My Brain On Books XXXX
I am reading for The Office of Letters and Lights the folks who bring us NaNoWriMo today as I love what they are doing for literacy with their Young Writer's Programs and because I've participated in NaNo every year since 2004. I have been blessed to have it in my life and would like to give something back if only kudos and link love. I'm putting this plug at the top in hopes some who stop by will check out their site and see all the great things they do to foster love of reading and writing and story in kids.
This post will be organized like a blog inside a blog with recent updates stacked atop previous ones. I may be posting some updates on Twitter @Joystory and the Joystory fb fanpage. But this is where I do anything more than a line or two. Including mini-challenges that don't require a separate post..
Be sure and see my tribute poem to Dewey and the Thon she birthed at the bottom of this post
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| My folding camper rocker new last summer. Hoping to spend some time in it this thon. The weather is perfect |
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12:22 AM - Second Finish
I spent a couple hours reading a chapter in each of several NF books:
The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy by Robert P. Jones
The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy by Robert P. Jones
The Untold Story of Books by Michael Castleman
Being Seen by Elsa Sjunneson
Then I started another novel. Well, I thot it was a novel and it was fiction but it's length was in that grey area between novel and short-story. It was over 100 pages but not by much. There were no chapter breaks so I never paused let alone quit and once again read beginning to end in one sitting.
Once upon a time about three decades ago that was an everyday experience for me but that was before my visual impairment crossed the line defined as legally blind. Then my reading speed was cut in half and a few years later in half again. I must admit tho that I'm managing this today by listening to the Kindle robot at 3.5x while following along with my eyes. This gives me back close to my reading speed as a teenager with eyes only. I can't reach that speed with eyes only or ears only. Due to hearing loss I loose syllables if i'm not also watchng the words highlight on the screen. With ears only I can seldom speed it up past 1.5. With eyes only I often drop below 1x which is equal to the speed of speech ( 200-250 wpm).
So the story (novel? novella? short story?) was Convenience Store woman by Sayaka Murata. This was a very unnerving story for me. I'm assuming, tho I'm not sure I should be, that the author meant it to be unnerving but because it's POV character's character was so similar to me in some significant ways, I identified with her only to find myself cringing as her choices went off the rails even tho those choices were solidly based on the very same characteristics that I identified with.
To clarify, like me Keiko was obviously neurodivergent. This wasn't said directly but made obvious by her interactions with family, classmates and teachers as a child along with her first person narration reveals her to struggle with social interactions and expectations. She is constantly saying and doing things that shock others and she is shunned at school and shamed by family. Then she learns to observe and mimic those around her until she soothes their nerves as they begin to hope she is finally 'normal'. But it never lasts long as she always miscalculates like a cat crossing a balance beam and stepping on its own tail and tumbling to the ground.
Then as a college student she gets a part time job at a convenience store and it seems she has finally found her element. The rigid protocols, the scripted interactions with customers, the perfectly lined up product on display, keeping all the surfaces clean and gleaming--all of this is her happy place and the added benefit is that those around her now treat her as normal and she feels like she finally belongs. Her parents are proud of her. Her classmates and teachers congratulate her. Her boss praises her and her co-workers include her in their circle.
She was content to continue in this way for the rest of her life but that was another miscalculation as after a number of years it is made clear to her that she is expected to move on to a full-time job or a profession or marriage and children. Otherwise she is not contributing enough to the community. It was at this point the story took that dark turn when Keiko made cringy choices. I dare not say anymore as I can't clarify any further without spoilers.
Once upon a time about three decades ago that was an everyday experience for me but that was before my visual impairment crossed the line defined as legally blind. Then my reading speed was cut in half and a few years later in half again. I must admit tho that I'm managing this today by listening to the Kindle robot at 3.5x while following along with my eyes. This gives me back close to my reading speed as a teenager with eyes only. I can't reach that speed with eyes only or ears only. Due to hearing loss I loose syllables if i'm not also watchng the words highlight on the screen. With ears only I can seldom speed it up past 1.5. With eyes only I often drop below 1x which is equal to the speed of speech ( 200-250 wpm).
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| Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata |
So the story (novel? novella? short story?) was Convenience Store woman by Sayaka Murata. This was a very unnerving story for me. I'm assuming, tho I'm not sure I should be, that the author meant it to be unnerving but because it's POV character's character was so similar to me in some significant ways, I identified with her only to find myself cringing as her choices went off the rails even tho those choices were solidly based on the very same characteristics that I identified with.
