When the right book finds you
I wish I read it sooner, but I'm glad I'm reading it now.
Hello Friends,
This week I was devastated to learn of the passing of Joan Diddion, not because I found her work long ago and loved it, but because until this week, I had been too intimidated to read her work.
In my mid-twenties I lived in Portland Oregon. I walked through Powell’s Book Store nearly every day. One day I picked up Slouching Towards Bethleham becasue I wanted to look cool in front of the tattooed cashires. Kind of like that time I bought an STP jacket in high school in the 90’s to impress the punk kids.
I brought the book home to my appartment where I lived alone and didn’t read it. I never wore the jacket either, at least not to school.
I was afraid I wouldn’t measure up, that I’d be called out as a poser. I’m not the kind of girl cool enough for someone as talented as Joan Didion. I used to feel the same about Anne Patchett.
A few months ago I picked up A Year of Magical Thinking. I am working on a memoir of my own and I figure I should study the masters. I picked up Mary Karr’s book too.
I started reading it the day Joan Diddion died.
You can go searching for just the right book. You can ask Facebook or your well-read friend for a recomendation. You can scower #bookstagram or listen to a book podcast, but sometimes, the best times, are when a book finds you right when you need it.
I’m barely 50 pages into A Year of Magical Thinking and I have half the thing underlined. It is written in a language I know well… Grief.
Newspapers have been publishing tributes all week, my favorite is in the L.A. Times. A woman wrote a letter to the editor about a time she met the author at a book signing. She was also grieving the loss of her husband. Didion wrote, “Now you take care of yourself.”
I think I’ll take that advice too.
This is where I am today. Thank you for listening.
Emily
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This Week on the Blog & Elsewhere
Last Christmas my husband Nick gave me a useless gift that turned out to be the most meaningful thing I own. I wrote about it and my story was published in HuffPost Personal on Christmas Day.
I am in awe of the response this story has gotten and I am so very grateful for the many comments and messages I have received in the last week. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
Just Read
I’d Rather Be Reading by Anne Bogel
A non-fiction work by the blogger behind ModernMrsDarcy.com and the podcast What Should I Read Next? Anne had me smiling from ear to ear and excited for a great reading year in 2022!
Charlie is depressed almost to the point of suicide. He hates his job and is hoping to be saved by Cathy Cannon, a fictional version of Carrie Fisher, and film icon when she hires him as her assistant. more…
Overall I enjoyed this book and I know I will be thinking about it for a long time. I like the idea of "wintering," allowing yourself to feel pain, confusion, uncertainty, and to care for yourself with rest and retreat rather than push on through. But some sections fell flat. (more)
Links to Ponder
My Christmas Tree is Covered in Frogs. (Scary Mommy)
The Essential Joan Didion (L.A. Times)
There’s no going back to normal… Now what? (New York Times)
Fellow grieving parent shares his story of his daughter, “Beans” and her battle with brain cancer.
Check out these 52 weekly reading challenges. I will definitely be doing some of these in 2022. (Book Riot)
How did I miss this beautiful story by one of my favorite storytellers, Elizabeth Gilbert?! (The Moth Podcast)
Maybe because it’s a local story, maybe because I love true crime, but this season of Lost Hills is too good not to miss. The last episode came out on Monday so it’s the perfect time to binge the whole series. (Lost Hills Podcast)
“Little imagination freak fairy,” Juliette Lewis Knows Her Worth (New York Times)
A New Year, a New You and Other B.S. Phrases to Let Go (EmilyKathleenWrites.com)
Why We Clutter? And What to Do About It. (New York Times)
What are you reading or listening to this week? What have you created that wasn’t there before? I love hearing from my readers. Post your response in the comments below or tag me on Instagram @emilykathleenwrites