Did you ever go through that phase in your teens and early twenties where creating new cocktails out of affordable ingredients seemed like an entirely appropriate use of time and energy? My experience with this was limited to watching the members of my hockey team get creative with a blender, but I think the evolution of that period of development is the one I'm in now; concocting interesting literary cocktails out of various authors.
I like to have a few books on the go at a time so that I have a choice; generally, we're talking two or three but somehow I have managed to start six books in the past little while and I'm worried I might have a problem. What are the early signs of addiction? Mixing genres? Starting cocktail hour earlier everyday? Reading in secret?
I'm usually reading a book about writing and much to my surprise, my favourite so far is On Writing by Stephen King. It's surprising because I don't care for his novels. That's entirely about content, though, not style, and the man can create characters like nobody's business.
At the moment, instead of one book like On Writing, which is practical advice in an easy-to-read style, I am filling that need with two different books. One is much more creative and inspirational than my usual choices and the other is much more academic than what I would normally select. So, in the "learning" category, I am reading (and doing - there are practice exercises) What It Is by Lynda Barry. This book is gorgeous and fun, with over 200 pages of hand-written notes and drawings and collage and everything a writer could want to get him or her going in the morning! Right brain all the way. Because I have a fairly ambidextrous brain, I am balancing this uncharacteristic romp in artsy-fartsy land with Daniel Kahneman. Yes, the guy who won a Nobel Prize in economics. I know! Normally any of those words would make my mid-range IQ run for cover, but Thinking Fast and Slow is about the brain and that topic fascinates me. I've already learned about the "The Invisible Gorilla" study which I had never heard of. This was a study about what the brain attends to. A video was taped of two "teams" of people, one team in black shirts and one in white. Each team was each given a basketball and told to pass the ball to members of their team. The people simply moved about in a small circle and passed the ball back and forth.The viewers were instructed to count the passes made by the team in white and to ignore the team in black. Part way through the video, a woman in a gorilla suit walked into the middle of the scene and pounded her chest, then walked off screen. She was visible for about 9 seconds of the video, yet about half the viewers did not notice her. Better yet, when told there had been a gorilla on-screen, they did not believe it! As Daniel said, "We can be blind to the obvious, and we are also blind to our blindness."
On making this interesting discovery, I opted to blow by the ramifications on the accuracy my own perceptions, and consider the implications for writing fiction. Do we, as readers, generally take into account our ability to be blind to our own blindness as we read? And what of the characters? Who's blind and who isn't? In which situations? How can I utilize this little tidbit in creating story? Interesting, yes?
And, just in case those two radical departures from my usual pattern aren't covering all the bases for my writer-self, I've thrown in The Novel by James Michener. Yes, it is exactly what it sounds like - a novel about the creation of a novel.
Now, as a writer of young adult and middle grades fiction, I like to always have one of those on the go and so at present, I am on a John Green kick. (With about a gazillion kids.) Looking for Alaska and The Fault in our Stars are well worth the read at any age. Mr. Green has not unthroned Markus Zusak (The Book Thief), as my favourite, but he is making an impressive run.
Next, if I am lucky enough to get a piece published in an anthology or magazine, I read the entire publication. So, I am also reading Sisters Born, Sisters Found, an anthology edited by Laura McHale Holland. I have a poem called Pink Ribbons on page 255.
Lastly, my reading for pure joy (although, it gets harder and harder to turn off my writer brain-when I read - but that's mostly a good thing). I am about to slip under the surface of another Ann-Marie McDonald dream - Adult Onset beckons luminously. I have to read it soon, as my partner has just finished it, and my sister arrives from Ottawa soon, and this book is first up for discussion at the Three Sisters Book & Coffee Club. I can't wait.
Speaking of mixing cocktails, I wonder what the effect will be to read Ann-Marie right after another favourite, Marion Toews? I just finished Summer of my Amazing Luck, which I have been meaning to read for ages and just found at a thrift store recently. I loved it and will let you know what level of intoxication one achieves by almost two-fisting Toews and McDonald. Bit like doing shots of Kingsolver and Ozeki back to back. I've done that and let me tell you . . . it's fun, but it lingers! So much to think about.
Crikey, I'm feeling a bit thirsty . . . must be 4:15 somewhere in the world!
Happy reading, everyone!
