I don’t know about you, but I find it hard to write in the summer. My kids are off school, my friends are calling, people come to visit…
I still write, but I scale back my ambitions. And I use the snatches of time I do have, to read.
But not just anything. I’m cutting back on reading ABOUT writing, and focussing more on readiung some great writing by the masters.
So, what are the last three books I opened?
I’m trying to read a poem a day, so I picked up this volume of Frost poems and it fell open to After Apple Picking. I didn’t love it at first but I read it (slowly) a couple of times more and wrote it out once. I still didn’t love it, but I did find it a useful exercise and got much more out of it that way.
The Great English Short-Story Writers, Volume 1
I read Dr. Heidegger’s Experiement, which left me with a strong sense of the history of the short story and what a robust form it really is.
Cooked by Michael Pollan
I’ve always enjoyed Michael Pollan’s writing style. It really proves that anything can be interesting if the writer has a passion for it and that all good writing is storytelling.
Bonus Fourth Book:
The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson and the Olympians) by Rick Riordan
My eight year old and I are reading it together at bedtime. Mostly I read it but sometimes he reads it. We love reading out loud. Do/did you still read to children once they can read for themselves?
How about you? Leave a comment telling us what were the last three books you opened.