54
Or, New Every Morning
Reader,
In the days before the pandemic, I used to reset every week so I'd often feel like the week was wasted by Wednesday. Then Bukachi Akatsa, the producer who helped us get Corpus going, reminded me that every day, every moment, is a chance to try again. [Insert poem here]. I still struggle with this but I’m glad to have his voice in my head in weeks like these, where fatigue has overtaken me (and resulted in a reading struggle).
This was the week of the Spotify Wrapped (see my Top 100 here) and it has me excited to see my Storygraph next year because the vibes are similar in some regards. This is especially true for those of us (me) who are slowly learning how to leave behind the things (books, I’m talking about books) that no longer serve us. On the whole, or in the moment.
It seems this almost-refusal to halt the reading of books starts early. Just today, a 12 year old brought back my copy of Charlotte's Web by E.B. White and sheepishly admitted to not having finished it over the months they had it. It became apparent, now that they’re more comfortable in my home, that they’d still rather read books brimming with illustrations. As a person who values literacy over reading levels, this moment will stay with me.
Some things that happened since I last wrote to you that I’d like to share:
I bought an item or two before November ended, taking the advice I gave myself last week. My thanks to everyone who encouraged the decision.
I went to see films that were showing as part of the Samosa Festival and got to experience the joy of listening to Ngwatilo Mawiyoo and Krysteen Savane (whose film, Supastaz, is available in full on YouTube) in conversation.
I got membership at The Bookworm Gigiri (faster on Instagram) at Angie’s encouragement. I intend to use it for books I have a hard time finding on Libby - such as Tomb of Sand by Geetanjali Shree (translated by Daisy Rockwell) and The Complete Maus (Maus #1-2) by Art Spiegelman, which I borrowed - as well as to experiment with titles in physical forms.
I finished 3 books last week: A Lie Someone Told You about Yourself by Peter Ho Davies, Ain't Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds (illustrated by Jason Griffin) and Sisters in Hate: American Women on the Front Lines of White Nationalism by Seyward Darby (read by Susan Bennett). I discuss them in the latest video.
As ever, please write back to me and tell me what books you’re reading or looking forward to reading this week — it’s always a great time talking about books.
Enjoy the rest of the week and have a lovely time reading. Talk to you soon!