“Quiet, I’m watching my stories!”
The constant draw of books and TV shows. (And what I’m reading and watching now!)
The frivolity of summertime is something I languish in and enjoy to the highest degree. I’m able to lounge on the couch, then lounge at the pool, the porch, then the bed. Oh to lounge; To give into the stillness and just be.
Sometimes I like to literally stare off into the distance, to randomly hold an arm above my head, or close my eyes and listen to the sounds of the island breeze.
But other times I want the distraction of story. Or faraway lands or lives different than my own. I love a good story. I’m an empath at my core and to peak into the lives of others boosts my dopamine levels to the highest degree.
To read, to watch, to enjoy the lives of humans is my favorite thing to do.
Here’s what’s been occupying my mind lately:
Great Circle
Novel by Maggie Shipstead
I love when I’m drawn into a writer’s style in the first few paragraphs of a book. Glennon Doyle says that as a writer if she’s often jealous when she reads other writer’s good writing. That is how I feel with this book. I’m only a few chapters in and her writing style is to be envied. It has depth while being readable and it’s poetic while also moving plot. The author is able to both tell a story and comment on the intricacies of experience. It feels wise but modern. The book explores two women’s stories with flight in two separate time periods and how the sands of time overlap; how each of our experiences are both our own but also have been done before. It’s such delight when I find a philosophical book disguised as fiction.
Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War
Nonfiction biography by Karen Abbott
This was an interesting read because it’s not fiction but is somewhat told in a historical fiction manner. The author expertly weaves the stories of four women spies (2 Union and 2 Confederate) during the Civil War broken into five parts (one for each year of the war). It describes in narrative style how each woman gained her role as spy and how her experiences unfurled over the years. I was surprised how much I didn’t know about the spy system and women’s roles and was intrigued by each woman’s story. It felt a bit taboo to read the Confederate side of the story which I suppose is why it was more interesting sometimes to read those points of view over the Unions spies. It’s always interesting to read stories of people who take on big roles and do big things in the midst of turmoil. It’s always fun to think about what “you” would do then too, this book brings that level of consciousness to the reader and offers a vastly different take on war than I’ve seen before.
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls
Novel by Grady Hendrix
This book was unlike any book I’ve read before. It had a combination of historical fiction and fantasy which made for a creative and interesting read. I was pulled in and read the story quickly which is always nice for a summer read. It chronicles the lives of a few teenage girls in the 1970s who got pregnant and were sent away to “group homes” to have the babies and return home as though nothing had happened. The author describes the experiences of loneliness, neglect, and uncertainness these girls feel and the power and confidence they gained from shared experiences and the rebellious bonds of exploring witchcraft as well as how powerful women can be when they help each other. It’s a book wrought with emotion and an expertly woven realistic view of witchcraft/magic that is believable and enticing. It’s a fun and interesting read and made me want to go pull a few tarot cards and start a real coven with close friends or my girls.
Secret Lives of Mormon Wives
This is my guilty pleasure show because it’s frivolous, it’s ridiculous, and oh so fun to watch. The real pull of this show for me is that I am from Idaho and grew up surrounded by Mormons and any times a tv show is set close to home I think people get more drawn into it. So it feels like a taste of home and it’s fun to watch other people deal with problems. It’s nice to be on the outside looking in and thinking you know (when you really don’t!). It’s one of those shows that you can watch without real investment and feels light and easy. Like a beach read for tv.
And Just Like That
There is something about this show that just draws me in. Maybe it’s the kitten that Carrie now loves on and how I can now parallel with my own cat, Zazzles, or maybe it’s because Carrie is a writer and views the world in a similar way to my own, as if everything needs to be explored. I can connect with how she observes and writes and its through her writing that she figures things out. I also love how the show has allowed the women to age and change through the years and how friendships and relationships change and evolve. It’s a show that has matured with it’s audiences and the times. There isn’t an episode in which I don’t laugh or cry about something touching. A trait I’ve noticed has grown stronger in me with every new year; the older I get the more endearing and beautiful I find everything. This one pulls at the heartstrings of life and how nothing lasts forever and we need to embrace each new chapter for what it brings along into it.
When Nick and I first married he would watch TV and if I commented he would jokingly say, “Quiet while I watch my stories!”.
I would laugh because I had never heard TV described that way. It’s not a big concept, not a huge discovery, but it’s true, watching TV is a pulling way to engage in story. Just like we do when we are kids and get engaged in the worlds of our favorite characters.
Whether it is reading or watching getting swept up into characters is my favorite way to relax, unwind, and be human.
After all:
“We’re all stories, in the end.”
-Steven Moffet
