Reading Books That Are Go

Sketch a day - Say 52/365

I have had the strange strange wonderful experience of late of feeling like a reading list is being revealed to me. That there are books that I am meant to be reading now.

Here's an example.

Some time ago a friend of mine suggested a book by Donna Haraway called ‘Staying with the Trouble’. She said she thought I would find it interesting but that it was quite hard to get into.

She was right.

I did find it interesting but I also found it very hard to read.

Donna Haraway is really scarily bright. Being in the presence of her words was at once incredible but also intimidating.

I wondered if listening to an audio book version would be easier.

It was not. It was harder.

I gave up and put the book and the audio book aside.

Time moves forward, as it will. Imagine many cups of tea being drunk.

And then we get to this morning.

I am finishing off the book I have been reading (Without Children by Peggy O’Donnell Heffington) and I am pushed for time and I am thinking, ‘I think I got the gist by now. I can skip the final few pages’.

Dear reader, sometimes I am lazy and I want to skip pages.

Luckily for me, I also have a very strict madam within me, who is want to shout ‘keep going ‘ when I want to stop running up hills or when I want to skip pages (imagine a kind of naughty ‘carry on’ type madam. Part no nonsense bar maid, part PE teacher, part extremely strict librarian. Really quite vanilla. Nothing too racey dear reader. We must not go getting your pulse going when I am trying to get to the point). In fact, when ever I want to give up she yells ‘no!’. She's quite demanding and she could do with relaxing from time to time.

But on this occasion, she was quite right. She said ‘do not under any circumstance skip the last few pages because the best bit is yet to come’.

I said ‘god, ok then’ and continued reading.

Which is when Peggy poses a question coming out of her thinking in her book that was super interesing. And that's then she started to talk about looking for answers and reading Donna H’s book and being inspired by her thinking.

I put Peggy’s book down and decided it was time to try Donna H’s book again. It was clear. My imaginary madam and Peggy were both saying ‘read Donna'.

I put a post about it on the old bird social feeds. To make me do it. Nothing like a social media post saying ‘i am doing this ‘ to help gird the loins.

But a tiny part of my brain whispered ‘will you though?’

Later this evening, I was on a zoom call. And a friend said out of the blue, ‘theres a book I find really inspiring it's by an author called Donna Haraway and it's called ‘Staying with the Trouble’… ‘.

Dear reader, the universe has spoken. This damn difficult book must be read.

I have put the graphic novel ‘Sensible Footwear’ in there by Kate Charlesworth as a reward.

From now on it's gunna be - one chapter of Donna, then one chapter of Kate.

Treats are important.

And that's the news.