And then

I should be reading instead of writing this as Dexter plays in the background. I'm not paying attention to Dexter, which means I'll have to watch it again later. Oh, and I shouldn't be writing. Not now. I should be reading because I'm currently two stories into the divine collection Binocular Vision by Edith Pearlman. Let me just say, I read a lot. And though I review many books briefly on Goodreads, I rarely feel compelled to mention the merit of a single book, especially by an author I do not know and have not heard of, outside of this one venue. But wow. If you are a fan of literary fiction, read this book. Read it. Read it. Read it. That is all.

Tomorrow, I am meeting (virtually) with a class of Lone Star College students who are reading To Begin Again for their creative writing course. I am excited to speak with these students but I also find it always a little strange, delightfully so, to discuss my book as a text. I've done it a few times before and though it's flattering and an amazing honor, it's also rather odd--I think because the role of visiting writer as opposed to writer reading, writer selling a book, or teacher teaching is so precise. It's somewhere in the middle, but keenly there in the middle, where you have to be subjective (can't be avoided with one's own work) and objective (open to questions not expected and interpretations unprepared for). I dig it.

The a on my laptop is sticking. I really have to pound the pinky for a good a right now. And this is another reason I should be reading right now as opposed to writing. Come to think of it, I wrote a story about rats and reincarnation a few days go (still on the animal theme... what gives?), and I should probably check it for missing as. Just to be sure. This piece is the first short thing I've written in months, and I'm thrilled by it. Short is good. Short fiction can come out in one sitting and be almost exactly as it should be. Often it is dampened by rigorous revision, unlike longer fiction. In my experience, anyway.

I'm rambling, so I'll check back in on Saturday. Enjoy your week.