Dear Writer,
In On Writing, Stephen King wrote, “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.”
I disagree completely, because we have viewed reading (and a million other activities) as just a function of time, rather than as a formula that consists of time x energy. If you multiply something by zero, the answer is zero. If either time or energy is at zero, you can’t read… or do anything else. And you know what trauma saps? Energy.
That said, what feeds my energy is doing something in community, so I’m going to ask you, my little community, to join me in something that I hope will be beneficial for anyone who wants to participate.
The Dear Writer Book Group.
I’ve been struggling with reading for the last few years. It’s been really hard for me to just sit down and… you know… read a book. I don’t think it’s an ebook vs. paper thing for me; I think it’s the very idea that I could possibly deserve the luxury of sitting down for a while and doing only one thing. Then, I read a book like that over the winter holidays, when I had a few days where nothing was really expected of me, and it felt glorious. I realized that I only give myself the space to read if nothing else is expected of me and Writer, I have built my life in a way that something is always expected of me.
And that saps my energy. I may have time to read, but my energy is definitely at zero.
Well, this is my last week of full-time work. After this, I’m going full-time on me. Not just business me, although I will be working on lots of projects in service of selling the book…
…but more than that, I want to get to a lifestyle that is truly balanced. I’ve minimized my life so that I don’t need as much money as I used to need, now’s the time to adjust the way I work… and the way I deliberately won’t work sometimes.
That said… I’m not there yet. I want to start reading, but I know I won’t do it unless I create some energy for it, and community energizes me. So, I’m asking some of you to join me in forming a book group. The discussions will be held on Saturdays in the Dear Writer paid tier, where every week my letter will be about what we read that week, and I hope that those of you participating will jump into the comments and share your thoughts and responses.
I’m giving the list of books I’ve picked out, all books I want to read and discuss for different reasons, and if any of you on the free tier want to help select the book we’ll read, you can do that if you upgrade to the paid tier before Saturday, when I will put it to a vote.
So, without further ado, these are the books I’ve selected. I’ve read at least the first couple of chapters of each of them, and found them all engaging enough that I want to talk about them with smart people. On Saturday, I will put out a poll where paid Dear Writer subscribers can vote, and then next week I’ll post a reading schedule which should spread about 6-8 weeks, depending, and we’ll start with our responses on Saturday, May 21.
Slayer, by Kiersten White
Turtles All The Way Down, by John Green
The City We Became, by N.K. Jemison
Atlas of the Heart, by Brené Brown (non-fiction selection)
Beasts and Beauty, by Soman Chainani (short stories)1
Check them out, think about what appeals to you right now, and come vote on Saturday! The free-tier Dear Writer will continue in its regular fashion on Wednesdays; book discussion will happen on Saturdays.
Looking forward to doing this with y’all!
Everything,
L
Honestly, I want the cover of Beasts and Beauty made into a poster for my wall. That’s why I started reading that one, but it’s not why I kept reading. :)