Bookish (and not so Bookish) Thoughts

Let’s just begin by taking a moment for Toni Morrison- we lost a national treasure this week, that’s for sure. I’ve read three or four of her books, nowhere near her entire collection, but I have definitely developed a deep appreciation for her as a writer, woman, and social justice advocate.

I feel like I’m reading and listening to a million things right now. I’m about to begin Macbeth for work, since that’s the first text we read. I’ve read it probably six times before, but I refuse to ever teach a book I haven’t just reread, so it’s time to get my “double double toil and trouble” on. Can We All Be Feminists has been sitting on my work desk for months, a collection of essays examining issues of intersectional feminism. It’s fascinating, but it’s taking me ages to get through it since I leave it at work and just read a few pages here and there. I’m reading Sally Rooney’s Conversations with Friends, which I feel a little old for, which is interesting since I didn’t feel that way about Normal People. I’m listening to Reese Witherspoon’s book club selection Whisper Network by Chandler Baker, which is fine but nothing amazing. Besides The Daily and The Armchair Expert, I’ve started the Room 20 podcast, which is about trying to learn the identity of a man in a vegetative state. I also spent nearly two hours yesterday skimming The Overstory by Richard Powers for book club, since I read it back in January and needed a refresher.

In the last week Sawyer has used the words “Netflix” and “Amazon” in sentences for the first time, which is equal parts amusing and disturbing.

Speaking of that little guy, he starts kindergarten on Monday! Everyone keeps making comments like, “where did the time go?” and whatnot, but, honestly, it hasn’t felt abnormally fast. It feels like he’s been in my life forever, so it’s about damn time he has some formal education. I am so proud of all the progress he has made this summer, though. He can basically read all simple CVC words, has been working on blends, and we’ve got several sight words down too. He has an alarm clock now and knows he has to make his bed and get dressed when it goes off, and he is going to start getting a $2 a week allowance for doing his “jobs.” We’re moving on up.

If you’re a long-time reader or know me in real life, you know that I tend to be quite the worrier, especially about things related to jobs, money, logistical matters, and home repairs (all things directly related to me childhood, haha). I was thinking lately about how many safeguards and strategies I’ve put in place over the years to help handle all of this, and how daunting it is sometimes. I envy people who just sort of drift through life happily and don’t get bogged down with details or the infamous “what ifs.”

I desperately want to be the type of person who gets up early to work out now that I’m back to work, since it’s so much cooler and would help my afternoon/evening time management. Unfortunately, it would mean setting my alarm for like 40 minutes earlier, entering the four am hour, and I just can’t get myself to do it. If I slept more soundly and was feeling more rested, it would work, but until then, I don’t how I could survive.

My first week on Etsy was a success- I had a few sales, am feeling more comfortable with the app, and have some new ideas for some bookish hoops!