and I'd rather read reddit than do my job.
Thanks for reading - I'm always glad when it's relatable to others!
As always, an enjoyable read over morning coffee, Megan. The Moroccan stew recipe is one that I make for work parties at The Commons, but I had a bit of Thai curry paste and coconut milk.
Good morning and thank-you! This kind of "stew" is so versatile - I make an almost identical Indian curry but just a different spice profile (and coconut milk). Anything with chickpeas makes me happy really :)
Perhaps easier than Don Quixote for me would be "A Confederacy of Dunces"--I have been dragging that one around for 20 years! https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/310612.A_Confederacy_of_Dunces
Lovely writing Megan, I think this piece deserves a wider audience.
Thanks Mom - another friend of mine suggested the same. Maybe I'll see if there is an online home for it elsewhere!
Send it to the New Yorker.
As always a lovely read - I think Pollen (who did his BA in creative writing) may have some copies of these important reads I should dust off. I especially love the photo of the redwing blackbird mixed in there. Every day I am hearing more and more birds returning and it reminds me that a) my time for reading those books on my list is waning, and b)that spring is returning!
I really enjoyed reading this piece, Megan. Great writing and interesting topic. I also chuckled and inwardly cringed thinking about the teenage self and books. I used to cart around my older sister's books thinking they made me more mature and hip. Vonnegut and Hesse. I'm so impressed that you read War and Peace in a month!! I'm curious what time of day you find best for reading more dense material. I've planned to read The Seven Pillars of Wisdom for about 30 years. You've inspired me to finish "second sock", so maybe that's next. But first, some Moroccan chick pea stew. That sounds perfect for today.
So funny how we link our sense of who we want to be to certain books as young people especially! My preferred reading time is first thing in the morning, in bed with coffee. I have my schedule working so that I get 20-30 minutes of reading time before getting up during the week and weekends I like to get an hour or more if I can.
Another great piece Megan. Sharing your experience of early attempts to read "War and Peace" took me back to my first adventure with that epic. The difference being made under a cedar tree in Whiterock when an ocean breeze and the calming ever present lapp of the waves reset my 15 year old brain on absorb. Unfortunately the immersion into 1800s Russia was so deep, I neglected to pay attention to the sun's rays. To this day the mention or sight of anything Tolstoy calls to mind the sting of sunburned skin and smell of the vinegar Mom assured me would quell the pain simultaneous to my sighs as I turned the final page and lay back in awe of the work I had just read.
I am an avid reader to this day.
Thanks for the inspiration--I will dust off my copy of Don Quixote and see if I can get past page 25?
Another one I need to get to! Last year Brian read Moby Dick and so it's also on the shelf for me should I decide to tackle another big one this year!
I finished Don Quixote last year after many failed attempts as a young person. It was profound on a deeply personal level I couldn't have appreciated until recently.
Oh... and my 15 year old reads now just like we did then. All's not lost!
I love your description of your teenage attempts to read War and Peace. I had the same teenage attempts to read it, as well as Being and Nothingness. I remember actually laughing out loud at the library about how incomprehensible Being and Nothingness was, in spite of my pretentious teenage focus on being an intellectual.
I'm also working hard on reclaiming attention from social media and the internet, and trying to notice why I get sucked in when I do.
It's always a pleasure to read your writing, I really appreciate it.
Oh, our teenage selves are so cringe-y! I'm glad to finally be at a place in life where I can just laugh at my younger self a bit. As I just wrote to another friend, as much as I've fixed some of my attentional problem - I'm still far away from where I want to be, but that might just reflect the fact that sometimes work is a drag and I'd rather read reddit than do my job.
Thanks for reading - I'm always glad when it's relatable to others!
As always, an enjoyable read over morning coffee, Megan. The Moroccan stew recipe is one that I make for work parties at The Commons, but I had a bit of Thai curry paste and coconut milk.
Good morning and thank-you! This kind of "stew" is so versatile - I make an almost identical Indian curry but just a different spice profile (and coconut milk). Anything with chickpeas makes me happy really :)