Writing – Reading – Creating

In writing, I realized I’ve been lax in my Friday Flash Fiction posts and in my fiction writing in general. In part, I think this is because I am not reading much fiction, something I aim to fix.

It’s been a long, long time since I’ve finished reading a physical book (I have read several e-books in the past year). Most books sit on my desk at work or my bedside table with bookmarks — sometimes for years. I know I am not alone in this but it is, admittedly, a rather odd quirk. I have right now one book on the go that is in the van — useful for waiting rooms and unexpected delays — at least three at work and at least 6 on my bedside table.  Some of these will have to be abandoned but how do I choose? Each one was started with the same energy and anticipation; each bookmarked with care. First to go are going to be the non-fiction (except the one in the van). Then there are some slow-going titles — I don’t have the patience to slog through a slow book right now.

That purge will take care of all the books at work and almost all the ones at home. In fact, it leaves exactly one book: Talk Talk by T. C. Boyle. I started this a couple of years ago; got hooked right away then it slid down layer by layer in the pile. I picked it up again recently and it was as if I’d never put it down. Hopefully I will finish it soon so I can get on with other books on my very, very long “to be read” list.

This afternoon, I made something… maybe silly, maybe significant:

As I explained to my friend (whose post & Mike’s subsequent comments inspired the creation), in order for the button to work, you need to logout of your social media.