A Not-Review Review
Currently reading:
The Likeness by Tana French
So. I made the mistake of reading Goodreads reviews of this one, which has slowed down my reading a bit. The Likeness has a phenomenal reader rating (4.17 out of 5 stars). But I had some thoughts about pacing and characters and went looking for people to back me up in the one- and two-star review sections, as I’m wont to do. If I hate a movie that everyone else seems to love, I will spend hours scouring reviews until I find someone reputable who agrees with me. I need to know I’m not the only one. I do it with books, too, sometimes to see if people hate a book as much as I do. Or, like in this case, I was on the fence about the book and had concerns, so I just wanted to see if others shared those same thoughts and concerns.
What’s hilarious is that, despite my misgivings, I’m enjoying this book quite a bit and will likely give it at least three stars once I finish up, barring major, awful twists in the second half. But it’s just slow-going on the reading front at the moment.
Also did I mention that this book is 600 PAGES LONG for some reason? (I did mention that.)
Secret Identity by Alex Segura
I got an advance copy of this months ago, started reading, got distracted, and forgot to go back to it. I’m excited to dive back in! I know I said I was done with book clubs, but this one is, uh . . . for a book club. Never say never, friends.
Books finished this week: 0
Library updates:
No Library books finished (or little-L library books, either——I haven’t borrowed anything yet) this week, but I did finish reading and reviewing a book for the freelance gig. Started a new one that I’m . . . not loving. That’s not helping with the slight reading slump I’m finding myself in right now.
Here’s a sort-of bragging picture of the excellent tiramisu I treated myself to the other night. Peep The Likeness creeping in the background. I was reading, I swear!!
Ironically, I’ve actually been reading more in the last few weeks than I have in a while. I find myself carving out more time——before bed, on the train, just sitting on the couch when I have a few hours free——and making space for reading in my schedule, like I haven’t in probably years. I’m enjoying the process, even if I’m not checking a lot of books off my various reading lists just yet. Maybe I’ll have a better update next week.
I also wanted to talk a little about writing this week, since I’ve been trying to do some more of that, too. I’ve mentioned a bit on here and on social media the Meetup writing groups I joined this summer, and I’m finding them astoundingly helpful. Especially this week. Even though I’m not writing every single day (not fiction writing, anyway; journal productive is way up, I’m happy to report), I look forward to having an hour every week or every other week that is dedicated only to writing.
I went to a writing event this Wednesday, after much internal back and forth all day about whether I actually wanted to go. I was languishing on my bed, eating some chocolate, and pondering how I would feel about missing another meet-up, since I had to skip last week to get through some work. This Wednesday, I was tired; it was hot and humid; the dance class I do as my workout really kicked my ass on Monday and every muscle still ached. (Damn you, “Larger Than Life” boy band choreo!!) I also wasn’t feeling particularly creative that day.
But when the time came, I promised my cat I’d feed her when I got home, and I sweated my way to the subway.
It’s kind of amazing what a change of scenery and some camaraderie can do. As I sat at the cafe, shyly chatting with the other writers while we waited for the event organizer to arrive, I started to feel more awake and more excited. (The iced coffee I bought and drank most of in a matter of minutes might’ve helped, too, but who can tell?) We started the event by introducing ourselves and mentioning what we were working on that evening, and then had one hour of uninterrupted writing time.
When I’d first sat down, I’d reopened my document and stared at the last sentence I wrote two weeks ago and thought, What the fuck were you even trying to do? There was a stray reminder note, but I didn’t feel energized by what I saw at all. But something happens when the timer starts—or something happens for me, at least. I have one hour to devote to the thing I love, and I don’t want to waste it. I have one hour to get as many words down as I can. It’s a sort of NaNoWriMo effect: Just go. Just write. Plot holes don’t matter. Any zany idea that pops into your head ends up on the page. Logic is to be ignored. Get it done.
I wrote over 1000 words, then a few hundred more after I got home, fed Moneypenny, and chugged about a gallon of water.
I did the thing, and I feel much better for it. I’m also trying not to force myself to write, and I’m not being hard on myself about not writing between events. If I can and want to, great! And if not, at least I know I have a time on the calendar when I will be getting some words down on the page.
Closing thoughts:
If it’s your thing: write. A journal entry, a Post-It, 1000 words of your novel. Maybe a new post for your middling blog? (Hardy har.) Just write. It’ll help, I promise.
