Here I am, squeezing in a ‘What I’m Reading’ post for May! I missed last month’s due to being away and didn’t want to miss another. This is an interesting turnaround because, looking back two weeks or so, it was looking like I wouldn’t write this one either.
I’ve been feeling a bit lost when it comes to reading material. Ironic, considering we were in so many airports and there is nothing I like better in making the most of the interminable waits for gate calls than spending that time in their bookshops. But I was agitated, putting books down almost as soon as I picked them up. I initially thought the feeling was to do with the money factor – I didn’t want to get too excited about a title because we were on a budget (that stretched a bit when it came to buying books for the kids, and I might do a post about what they read overseas). This is partially true, but after reflection, I realised it was because I hadn’t finished much fiction lately. Begun novels, sure, but put them down for various reasons.
For instance, I gave The Luminaries a try while we were travelling, but as we were on the move so much, I found it difficult to sit still and focus. The only times I was able to make any significant progress was the week we had in London and on the speed trains between Paris and London, and Venice to Rome. So the novel didn’t disappoint me (on the contrary – it is excellent so far), more I was disappointed in myself and felt I couldn’t push on until I got over that feeling. Does that make sense?
That feeling continued after we got back and it took All the Birds, Singing to help dispel the negativity. Then the thought occurred to me: perhaps I’ve been reading too much non-fiction lately.
I adore non-fiction, but it doesn’t act as much of a salve for the spirit; fiction exists by, and through, the spaces of creation. I’m coming to realise now, even more than when I did as a child, that when a novel works, it feels like a goddamn miracle because it is one. Different worlds are made possible – contained, believable, realist or speculative (I don’t care which), and these are Good Things.
All the Birds, Singing had all the elements I like in a novel: mystery, economic – but fluid and lovely – language, and is structured in a way that makes the reader participate in the creation of the story. I also found it very interesting because the book I’m working on at the moment employs this non-linear narrative technique. While the ending wasn’t as satisfying as I’d hoped it would be and – as is the danger with such narratives – there were a few ‘holes’ that needed filling, I finished with a sense of joy because I’d finished.
Then, even better, perfectly, exquisitely, the next book I picked up was The Simple Act of Reading, edited by Debra Adelaide. Herein are essays by some of the country’s finest writers about this very subject: the joys and life-changing revelations that reading provides.
Here’s a sample of some of my favourite quotes so far (I’m halfway through):
“I would still be a reader if I’d never written a word, but I could never be a writer without having been a reader first.” Malcolm Knox
“If I had only read electronic books, I could have killed fewer trees and have consumed less petrol driving to shops and wasted less time in the eternal browse, but what would my life look like? It would be digitised, a virtual reality. I would need more imagination to see it, and I’m not sure that it’s an imagination I have.” Malcolm Knox
“What is it to read? Firstly, to read anything at all with any degree of receptivity is a quick and simple therapy for narcissism. Reading offers an escape to another imagination, not simply one’s own. By reading, one enters into the experience and vision of other people.” Giulia Giuffrè
Some essays have been re-published and I’ve read them before – but when they’re by, say, Kate Forsyth, it’s still a treat. What I also love about this book is that all proceeds go to the Sydney Story Factory, a place that does great, important work.
Last up today, next on the reading pile, is Mothermorphosis, edited by Monica Dux. The subtitle is ‘Australia’s Best Storyteller’s Write about Becoming a Mother’ and it’s a subject I’m obviously very interested in (hello, nearly nine years blogging about the topic on-and-off!). It has work by women I am proud to call personal friends and peers, and others I’ve admired from afar for years. (POETRY SKILLZ)
So I’m excited!
What are you reading this month?
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