Entry #70
Ever since Shawn permanently borrowed my Kindle, I have read a very eclectic mix of e-books on a cheap LeNovo tablet. Itās hard to go back to paper books once youāve had a good time with Kindle. But if your Kindle was a gift, itās hard to just casually buy another Kindle because they are pricey. So in my resourceful way, I tapped into the free collections on Borrowbox and Libby, via my library membership and the aforementioned cheap LeNovo tablet. Iāve had my moneyās worth and then some.
Being a library system, I donāt get to read exactly what I want, but I browse far more widely than I would otherwise and I get to see a lot of book covers. This one caught my eye - so Geena was queued up after I finished Lloyd Jones, The Fish.
Well, hot dog, as Geena would say. Just check out that cover. That title.
Iām halfway through and I think I may have saved myself a few thousand dollars in unbudgeted therapy costs. I might go so far as to say Iām halfway healed.
Geena Davis is speaking to the little Michelle within and she has a very funny way of unpacking childhood events, family belief structures and the innocent misunderstandings that followed her (and me) into adult life. The title just grabs me - to prefer death over the possibility of offending someone or seeming impolite - well, I remember the feeling that this was our family goal. How totally nonsensical it sounds, but yet so visceral in my memories.
Arenāt books just amazing? I hold books in such high esteem for enriching and enhancing my human experience. So many books are just iconic to me and the mere mention of a title can transport me back to a setting, a character or a style of language that just pierced into the depths of me. I love the discovery of adoring the same books as someone else - the sense of kinship and excitement. I seriously think it was pivotal for me to discover that my sisterās favourite book of all time is ALSO Phillip Pullmanās trilogy, His Dark Materials. It is an important thing to share.
I have a feeling Geenaās polite smile whilst having high tea with a grizzly bear is going to lodge itself in my iconic book list as well. Her memoir is so, so good. If you have also read it, I would love to know what you thought. If you havenāt, maybe do!
And that is all for today. As always, I look forward to hearing what you heard, saw and felt when reading this.
With love,
Michelle xx
ps. If you want to look into e-books and reading more cheaply, hereās information on Hamilton City Libraries digital collections. Iām sure your local library can help too.
pps. Something new this way comes! Today Iām announcing a brand new addition to my Substack publication: the Friday Flow subscriber chat.
This is a conversation space in the Substack app that I set up exclusively for my subscribers ā kind of like a group chat or live hangout. Iāll post short prompts, thoughts, and updates that come my way, and you can jump into the discussion.
To join our chat, youāll need to download the Substack app (messages are sent via the app, not email). Turn on push notifications so you donāt miss a chance to join conversation as it happens.
How to get started
Download the app by clicking this link or the button below. Chat is only on iOS for now, but chat is coming to the Android app soon.
Open the app and tap the Chat icon. It looks like two bubbles in the bottom bar, and youāll see a row for my chat inside.
Thatās it! Jump into my thread to say hi, and if you have any issues, check out Substackās FAQ.
Iāve already started my first chat thread so come on over and say hello!