Reading for Pleasure or Not the Life of a Student

I have been so wrapped up in academia that it seems a lifetime ago that I actually read a book for pure pleasure. Every time I pick up a book a little voice appears urging me to read between the lines to look for hidden themes, symbols and contexts.  

In fact, I was forced to trawl the thousands of photographs on my phone (which I really need to make time to clean up) to find proof that I have done so! Sadly, this is from a holiday two and a half years ago. Pure bliss...

These days, my reading pile looks more like this:

I am having an amazing journey, by times stimulated, fascinated, overwhelmed, depressed, a whole gamut of emotions. And one book leads to another and another, and I fear that I may disappear behind a pile of paper and eventually someone may have to dig me out and I will emerge, clutching the thesis like the holy grail in one hand, the other hand hanging limply by my side with mouse-induced stiffness. 

I do miss immersing myself in a good book, curling up in bed and reading into the night. I also miss writing, keeping up with my blog, writing about issues that have nothing to do with slavery, colonialism or racism. Sitting at the computer feels like work all the time. I sneak onto Facebook and press a few likes, and disappear before I get sucked in. But would I do the studying all over again? Yes, without hesitation. It's given a different meaning to my life. 

So I am going on a trip this week and am most excited about choosing a book to read on the plane! Believe me, I have choices on my bookshelf from months ago when I ventured into bookshops in Australia and America. I even have Harper Lee's Go Set a Watchman from almost two years ago, when I very excitedly grabbed it off the shelf in Pawling, happy to read it before it had been released back home. (Well, I haven't yet!). What I have chosen, and it may have something to do with the title more than anything else, is:

The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu

and their race to save the 

world's most precious manuscripts

This is a story of a historian who organised a dangerous operation to save 350 000 volumes of ancient Islamic and secular texts out of Timbuktu to the safety of southern Mali. One of the reviews promises that the author, Joshua Hammer, "has pulled off the truly remarkable - a book that is both important and a delight to read. Another, that this book is a must-read if you are feeling despair about the fate of the world (which I am). I'm hoping that is enough to shut up the nagging little voice and that I will be able to simply enjoy the fantastic story! I will keep you posted. 

This Writing Life

I have been reprimanded for being such a slack blogger.  Now that I have survived the first semester of self-imposed immersion, I have a little more time, although I should be thinking about a thesis for next year, and probably starting on it! The real treasure of this course is the exposure to so many different talents and opinions. One good outcome of doing the MA is that I now have a license to write. So spending all morning at my desk and doing what I love, is now legal.

During the course of this semester we will be having weekly workshops, each with a different author, introducing us to various genres, as well as talks about publishing, branding and agenting. So it’s starting to feel a lot more like the real thing. Over the last two weeks I have been depressed by the prospects for publishing (1% of manuscripts actually get published, only 1 million people buy books in SA) and I am worried about whether it is possible to produce a book by this time next year.

This week we had South Africa’s latest shining star, Lauren Beukes come and talk to us. Leonardo di Caprio has bought the movie rights to her book…enough said. I can barely watch CSI if I am alone in the house and the very idea of Dexter or Hannibal is guaranteed to give me sleepless nights. So The Shining Girls is not at all the kind of book which would appeal to me – time travelling serial killers!? I think not. However, I was impressed with her focus and commitment to her writing.  We all know writers who are better than we are, she said, but they gave up.

I also admire her ability to market herself. She showed us a book trailer for The Shining Girls (yes, a video clip to advertise the book). I immediately recognized it as something which would interest my daughter. I showed her the trailer when I got home and by the following evening she had not only gone out and bought the book but was a good bit of the way into it.  It has been a while since I have seen her reading for pleasure… actually, not since The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

I have been having doubts about writing non-fiction, about what right I have to appropriate other people’s stories, about how accurate my memories are, and other angst-ridden questions. Lauren also had the following advice, which has set me free, in a way. Write what challenges and interests you. Let the book rest and get as much feedback as you can from different people. Don’t think about publishing for at least three months after the thesis is completed.

I realize that I should simply go ahead and write the story I want to write, as best I can, uninhibited by the idea of publishing.  Right now it is my story. I’ll worry about sending it out to the world at a later stage.  

For the Love of Reading

http://interioralchemy.tumblr.com/page/10#

On the cover of a recent Oprah magazine, she is reclining against a wall, mauve and green foliage in the background evoking lazy summer days, on her lap an open book. I tried to imagine the book replaced with a Kindle or some version of an e-book. Not quite the same.

At a recent gathering of fellow writers, we bemoaned the demise of the book. One person in the group mentioned that a friend had recently moved and given away all her books since she was now into electronic reading. We were horrified...giving away all your books?! Sacrilegious! I cannot imagine not having bookshelves laden with books in my home.

But it seems we are the cross-over generation - the ones who can embrace the change brought about by technology but still appreciate the benefits and delights of holding a book, turning the pages. You can’t miss something you never had, or you never knew.

On all our travels around the world we have always come back dragging heavy suitcases filled with books which we simply had to have...On our recent trip to Italy I knew that my daughter had finally relaxed when I saw her curling up on the bed with a book she had been meaning to read for probably a year.

I remember my son for all of his prep school life walking around book tucked under his arm, ready to whip it out if he had a free moment. His school had encouraged this love of reading we had instilled   into both of them from a young age. Sadly, I don’t see him reading much recently. He seems to be spending more and more time on the computer. However, he still has a bookshelf of favourite books which he won’t pass on and I think that it won't be long before he is inspired to pick up a book again.

On the other hand, I don’t mind what they read as long as they read...

A Visit with an old Friend

I have just re-read a classic – My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell. When I finished it this morning I felt a deep pleasure that started in my very middle and rose all the way up to manifest in a huge grin. I felt the satisfaction settle like a cloak over me.  Every bit of it was as good as I remembered. With a few words, Durrell was able to transport me right into his madly, chaotic, eccentric family on the equally mad, chaotic and eccentric island of Corfu. It was like meeting up with an old friend and finding that we could pick up exactly where we left off. Although I think that this time I read it with far more appreciation of the descriptive passages that he is so good at. 

I had an urge to share it with my children although I am not sure how well he will stand up to vampires, dragons and other unearthly creatures. Nevertheless, I cornered them with a few passages I could not resist reading out aloud.

... we…fled from the gloom of the English summer like a flock of migrating swallows ... 
... France rain-washed and sorrowful, Switzerland like a Christmas cake, Italy exuberant, noisy and smelly, were passed…
... the cypress-trees undulated gently in the breeze, as if they were busily painting the sky a still brighter blue for our arrival...

And that’s only in the first 20 pages or so.

I found myself laughing out loud at hilarious descriptions of his family and other characters who passed through his life while they were in Greece. I have stuck little coloured post-its all over the book to go back to ruminate over.  Ah, the simple pleasures in life! 

The 50th Anniversary Edition of My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell is published by Puffin