Another Post On My Love Of Books

 I bought a $600 Volvo wagon just before winter storms dumped several inches of snow here in Bloomington, Indiana.

Considering I had spent $500 during the summer to buy a brand-new extra large Schwinn bicycle, I thought the 1999 Volvo was a good buy once I peeped out of my bedroom window the first morning after an overnight snow storm. 

"No riding my bike to work today. Thank God!" The Volvo company was founded in 1927. I looked it up - really, really, really grateful that day.

The wintery weather has abated. My $600 Volvo is still running - despite the arm workout I get every day when I drive it. The power steering is going out. But this post isn't about how grateful I was to have a car during winter. Of course I was. No... this post is about the freedom having a car gave me to drive around my new digs here in Indiana. 

And... more specifically, this post is about how my car allowed me to visit my favorite bookstore: Half-Price Books. 

Here's a little background... Most of my books are in storage in Texas. When I moved to Indiana, I arrived here with one duffel bag of clothes and a backpack with a few magazines, books, journals and pens.

Since I moved to Indiana approximately a week before Covid hit in 2020, I wasn't able to travel back to Texas during 2020. All my favorite books are missing me. And, I have missed them, too.

The first day I drove to Half-Price Books here in Bloomington, I felt like I had returned home. I don't remember how long I spent inside the store. I started from one end of the store and went from section to section scanning book spines, eyeing the displays of featured books and finished at the other end of the store with a stack of books in my arms. 

My biceps, tired from steering my Volvo with the failing power steering, were aching even more from carrying all the hardbacks and paperbacks in my treasure trove of the written word.

Bartlett's Familiar Quotations - $3

The ScrewTape Letters - $1

An Incomplete Education  $1

Just a few titles I picked up that day. I spent less that $20 that day. Every book was either $1 or $3.

So now, I have a library in the making. I am reading... on a budget.

For that, I am thankful for my $600 Volvo. 

Now... I can possibly search the stacks at Half-Price Books and add to my exile library a few titles from 1927, the year Volvo was founded:

Elmer Gantry - Sinclair Lewis

The Story of Philosophy - Will Durant

To the Lighthouse - Virginia Woolf

Bridge of San Luis Rey - Thornton Wilder

Aspects of the Novel - E.M. Forster

At least I can carry all those books now that I workout every time I drive.

Life After Work

At the end of May, I ended my brief elementary school teaching career.

After taking some time off during the summer to hang with my kids, I know it's now time to hustle.
My goal is to work for myself. That means pay all my bills and meet all my expenses solely on my own efforts.

I do not want to get another job. It has been challenging. June, July and August have tested my resolve. In the end, I hope this will allow me more time to pursue my writing and artistic endeavors.

Despite the challenges, I have had so much more time to read books and write in my journal throughout the day. I have been able to work on more of my art.

But the balance isn't there yet. There have been several setbacks during these three months of summer. I'm not giving up though. Besides... the experience is giving me tons to write about.

So... time to hit the road. It's about 2:30 p.m. Time to pay the bills. More on that later.

All The Things I've Forgotten Over The Years: What I'm Doing To Relearn It All Now

It's about 10:30 p.m. on a Friday night. I'm sitting rather unceremoniously in a wife-beater and thermal leggings - my pjs for the night - sipping on vodka and water with a touch of orange... in my living room.

My rescue cat, Leppard, is pawing around at my feet. He is near my work table as I sit between my computer desk and my writing/craft/dining room table. A black, rolling office chair makes it easy for me to move from one station to the other.

I'm a fitful worker. The mood strikes,  and I want to type a few words for my blog. One of the books on my multi-use table calls to me. So, I read a few pages. Then, I notice another book on my shelves. I roll over and grab it.

That gives me an idea for my brown journal - the one I often carry in the breast pocket (with a pen jammed within its pages) of my wool Pea coat. I pause as I jot down the words p-e-a-c-o-a-t. I realize that I have forgotten how the phrase goes. Is it all one word? Is it capitalized?

I google it and settle on: Pea coat... if only to get on with it and take another swig of my drink.

Then it comes to me: I've forgotten quite a bit. I'm speaking of knowledge... nuggets that were once ingrained in my memory, which I could recall at will if prompted. I was once a Trivial Pursuit god.

I've come to the conclusion that I have forgotten too much. So.... time to rediscover all that knowledge. That will be my task for the foreseeable future.

 History. Art. Philosophy. Science. Literature. Music.

I dare say that I have forgotten more than some ever ventured to learn in the first place. Many still have outpaced me. All the same... I'm excited to dive back into Greek mythology. And... I just got super excited... I grabbed one of my old grammar books off the shelf and started reading about the parts of a sentence, parts of speech.... Oh, yeah! My skin tingled.

This will be an adventure. Why not? What else am I doing? What else are any of us doing? Living the same routine day after day. Why not shake things up? Why merely exist? Why not broaden our experience by reacquainting ourselves with our past passions? On this adventure... I M -A -Y even look at subjects I ignored or found distasteful growing up. Math... Ewwww. A subject I wish I would have paid more attention to: Physics. Ahhh... it fascinates me... but... darned math gets in the way again!

