Keep Reading!

I took a short term temp job in Minneapolis for a project that only required two and a half weeks of my time.  It was a very short term position that did also require regular overtime. However in the mist of this my reading life did NOT suffer but it took on a different kind of shape.

My commute from downtown Saint Paul to Minneapolis takes 45 minutes with public transit.  One of the many things that I love about not driving but taking the light rail is being able to have my transit time be a quiet time to start my day with some reading.  There is something about the crisp cold morning air and a quiet morning hour to myself that makes me want to start my day out by reading poetry.  The Overhaul had been on my TBR (to be read) list for awhile. I started reading Half-Light by Frank Bidart because I did have the privilege later that week to get my book signed when I saw him give a presentation at the University of Minnesota. I found a collection of poetry in more of the goofy/gruesome tradition of horror called Now We Are Sick as someone who loves horror novels I found that to be a fun light-hearted collection.  I also heard about a collection of poetry called Like Waves by Amanda Linsmeier and read it through  Kindle Unlimited.  I found Linsmeier’s voice to be the empowering feminist voice I needed to her in light of the heartbreaking Kavanaugh hearings.  Reading poetry helped me feel centered before I started to my long work days.

As for the job that I did there were some hours that went by very slow. I got the permission from the manager to read a book when I did not have anything that I needed to do.  This is definitely music to a book lover’s ears! This turned out to be the perfect time to finally read City of Ghosts which was a fun spooky read that I may  review for Twin Cities Geek.  I also read Revival by Stephen King to continue my October horror obsession. And the allowance of reading on the job gave me the liberty to tackle some thicker books that I’d been wanting to read as well. I finally read Life after Life and made significant progress on reading Lonesome Dove (which I am still reading). I found that the trick to reading on the job was quickly placing my bookmark in my book and being willing to set the book aside quickly when needed. This did not allow me to surrender myself to a sense of flow in my reading it was a great perk for an otherwise mundane job.

Fridays were half days.  For some reason despite having the opportunity to read all day it was not quite enough for me. One Friday I brewed myself a cup of tea and wrapped myself in my favorite fleece Packers blanket while reading Beloved. And my most recent Friday I Hemmingway's Girl while soaking in my apartment complex’s hot tub. This approach to reading was different for me because it was quiet uninterrupted time in slower spaces coupled with things that I do for self care.

While I have different approaches to reading at different times of the day picking up a book and reading is a very constant task for me. Reading is not only a way that I keep myself centered, it is also one of my favorite things to do!