I enjoyed “Spare” as well. And listened to it too!
The nature of the sexual details less and freezing appendage less so but still there’s a part in the beginning where he acknowledges the fallibility of
Memory and it really was an inflection point for me in allowing myself permission to put my personal writing out there and worry less about getting it right. I haven’t heard a ton of authors do that and i appreciated his earnestness with this first fundamental part of memoir writing and reflection.
Beth, I just figured it out! You have a twin! Now I know how you could possibly listen to audio books, write long, detailed posts 1-2x/week on TV shows and movies that require watching, post on Notes mutiple times a day, read and comment on many other Substacks, work a job, raise kids, prepare meals and probably walk a dog or feed a cat and do household chores. There's more than one of you! Either that or you survive on 1 hour of sleep.
Yes, we all carry our stories within context of our own perspective. I appreciated that he was clear about his memory and the impact of events to himself personally.
I'm listening to the audio book of Miranda July's "All Fours." It's on Spotify. Couldn't get it from the library (can't afford another subscription service). It's great writing, but squirmy to listen to because the main character is slowly blowing up her life.
Your garden looks great! I haven't had time to keep up with mine as much as I normally do, but I still have more tomatoes and cucumbers than I know what to do with. Lots of kale and peppers too. I have three 4x8 raised beds so I have to maximize the space.
Best of luck with the draft -- I'm still trying to figure out my posting/other writing projects balance.
I started “All Fours” as a sample but can’t get digitally from my library. What gives?? It shows as available and then when I click “borrow” it says “something didn’t work” and I’m a vampire Steve. I thought you knew this. Oh and btw just started the adaptation of “interview with a vampire” 🧛♀️
Beth, the audiobook is on Spotify if you use that. That’s where I’m listening to it. Miranda is a great audiobook reader, but she reads it very quietly and slowly, so I suggest noise-cancelling headphones if you are outdoors. I’m about half-way through the book. She’s been a favorite of mine for years and the book is fantastically written, it’s just hard to listen to too much at a time because it’s like listening to a slow-mo car accident.
I did know you were a vampire but that doesn’t give you more hours in the day — in fact, I think vampires sleep more than humans. Perhaps you have your familiar write your posts for you?
I thought Louis, my main man vampire (Anne Rice, Interview with a Vampire) never sleeps. They just hide from light. But sure, if I had to pick a familiar it would be Guillermo.
I just got “All Fours” from the library on my kindle, but haven’t started reading it yet. I’m skeptical. I’ve heard so many people talking about it, but I don’t know if i’m into stories about middle aged women blowing up their lives? We’ll see.
It’s been a terrible gardening year in the PNW. Our June was too cold for stuff to get properly started if you don’t have a greenhouse, and daytime highs have already started dropping to low 70s and upper 60s. I might not get any tomatoes at all this year - they’re still green. :(
I just finished "Salute" by Bob Merckel. On the surface, it was about Yoga, but is really a story about finishing what you start, pushing yourself, etc. I'm also now just finishing up the Fall 2023 issue of the Iowa Review (yeah, I'm that far behind). Next Up: Have a Little Faith: The John Hiatt Story.
Watching: in person, my kid's football games. On TV, soccer and also still working my way through "Dallas." Almost done with Season 8! if only I'd thought this through. lol.
Listening: Wishy's new record is incredible, I can't get enough of it.
So interesting - I haven't read 'Spare', and really enjoyed your review of it, Jen!
I downloaded the Libby app a couple of weeks ago and have been reading and listening to sooooo much ever since. I had always thought that I wouldn't enjoy reading books on my phone, but actually I'm hooked. I've still got paper books on the go, though - having recently finished 'A Walk in the Woods' by Bill Bryson I'm now enjoying his travelogue of Europe, 'Neither Here nor There'. A couple of days ago I finished an eleven-hour listen of 'The Salt Path' by Raynor Winn, which was an absolutely wonderful, wonderful 'read'.
I enjoyed “Spare” as well. And listened to it too!
