Planting Seeds
Currently reading:
Meander, Spiral, Explode by Jane Alison
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Night Sky with Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong [ongoing]
I would’ve reread The Secret History again at some point soon——the timeline’s just been sped up a bit by that reading group I signed up for. Here I go again . . .
Books finished this week: 2
★★☆☆☆
Where this book came from: McNally Jackson Seaport, during the bookstore tour Bendy (hi, Bendy!) and I undertook while she was visiting around New Year’s.
Why this book: Because this should’ve been a book I adored. Between the cheeky title, the incredibly fun description, and the bold claim in the front-cover blurb that likened it to the X-Men, what wasn’t to love?
Thoughts: Wow, I did not love this! Where do I even begin? How about with the good: one star for a very fun premise and another for the unique limitations the author put on the protagonist’s powers. So much thought went into that and I really admire it! Unfortunately, I think all the thought went into that, and the rest of the book was put together with a lick and a promise——and a healthy dose of a man trying desperately to write a “quirky,” “edgy” twenty-something woman. Teagan was, in a word, insufferable. But, to be fair to her, most of her compatriots were cardboard cutouts, so I guess it’s nice that she got at least one character trait to play out. The pacing is also all over the place. The action was never action-ing——not in the way the author clearly wanted it to be, at least——and we were repeatedly told about people’s hopes and dreams, yet shown nothing. I never got the sense that any of these characters actually wanted anything. Teagan likes . . . food? Apparently? And wants to open a restaurant? But we only know this because she mentions it a handful of times, not because we ever really see her savoring a meal or cooking something for herself. I understand she’s in a life-or-death situation, but all 400+ pages focus on maybe three days in Teagan’s life. Couldn’t we have spent a little time developing her as a character? Also, the author has never been to LA??? And set an entire book there??? I could tell, sweetie, and I fucking hate LA. Once, when I was eighteen or nineteen, I started writing a book primarily set in Romania. But you know what I did? Put that idea aside, because I had never been to Romania and knew next to nothing about the country!! Grow up, Jackson Ford. (Which, for the record, also isn’t even his real name AHHHH.)
★★★★★
Where this book came from: Ordered from my first true love, Barnes & Noble, after pulling the Joy Harjo card from my Literary Witches deck.
Why this book: I pulled the Joy Harjo card from my Literary Witches oracle deck and I wanted to know more about her work.
Thoughts: I’m very glad to be in my poetry era, and especially to have gotten to know Harjo through this book. The way she writes about women and nature is just gorgeous, and made me feel both small and powerful. This book made me want to stay up all night and get up early, neither of which are things I did while reading, admittedly, but which I feel moved to work into my routine more often. I’ll be reading more of her work, and soon!
Library updates:
Last Friday, Valentine’s Day, I treated myself to a trip to the New York Botanical Garden, to see the members’ preview of the annual orchid show. The show is always packed, and even the preview day was busy, but the orchids always make me feel better! I hope the garden photos below do the same for you:
After walking around the conservatory and the grounds for a bit, I stopped at the gift shop, which was also incredibly crowded. I restrained myself from buying an(other) orchid and instead stocked up on seeds. A “Save the Bees” mix caught my eye right off the bat, and then I realized that they sell Hudson Valley Seed Co. packets. Britt (hi, Britt!) got me some of the Hudson Valley seeds for my birthday either last year or the year before and they grew well, so I figured I’d give it another shot.
Inspired by my outing, I cleaned up my balcony on Saturday. I repotted a small pine tree I got for Christmas and cleaned out the other pots and planters, then swept up the dirt, leaves, and other debris that accumulated in the corners. I also set up a more elaborate scheme to keep the ding-dang pigeons off my balcony, which includes sticking wooden plant sticks into pots of soil and basically closing off their preferred corner, by the downspout and drain.
Side note, did you know that once pigeons build a nest and successfully lay eggs in a spot, they’ll return to that spot over and over and over again, and also their kids will come back, and also they probably told all the other stupid pigeons in the neighborhood, “Hey, that balcony is a pretty sweet place to raise your chicks”?? I found that all out about two years ago, when the pigeons first made a nest. At first, I thought it was sweet. Me, a dumb-dumb, two years ago: Aw, they mate for life! They return to the place they feel safe! They feel safe with me! Their babies are so small and ugly and I would die for them!! Now, we are in a war and I am determined to win. I’ll report back.
Anyway, as I finished up, it started to snow, so I tidied up the last bits and then retreated inside, admiring my handiwork from the warmth of my living room. It looks so inviting out there, even with the below-freezing temperatures making their triumphant return this week. There are even some tulips and daffodils trying to push through the soil of a few planters outside, from bulbs I planted last year. All of this is just making me even more eager for spring, for warm temperatures, so I can get to planting. I have a list of plants I want to buy or grow myself and a loose schedule for starting my seeds.
Sorry to get heavy-handed with the nature metaphors now, but late winter/early spring always does genuinely feel like a time of renewal for me. I spent a day and night up in Cold Spring this week and was awed——and unsettled——by the frozen Hudson (pictures below), imagining returning when the trees on the mountains on the other side aren’t just pointy sticks poking the sky and the river is rushing along again. I love the changing of the seasons, because there’s always something to look forward to, something you’ve missed since you last got to enjoy that season, but I think the winter to spring transition is my favorite. Feeling a little sun on your face and warmth in the air; watching trees bloom and their branches start to fill again with leaves. It all feels so new and hopeful, like a million other people have noted before.
This feels like a good time to start planting other kinds of seeds too. Choosing to start Meander, Spiral, Explode right now fits the theme, with its focus on natural patterns and design in narrative structures. I’m revising Amp, in preparation for querying agents later this year (fingers crossed!!). Cleaning the balcony to make way for the eventual new plants that will grow there. Walking more, so I feel motivated to continue doing so when the better weather comes along. Planning what I want my working life to look like going forward, and learning to build both productivity and rest into my daily schedule. The next few weeks are going to be busy, but I’m hoping that they set me up for good things, greater things, happy things.
Closing thoughts:
Tend your garden.
Total books read from the Moratorium Library: 133
(Total books added to the Moratorium Library: 256)
Sponsor me, ThriftBooks . . .
. . . and Split Rock Books. (It’s not a trip to Cold Spring if I don’t buy at least two books at Split Rock.)
