Tell me an ending at the house of wives: May at the reader's nook
Plus how to make time to read.
Dear reader,
Recently, a friend asked me how I manage to read as much as I do.
I have a full-time job, you see, and a rather stressful one too. And I have a lot of other interests in addition to reading — art, writing, and blogging — plus a home to manage and fur babies to take care of.
And I tend to average around 70 books a year.
For some of you, that may be a lot of books, while some of you may read a lot more than I do each year. And some of you, like my friend, may be struggling to find the time to read.
While I do not know your individual circumstances, of course, there are ways to find the time to do the things you love to do. In my friend’s case, we figured it was the one hour she spends on the mindless scroll at the end of the day that could be channelized into reading. I’m willing to bet that if you took a time inventory, you would be able to identify your time wasters too.
I’m also willing to bet that for many of us, the number one time waster will be numbing out on social media or Netflix. It was…is…for me too. But over the years, I’ve become very conscious of my phone and screen usage and very intentional with how much time I spend on social apps.
So here are some suggestions on how to find more time to read:
Keep the phone away from you — in another room, if possible, or with the ringer on silent and the screen face-down on a table near you. Read a book.
If you commute to work, and if you use public transport, read a book during your commute.
If you’re tempted to dust, to straighten up the cushions on the sofa, to wipe down the counters, Stop! Read a book.
Binge-watching Netflix? I know, some shows just hook you in! And sometimes it’s ok to binge-watch. But if it’s a habit, make yourself a deal — to watch no more than 2 episodes of one series per day. And read a book.
If you, like me, suffer from insomnia, invest in a Kindle, and read a book while the world sleeps around you.
Do you like to have a morning coffee or an evening tea? Read a book with your coffee.
Read a page a day, either as part of your morning routine or before you go sleep at night.
Waiting at appointments? To pick up your kids? To pay a bill? Read a book while you wait.
Finally, try Audible. It does not work for me, because I cannot pay attention to audio books or even to long podcasts. Around 20 minutes in, my mind wanders off and the dialogue becomes just some background noise. But if you don’t have this problem, Audible may be your friend. You can read {hear the book} while driving, walking, washing the dishes, or even while dusting!
Got any tips of your own to share? Tell me in the comments!
Books I read
Minding the Self: Jungian meditations on contemporary spirituality by Murray Stein
Many people have an aptitude for religious experience and spirituality but don't know how to develop this or take it further. Modern societies offer little assistance, and traditional religions are overly preoccupied with their own organizational survival. Minding the Self: Jungian Meditations on Contemporary Spirituality offers suggestions for individual spiritual development in our modern and post-modern times.
Religions and myths have long been a way for humans to make sense of this world and their lives, but the increasing disillusionment with God and a move to a more scientific and rational outlook is not really supportive for our very human need for meaning. In this altogether fascinating book, Murray Stein offers an “individual path to spirituality that is grounded in personal experiences and lived by reflecting upon them using a psychological perspective [that] exists outside of all religious organizations and structures.” If you’re interested in Jungian or depth psychology, this is an excellent book.
Show Your Work by Austin Kleon
Show Your Work! is about why generosity trumps genius. It’s about getting findable, about using the network instead of wasting time “networking.” It’s not self-promotion, it’s self-discovery—let others into your process, then let them steal from you. Filled with illustrations, quotes, stories, and examples, Show Your Work! offers ten transformative rules for being open, generous, brave, productive.
Though this book was published back in 2014, and the social media landscape has changed dramatically since then, there are still a lot of little nuggets in here that remain relevant. Some things are frustratingly over-simplified, but that may be the product of its time. Some ideas though, are timeless, like telling good stories and sharing the process rather than just the finished product. It’s not as hype-worthy as it probably was when it was first released, but it is a quick read with some interesting little ideas scattered through the pages.
Frieda: The Woman & The Witch #2 by Amanda Larkman (The second book in a trilogy)
It’s 1959, New Year’s Eve. Paris. Frieda Beaudry can’t go on. Forty years of doing exactly what she wants has taken its toll. Not even a week at the Ritz can restore her spirits. Banished to a tiny village perched on dangerous cliffs, Frieda looks for peace. Instead, she uncovers a monstrous secret, and the day a child goes missing she is forced to make a terrible decision. ‘You’ve always been a coward, Frieda. You’ve never stood and fought. You’re selfish, vain, and destructive.’ Is Frieda too old to change? Maybe it’s time to stop running?
I loved the The Woman and The Witch, so I was excited to see that there was another book out in this series. However, this one was a bit of a damp squib. While it does have all the magic and adventure you would expect, it seemed to lack a vital spark that was so present in the first book. There is a third book out too, but based on this experience, I may just give it a skip.
