As of this writing, I’m still pretty bouncy: I’m working,
and living a normal life, and walking to work, and eating relatively normally.
In a month or two, however, I will be pretty house-bound: the radiation and chemotherapy will make me tired and achy, and
there are dozens of other unpleasant side effects which may manifest also.
I will need distraction.
So I am pulling together a stack of books to read as the
year darkens and as I become less active.
I pre-ordered Thomas
Pynchon’s “Bleeding Edge” from Amazon, and got it a few weeks ago. I’ve
read a few pages, but Pynchon’s a difficult read, so he’ll be good for a dark
November day.
Also a book of stories called “Sesqua
Valley & Other Haunts,” recommended to me by my Internet friend Flora
Gardener in Ilwaco, Washington. The author, Wilum Hopfrog Pugmire, is
an acquaintance of hers, and the stories are part of H. P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu
mythos, so I’m looking forward to them.
Also
Rick Riordan’s latest “Heroes of Olympus” installment, “The House of Hades,”
which arrived in the mail only the other day. Okay, it’s young-adult, but who
cares? Riordan writes very well, and it’s an entertaining story. I had a hard
time putting it down after I unwrapped it; I made it through the first twenty
pages, just enough to see that it’s good, and sighed, and put it down.
Also a pre-calculus book given to me by my student employee
Ralph, who listened to me complaining that my Coursera calculus course was too
difficult for me, and realized immediately that what I needed was pre-calculus.
When I’m sick of fiction, I can relax with some numbers and formulae.
Also: “The
Power of Now,” by Eckhart Tolle. My friend Joanne sent it to me, and I’ve
browsed it, and it’s not bad. If it teaches me to live in the moment and relax a bit, then I will have really
learned something.
Also it’s probably time (as Flora reminded me a few days
ago) to reread E. F.
Benson’s “Lucia” books. I first read them in college, and fell desperately
in love with them. I haven’t reread them for years. I’m long overdue.
Also: I can listen all the music I've collected over the
years. And I can finally watch all the pre-Code movies I have on the DVR. And .
. .
I’m not saying this will be fun.
But I think I’m looking forward to some downtime, and some
serious (and not so serious) reading.
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