The nature of the sexual details less and freezing appendage less so but still there’s a part in the beginning where he acknowledges the fallibility of
Memory and it really was an inflection point for me in allowing myself permission to put my personal writing out there and worry less about getting it right. I haven’t heard a ton of authors do that and i appreciated his earnestness with this first fundamental part of memoir writing and reflection.
Beth, I just figured it out! You have a twin! Now I know how you could possibly listen to audio books, write long, detailed posts 1-2x/week on TV shows and movies that require watching, post on Notes mutiple times a day, read and comment on many other Substacks, work a job, raise kids, prepare meals and probably walk a dog or feed a cat and do household chores. There's more than one of you! Either that or you survive on 1 hour of sleep.
Yes, we all carry our stories within context of our own perspective. I appreciated that he was clear about his memory and the impact of events to himself personally.
Glad Spare was useful for you. Congrats on the draft of your memoir!
Thank you! Hopefully i finish it someday! 🤞
I'm listening to the audio book of Miranda July's "All Fours." It's on Spotify. Couldn't get it from the library (can't afford another subscription service). It's great writing, but squirmy to listen to because the main character is slowly blowing up her life.
Your garden looks great! I haven't had time to keep up with mine as much as I normally do, but I still have more tomatoes and cucumbers than I know what to do with. Lots of kale and peppers too. I have three 4x8 raised beds so I have to maximize the space.
Best of luck with the draft -- I'm still trying to figure out my posting/other writing projects balance.
I started “All Fours” as a sample but can’t get digitally from my library. What gives?? It shows as available and then when I click “borrow” it says “something didn’t work” and I’m a vampire Steve. I thought you knew this. Oh and btw just started the adaptation of “interview with a vampire” 🧛♀️
Beth, the audiobook is on Spotify if you use that. That’s where I’m listening to it. Miranda is a great audiobook reader, but she reads it very quietly and slowly, so I suggest noise-cancelling headphones if you are outdoors. I’m about half-way through the book. She’s been a favorite of mine for years and the book is fantastically written, it’s just hard to listen to too much at a time because it’s like listening to a slow-mo car accident.
I did know you were a vampire but that doesn’t give you more hours in the day — in fact, I think vampires sleep more than humans. Perhaps you have your familiar write your posts for you?
I thought Louis, my main man vampire (Anne Rice, Interview with a Vampire) never sleeps. They just hide from light. But sure, if I had to pick a familiar it would be Guillermo.
I just got “All Fours” from the library on my kindle, but haven’t started reading it yet. I’m skeptical. I’ve heard so many people talking about it, but I don’t know if i’m into stories about middle aged women blowing up their lives? We’ll see.
It’s been a terrible gardening year in the PNW. Our June was too cold for stuff to get properly started if you don’t have a greenhouse, and daytime highs have already started dropping to low 70s and upper 60s. I might not get any tomatoes at all this year - they’re still green. :(
Your garden! I can’t believe you have time for anything other than tending to that magical wonderland!
Thanks for this! I'll have to read this memoir!
Love your carrots! I'm finally getting a few cherry tomatoes from my balcony garden. Happy end of summer!
I just finished "Salute" by Bob Merckel. On the surface, it was about Yoga, but is really a story about finishing what you start, pushing yourself, etc. I'm also now just finishing up the Fall 2023 issue of the Iowa Review (yeah, I'm that far behind). Next Up: Have a Little Faith: The John Hiatt Story.
Watching: in person, my kid's football games. On TV, soccer and also still working my way through "Dallas." Almost done with Season 8! if only I'd thought this through. lol.
Listening: Wishy's new record is incredible, I can't get enough of it.
So interesting - I haven't read 'Spare', and really enjoyed your review of it, Jen!
I downloaded the Libby app a couple of weeks ago and have been reading and listening to sooooo much ever since. I had always thought that I wouldn't enjoy reading books on my phone, but actually I'm hooked. I've still got paper books on the go, though - having recently finished 'A Walk in the Woods' by Bill Bryson I'm now enjoying his travelogue of Europe, 'Neither Here nor There'. A couple of days ago I finished an eleven-hour listen of 'The Salt Path' by Raynor Winn, which was an absolutely wonderful, wonderful 'read'.