I dare say that deepening our knowledge would make us feel more poignantly about our everyday experiences. I'll keep a journal of my progress... of my observations. If you want, join me. Journal and share your experiences.

OK... my glass is empty... and another book on my shelves has caught my attention.

What I'm Reading Everyday

Yes... another acronym: WIRE.

But it works for me. So.... I've learned a lot the last few days. Here's what I've been reading this week:

Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don't Have All The Facts, by Annie Duke.

Listen Up Or Lose Out: How To Avoid Miscommunication, Improve Relationships, and Get More Done Faster, by Robert Bolton and Dorothy Grover Bolton.

Thinking In Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don't Have All The Facts, by Annie Duke.

Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance, by Alex Hutchinson.

Quirky: The Remarkable Story of the Traits, Foibles, and Genius of Breakthrough Innovators Who Changed the World, by Melissa A. Schilling.

These were among the books that Success Magazine recommended as Must-Reads for February. So... I'm reading them.

In case you missed it:

What You Must Do Every Day To Find Stories To Write About. If you want to be a writer, this is a must. Very basic advice, but something we don't really do... if we're being honest.

Trying to keep going even when your body doesn't.

An observation exercise on Valentine's Day. What do you see as you go about your day?

Let's Get Vulnerable: A Moment Of Truth

I'm truly excited again.

I'm writing. I'm seeing stories everywhere. Yet... for those who have followed me... if you're still here from years past, you may be curious about my lapse. 

I neglected this blog for awhile. Life got in the way. A move across the country. A separation. A divorce. The resulting depression and ultimate acceptance.

And here we are. What helped me rebound?

I recall one of my earliest memories. It was of my mother reading herself to sleep. It was after she and my father divorced. She was a single mom. 

I was often fearful at night... I'm not psychologist, but I figure I was trying to cope with my parents divorce. I didn't want to sleep alone for irrational fear that I'd wake up without either parent. 

So... I slept near my mother... in visual proximity. I had to see her bed or I just didn't feel safe. What did I see? It influenced me more than I or she could imagine.

She read. She read into the wee hours of the night. I only caught a glimpse of it. But... oh, what a sight it was. She read novels. Her favorite... It was the 70's after all... Stephen King. 

We didn't have much. Just mom and I. She read alone at night...
but she wasn't really alone. I was watching... and flash forward decades... now, her example from so long ago inspires me and helps remind me who I am or should remember to be... a lover of words... and a writer. 

Thank you, mother. Te amo.

One Writer's Goal - Read A Book A Week

Trying to get back into a regular reading habit...

My initial goal is to read a book a week. Today is Monday, and the book I started is "The Word Exchange," by Alena Graedon. 

Just like I do in my writing, I like outlining every step of the way before I begin so I know where I should be every day. In this case, I divided the book into 7 parts that way I have, at the very least, the number of pages I should read each day.

Six sticky notes placed at my benchmarks throughout the book's pages: "Daily Reading Goal #1," "DRG #2," "DRG #3," etc., etc...

We'll see how it goes.

Also...since it's said by goal-setting experts that it's more likely for someone to stick to a goal if he announces it to others, here - this blog post - is my announcement of my goal to read a book a week.

Now for the hard part....

One Reason Why It's A Good Day

In the middle of cooking dinner... What else?

I have some of the kids reading, some watching a movie. Earlier it was quite the task to get them to clean the entertainment room and the inevitable spillover of toys and books in the living room, dining room, the halls, the bathrooms...sigh!... OK, every square inch of the house.

That all done, I sat on the couch (I mean, reclined) and read. I found a Tennessee Williams quote about his sister that struck me. So, I grabbed my notebook to jot it down and my thoughts on it. The quote made me think of a scene for my characters. Then I fell asleep.

Only for five minutes, because the kids started fighting about whose turn it was on the video game.

The one reason why it was a good day: I was able to find the inspiration to write. Even if you only get a few minutes, write. If you do today or tomorrow or next week, then consider it a good day.

Productive Day...For The Most Part

I love Fridays because they are my days off from the classroom. Not that the classroom isn't fun, but my Fridays are my time to write, read, research, and have fun.

First things first, I had to renew some library books. Yes, I'm one of those borrowers who racks up overdue fines. But with e-mail alerts I'm more on top of my library account. Checking out e-books is great for avoiding late fees, too. Once the loan period is over, the book disappears from my Kindle. Sweet!

That's what we need: actual hardcover and paperback books that disappear through some sort of vortex or something when it's time to return them. The vortex then automatically sends them back to the library. Somebody needs to invent that!

Much of my research today has been on Christian fiction. I'm also reading "25 Books Every Christian Should Read," and Robert W. Bly's "Secrets of a Freelance Writer."

I've also been thinking a lot about my main character, Daniel, from my Mall Demons project. I started writing a journal in his voice. Trying to get in his head.

What really got me excited today is discovering that I've lost three pounds since I started hitting the gym. Writing and reading can be a sedentary lifestyle - and has been for me the last several years - so I decided this year I would get in shape.

Good times!