Putting an end to a reading drought

Well,

it’s a new year,

and,

I need to get back into,

creative,

and,

thinking,

mode.

I have,

lots of pre-occupations,

but,

sitting around in a daze,

in front of the computer,

distractedly gazing at,

face book,

isn’t going to help,

or make things,

magically fall into place,

reading won’t either,

but,

it will keep my mind,

busy,

supple,

(May My Mind Stroll About Hungry And Fearless And Thirsty And Supple-e.e cummings)

acquiring new,

knowledge,

and,

ideas.

I have finished my first book,

of the year,

and,

am well on my way,

to finishing,

the second.

The first book of the year,

is part of my great ideas project-

A Room Of One’s Own,

by Virginia Woolf.

I have to say,

all three of the books,

I have read,

in my great ideas project,

so far,

have been,

stellar.

This essay by,

the handsome and impressive,

Virginia,

is definitely worth your time.

I imagine tons of you,

are thinking,

“B.B I read that in college, years ago, where have you been? living under a rock???”

Well, not,

under a rock,

precisely,

but,

I must say,

I am perplexed that an almost,

fifty year old butch,

such as myself,

reasonably well read,

without a college education,

but,

still,

has managed to have,

not,

read this essay.

It is considered one of,

the great feminist essays.

Who knows,

not enough Women’s Studies classes,

I guess.

I liked it a lot,

and I will write about it,

more,

soon.

For the time being,

I need to sit with it,

in my mind,

digest it.

 

The other book I am,

reading is a classic,

of the LGBTQ canon,

a memoir,

a coming out story,

Becoming A Man by Paul Monette,

beautifully written,

blood and guts stuff,

reminds me of the Hemingway quote,

about writing being easy,

all you need to do,

is sit at the typewriter and bleed,

I paraphrase,

but,

that is the gist.

Monette’s book,

is,

shockingly honest and raw,

and,

angry,

at the way,

gay men and women,

sometimes live half a life,

because,

of their attempts to,

pass,

and lots of time spent in,

the closet.

Now,

to be sure,

that isn’t the experience,

of all gay men,

especially not,

the younger generation,

but,

the feeling of otherness,

that is true and real,

for all,

well,

I think it is.

πŸ™‚

I am only one third in,

but,

so far,

it feels like,

one of those books,

that changes you,

like Stone Butch Blues did,

like Bastard Out Of Carolina did,

the naked truth,

of,

feeling,

of hurt,

of surpassing.

I have had this book,

on my shelf for a long time,

this is the year,

I read it.

 

I am following some,

reading advice,

from Austin Kleon,

I find that Austin,

has inspired me,

in many ways,

with his books,

and his excellent blog,

it isn’t touchy feely,

his blog,

but,

it isn’t,

dark and brooding either,

practical advice,

for getting things done,

for creating and reading again.

Here is the link,

to the post on how to read more,

How to read more

his advice on logbooks,

is pretty darn good too,

Six years of logbooks

and,

reading Austin’s advice on reading more,

brought me to,

Ryan Holliday and his,

recommendations,

http://ryanholiday.net/how-to-read-more-a-lot-more/

I think both are well worth checking out,

and,

perhaps incorporating some,

of their advice,

into our daily grind and ritual.

So, I have on,

the night table,

the desk,

a bunch of books to read in,

January,

a couple of fiction,

a couple of non-fiction,

I look forward to all of them,

and sharing my thoughts,

with you.

Be well.

I’m off to read

πŸ™‚

Later girls,

BB

 

The ‘work in progress’ is …progressing and some reading thoughts

canadian blog awards

Winner in the GLBT category

Hello you all,

rainy day here,

in my beautiful ugly.

Please don’t think,

I’m complaining,

I’m not,

give me rain over,

sticky dank heat,

any day.

My work in progress,

is progressing,

more and more notes,

adding up,

a memory stick full of pictures,

hell,

I even created a twitter account,

check it out,

join me,

https://twitter.com/bookishbutch

Austin Kleon’s book,

Show your work,

suggested it was,

the favorite social media,

of writers.

Early days,

but,

I can see enjoying it,

and,

it will help with impulse control,

“gotta’ control yourself,

or those 140 words,

can get you in trouble

πŸ™‚

I just finished reading,

Gender Failure,

by Ivan E. Coyote and Rae Spoon,

a must read people,

will give you much to ponder,

and,

make you laugh and cry,

lots of emotion,

lots of thought,

two astute minds,

collaborating to serve up,

a truly excellent book.

I think you all know,

the love and respect I have for Ivan,

a butch idol of mine,

respect brother.

Rae Spoon,

I am less familiar with,

but,

equally impressed with,

the journey and grit that lead to this,

place,

yes,

impressive.

It brought forth Β many questions,

I never realized,

I had about the trans experience,

if I can put it this way, but, actually that kind of, a ridiculous way of putting, because the experience is different for everyone,

all part of the vast,

human experience.

It made me think,

and,

feel,

and that is what I value,

above all else,

in a book.

I saw their show,

Ivan and Rae’s,

Gender Failure,

last year with my friend, Francoys,

and so looked forward to reading,

and discussing it with him.

(:

Don’t think for a moment,

“well, I saw the show, I know what the book is about”

it is a very different ‘creature’

both are excellent and complimentary in my opinion.

The show left a lasting impression,

I have discussed it with people,

and,

pondered on it,

many times,

since.

The book opened up a door,

Fran Lebowitz,

one of my all time favourite writers and speakers,

discusses this concept in a talk on Jane Austen,

A book should not be a mirror but a door.

By this she means it shouldn’t be about you,

or recognizing yourself,

but, a door to another world,

another world view,

a glimpse into someone else’s,

human experience.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujjJlT9cCts

I have read all of Ivan’s work,

’tis love,

and,

now I want to explore,

more of Rae’s,

they appeal to me,

very much,

and,

force me,

in a joyful way,

to explore my thoughts,

confront my acquired ideas.

That rocks

πŸ™‚

Austin Kleon in his,

Steal Like An Artist,

and,

Share Your Work,

advises you to learn everything,

there is to know about artists who you love,

learn all their work.

I’ve been doing this for years, but, it is nice to see it articulated, I guess.

Ivan is right up at the top of artists and work I love.

A worthy book.

and this morning,

I came upon this,

on upworthy via face book

proof there isn’t only crap on fb

It added to my thoughts,

once you start,

chewing, marinating and pondering,

on a subject,

stuff turns up,

nice that,

so here is the link

http://www.upworthy.com/the-thing-your-first-grade-english-teacher-missed-that-you-should-definitely-know?g=2&c

Let me know what you all think,

about all this,

I’m off to steal and share.

Be well.

Later girls,

BB