To clarify, like me Keiko was obviously neurodivergent. This wasn't said directly but made obvious by her interactions with family, classmates and teachers as a child along with her first person narration reveals her to struggle with social interactions and expectations. She is constantly saying and doing things that shock others and she is shunned at school and shamed by family. Then she learns to observe and mimic those around her until she soothes their nerves as they begin to hope she is finally 'normal'. But it never lasts long as she always miscalculates like a cat crossing a balance beam and stepping on its own tail and tumbling to the ground.
Then as a college student she gets a part time job at a convenience store and it seems she has finally found her element. The rigid protocols, the scripted interactions with customers, the perfectly lined up product on display, keeping all the surfaces clean and gleaming--all of this is her happy place and the added benefit is that those around her now treat her as normal and she feels like she finally belongs. Her parents are proud of her. Her classmates and teachers congratulate her. Her boss praises her and her co-workers include her in their circle.
She was content to continue in this way for the rest of her life but that was another miscalculation as after a number of years it is made clear to her that she is expected to move on to a full-time job or a profession or marriage and children. Otherwise she is not contributing enough to the community. It was at this point the story took that dark turn when Keiko made cringy choices. I dare not say anymore as I can't clarify any further without spoilers.
8:44 PM - First Finish!
I sat on the porch from 5:22-8:33 and read a book start to finish in one sitting for the first time in a very long time. Of course I was listening to the Kindle robot read at 3.5x while following with my eyes--but still!
I sat on the porch from 5:22-8:33 and read a book start to finish in one sitting for the first time in a very long time. Of course I was listening to the Kindle robot read at 3.5x while following with my eyes--but still!
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| Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks |
The book was Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks and it was a memoir about the loss of her husband in 2019. I was a meditation on grief and loss. The very short chapters alternate between the events in the hours, days and months following his death and Geraldine's months long retreat (alone) to a remote Australian island three years later to free and confront all of the emotions surrounding the events of 2019 that she had felt she had to sublimate behind a socially acceptable mask.
4:44 PM - Intro Meme
1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
Kelso Washington USA. Across the Cowlitz river from Longview where I grew up and had been living with my elderly mother between January 2013 and late July 2021. I moved into my 400 square foot efficiency unit in late July 2021. This post was a photo essay of my new space.
So this is my 13th thon in my own home, counting the Reverse Thons in August 2021 & 2023 & 2024.
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
Non-Fiction: Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks
Fiction: Letter From the Lonesome Shore by Sylvie Cathrall (book 2 in a duology. I read the first one two weeks ago. It was one of the best things i've read all year and i've finished over 60 books since Jan 1.
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?
Savory: baby carrots and broccoli blossoms dipped in Ranch
Sweet: cold grapes and blueberries
4) Tell us a little something about yourself!
- Still processing grief over the loss of Mom last October.. That's why I'm looking forward to the Geraldine Brooks book Memorial Days as it is a meditation/memoir about her grief after loosing her husband
- Widowed September 2020 It still smarts at unexpected moments. But at least it is usually only once a month now instead of constantly.
- Legally blind with RP aka tunnel vision. Have only a sliver of vision left in center of right eye. The rest is shadows and shimmers.
- Have struggled with mood disorder of Anxiety and Depression and insomnia since grade school
- Diagnosed with high functioning autism in 2015. In my 50s!
- Have a caregiver who comes in five days a week to help with chores and errands I can't do alone.
- I proved during this move that I have more volume in fiber art supplies than in clothes by at least thee times.
- I probably have double the volume of clothes in tree-books but since I still haven't got them all moved over I can't be sure.
5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?
This is my 40th Dewey thon so there aren't many variations I haven't tried.
Doing anything but especially reading or writing for a full 24 hours used to be my superpower but not so much anymore. Now that I'm in my mid sixties the price I pay for that self abuse is significant as all my systems are less forgiving.
Because of my vision issues I have always considered that the only metric on which I could compete as I'm now such a slow reader. But I've discovered that I can rack up an impressive number of books dipped into in 24 hours. I like to read a chapter each in 4 to 6 NF in an hour and then spend an hour immersed in a novel.
Because of my vision issues I have always considered that the only metric on which I could compete as I'm now such a slow reader. But I've discovered that I can rack up an impressive number of books dipped into in 24 hours. I like to read a chapter each in 4 to 6 NF in an hour and then spend an hour immersed in a novel.
Ah but the ONE thing that I could do different that could make a lot of difference in the quality of the experience is to do a better job than in the past of staying hydrated. But nearly equal to that in impact would be to get briefly active at least once every two hours. But this isn't the first time I've set that intention. Let's hope I do a better job at it this time.
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Ode to Dewey by Joy Renee We Miss You Dewey |
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