Tell Me An Ending by Jo Harkin
Across the world, thousands of people are shocked by a notification that they once chose to have a memory removed. Now they are being given an opportunity to get that memory back. Four individuals are filled with new doubts, grappling with the unexpected question of whether to remember unknown events, or to leave them buried forever. Finn, an Irish architect living in the Arizona desert, begins to suspect his charming wife of having an affair. Mei, a troubled grad school dropout in Kuala Lumpur, wonders why she remembers a city she has never visited. William, a former police inspector in England, struggles with PTSD, the breakdown of his marriage, and his own secret family history. Oscar, a handsome young man with almost no memories at all, travels the world in a constant state of fear. Into these characters’ lives comes Noor, a psychologist working at the Nepenthe memory removal clinic in London. As she delves deeper into how the program works, she will have to risk everything to uncover the cost of this miraculous technology.
I featured this book in my To-Read section last month, and I just had to bump it up on my reading list, and I quite enjoyed it. Despite the subject of the book, it really isn’t quite science fiction; I wouldn’t even call it properly dystopian. But what do labels matter, really? What matters is the story, and this is an interesting one! What happens when you tamper with your memories? What’s the impact on your life, when you can feel the trace of a memory but cannot quite catch it? Would bringing the memory back be helpful, or send you on an even worse spiral? What impact does the sudden knowledge of a memory wipe have on your relationship? How do you navigate it? How do you choose if you should get your memory back, or if you should continue to live your life happily, without that memory? Those are just some of the fascinating questions explored in the book, which was quite a refreshing read after the disappointment of Frieda and Show Your Work.
A Flicker In The Dark by Stacy Willingham (A psychological thriller)
When Chloe Davis was twelve, six teenage girls went missing in her small Louisiana town. By the end of the summer, Chloe’s father had been arrested as a serial killer and promptly put in prison. Chloe and the rest of her family were left to grapple with the truth and try to move forward while dealing with the aftermath. Now 20 years later, Chloe is a psychologist in private practice in Baton Rouge and getting ready for her wedding. She finally has a fragile grasp on the happiness she’s worked so hard to get. And then a local teenage girl goes missing, and then another, and that terrifying summer comes crashing back. Is she paranoid, and seeing parallels that aren't really there, or for the second time in her life, is she about to unmask a killer?
This was an edge-of-the-seat thriller, just the kind that I love! Told from a first person perspective, which I think works brilliantly with this genre as you fall under the spell of the narrator, seeing the world through their eyes. Chloe’s paranoia and her slow unraveling; the slow horror as she identifies a new murder suspect; the brilliant twist at the end make this a hard-to-put down page turner that you really shouldn’t miss.
The House of Wives by Simon Choa-Johnston (Historical fiction)
In 1862, a young Jew from Calcutta named Emanuel Belilios leaves his dutiful wife Semah and sets sail for Hong Kong to make his fortune in the opium trade. There, he grows into a prosperous and respectable merchant, eventually falling in love with his Chinese business partner's daughter Pearl, a delicate beauty twenty years his junior. As a wedding present, he builds for her the most magnificent mansion in Hong Kong. Then Semah arrives unannounced from Calcutta to take her place as mistress of the house...and life will change irrevocably for all of them. Inspired by the lives of Choa-Johnston's ancestors, The House of Wives is an unforgettable novel about the machinations of the early opium trade, and about two remarkable women determined to secure a dynasty for their children in the tumultuous British Crown colony.
This was quite a fascinating story of one man’s quest for respect, which propelled him into the opium trade, and the women in his life — both of them with stronger characters than his. And while there is female jealousy, of course, it is ultimately also a story of the friendship forged between mothers, as well as of unrequited love and loyalty.
Recommendation corner:
Have some of the bingo prompts got you scratching your head, wondering what to read or maybe even what it means? I got you covered! Every month, I will pick 2 bingo prompts and share a couple of recommendations with you. And just so you’re not here all day reading this, I’ll link you up to Goodreads so you can check out the book and add it to your Want-to-read shelf. Here we go!
From the Oprah book club list
You’ll find the entire list of 101 books featured on Oprah’s book club here. If the prospect of scrolling through 101 recommendations sounds daunting, take a look at my picks below:
Bewilderment by Richard Powers: I read this at the end of December 2022 and it is an gem of a book! I highly recommend.
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez: I don’t think it’s one of Marquez’s best books, but if you like the Latin literary giant’s work, this would make a great pick!
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck: If you haven’t read this Chinese classic, which tells the story of a Chinese farmer and his family in old agrarian China, you absolutely should!
