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The Writing Life

Being Your Best Self As Reader Or Writer

Oct 24, 2017

Best self reader writer

By: Michele Connolly

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This year’s Booker prize has been won by George Saunders for his first novel, Lincoln in the Bardo. Yep I did say first novel. Yep that is a jealous sigh.

My mum sent me this quote from an interview he did earlier this year with Zadie Smith. I think it will resonate with every book lover, just as it did with me.

I was thinking the other day about the idea that you have a reader and a writer, and they’re different and they’re flawed and they’re fucked-up, each in their own way. And most times they’re in the middle percentile of human goodness. They’re just who they are.

Then, in the moment of reading, the writer comes up to the surface and the reader comes up to the surface and they kiss, like two fish. That actually does happen. We know that happens. They’re both briefly their best selves, or at least better selves. A flawed human being writes something and 60 years later a reader picks up the book and something in them rises to meet it. And I believe that, when this happens and the reader goes out into the world the next day, there’s some alteration that might possibly inflect the person positively.

Whether the book in our hands is by Jane Austen or David Sedaris, we all know that slight improvement in our posture that happens as a better version of ourselves ‘kisses’ a better version of the writer through the page.

I’ve added Lincoln in the Bardo to my Goodreads Want to Read list.

And as a first-time author I’m even more excited at the possibility that one day my own words, which have already made me ‘come to the surface’ in many, many ways, may positively inflect a reader as they go out into the world. Hopefully in less than 60 years though, or my publisher will kill me.

What a wonderful thing to love books!

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That moment when you find out there’s a perfect That moment when you find out there’s a perfect word for that thing you do.  #tsundoku 

You can read about it on my A CHIC LIFE blog, link in bio.
The Stevie Nicks biography I ordered is on back or The Stevie Nicks biography I ordered is on back order, so meanwhile I enjoyed this ‘inspired by’ novel. I did struggle with the name ‘Daisy Jones’, which feels way too cute and weak for the character, and there was something another character did that is not sitting well with me. But otherwise, a fun read. 

#stevienicks #fleetwoodmac #daisyjonesandthesix #booksbooksbooks
Practicing for my poetry course. Do you think this Practicing for my poetry course. Do you think this will pass muster?

BTW, true story. Well, I do have a dear friend called Simon and he does have a poetic soul. But he wasn’t defeated by a rhyme and driven to the nether world of haiku. So, you know, just a bit of ’poetic license’. Hahahahahahahaha.

#areyoureadyforanotherbadpoem #limerick #haiku #poetsofinstagram #poeticlicense #poet
Don’t say you haven’t been warned. #badpoetry Don’t say you haven’t been warned. #badpoetry #poetsofinstagram #areyoureadyforanotherbadpoem
As a young(er) woman I was obsessed with @stevieni As a young(er) woman I was obsessed with @stevienicks. The poetic lyrics, those haunting melodies, her unique style. Lately I’ve been watching documentaries about her and she has enchanted me all over again. She and Fleetwood Mac fill my shower playlist and I’m going to buy one (or both) of the hefty biographies on her. 
Stevie, you’re the poet in my heart.
POSTCARD FROM THE PANDEMIC #3 - EMERGING FROM MY C POSTCARD FROM THE PANDEMIC #3 - EMERGING FROM MY CORONACAVE

Bonjour mes amis. This will be a brief missive because I’m weary from working long hours and eating a surfeit of chocolate and chips. 

As 2020 draws to a close I’ve been reflecting… This is the first year I won’t see the fireworks because of Covid. Normally I don’t see the fireworks because I find them boring. 

Still, things are starting to return to normal and even I have begun to emerge back into social life. I feel like an Austen heroine preparing for ‘the season’ as I order dresses from London (white jeans from Country Road) and try to remember how one walks in shoes. This reconvening with society has been delightful, because I have delightful friends.

Work-wise, I have released a new product. It’s called A CHIC YEAR: 52 Style, Simplicity, and Self-Care Projects For Creating A Chic Life. I mention this because I know completing chic projects is a high priority for many of you. 

Finally, as a Christmas gift to Craig and me, I’ve ordered a new coffee machine, a Creatista Pro. It allows you to name your preferred coffee (make me a Michele, Siri*!) and has a fancy screen. So my life is pretty much complete now. 

*Nespresso is not affiliated with Siri and also has no voice activation.

So friends, what’s been happening with you?

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