Tara Road by Maeve Binchy: I went through a Binchy phase a few years ago — her heart warming books make for the perfect light summer read.
Your favorite color on the cover
This book bingo prompt is as straightforward as it sounds. Read a book with your favorite color on the cover. The beauty of this prompt is that it can be in any genre at all! Just choose your favorite color and hunt through your book stack!
On my to-read list:
What can I say? I’m an enabler! In this section, I’ll share a couple of books from my TBR list. These will generally include a mix of upcoming releases and books that have been around for years but never made it into my orbit.
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
Set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, this is the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer, with no assets beyond his dead father's good looks and copper-colored hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce talent for survival. In a plot that never pauses for breath, relayed in his own unsparing voice, he braves the modern perils of foster care, child labor, derelict schools, athletic success, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses. Through all of it, he reckons with his own invisibility in a popular culture where even the superheroes have abandoned rural people in favor of cities. In transposing a Victorian epic novel to the contemporary American South, Barbara Kingsolver enlists Charles Dickens' anger and compassion, and above all, his faith in the transformative powers of a good story. Demon Copperhead speaks for a new generation of lost boys, and all those born into beautiful, cursed places they can't imagine leaving behind.
I have vague memories of reading David Copperfield as part of my school curriculum, but not a novel I’d want to revisit. When I came across this re-envisioning of the Charles Dickens classic, though, I had to put it on my list. Plus, it was an Oprah Book Club pick, so I think I will pick it up pretty soon!
The Invisible Hour by Alice Hoffman
One brilliant June day when Mia Jacob can no longer see a way to survive, the power of words saves her. The Scarlet Letter was written almost two hundred years earlier, but it seems to tell the story of Mia’s mother, Ivy, and their life inside the Community—an oppressive cult in western Massachusetts where contact with the outside world is forbidden, and books are considered evil. But how could this be? How could Nathaniel Hawthorne have so perfectly captured the pain and loss that Mia carries inside her? Through a journey of heartbreak, love, and time, Mia must abandon the rules she was raised with at the Community. As she does, she realizes that reading can transport you to other worlds or bring them to you, and that readers and writers affect one another in mysterious ways. She learns that time is more fluid than she can imagine, and that love is stronger than any chains that bind you.
I was sold at “the power of words”, The Scarlet Letter, and cult! There may be an element of time travel — certainly time fluidity — to this, which makes it quite intriguing. And it is Alice Hoffman, so I have high hopes for this one!
Expected publication date: 15 August 2023
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
After Tova Sullivan's husband died, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she's been doing since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in Puget Sound over thirty years ago. Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine but wouldn't dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captors--until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova. Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova's son disappeared. And now Marcellus must use every trick his old invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it's too late.
What’s not to love about a book that has an octopus as a detective? That too when it has two Goodread Choice nominations — for best fiction and best debut!
For the love of poetry
This passage is from Albert Camus’ notebooks. Is it a poem? Prose? A prose poem? I’m not quite sure, but it struck a chord for me, and I hope it does for you too.
Go Out For A Walk by Albert Camus
Find meaning.
Distinguish melancholy
from sadness.
Go out for a walk.
It doesn’t have to be a
romantic walk in the park,
spring at its most
spectacular moment,
flowers and smells
and outstanding poetical
imagery smoothly transferring
you into another world.
It doesn’t have to be a walk
during which you’ll have
multiple life epiphanies
and discover meanings
no other brain ever managed
to encounter.
Do not be afraid of spending
quality time by yourself.
Find meaning
or don’t find meaning
but 'steal' some time and
give it freely and exclusively
to your own self.
Opt for privacy and solitude.
That doesn’t make you antisocial
or cause you to reject
the rest of the world.
But you need to breathe.
And you need to be.
Monthly round-up
Things that caught my attention this month.
⫸ I didn’t really enjoy Show Your Work, but I did enjoy this post on the four points that
found inspiring from the book.⫸ I started a new art-focused Substack! Take a look and subscribe!
⫸ This music, perfect for stressful days at work or for when you need to concentrate.
⫸ Are we very late to the party, as usual? Yes! But that hasn’t stopped us from binge-watching Manifest. We finished Season 1 in a record 6 days!
⫸ We are certainly not late to the party with Citadel, though! It’s an excellent spy series, and I cannot wait for Season 2!
⫸ 250 things to know at the start of a project: I specially like 18, 32, 62, 113, and 120!
Thank you for being here and for spending some time in my bookish world. Hit reply and tell me what you’ve been reading and enjoying this month!
Happy reading,
Shinjini
I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy Show Your Work but glad my article struck a chord. Thank you for sharing it.