Some Make Exhaustion a Mode of Expression | March Reads
MARCH (15 books | 4,921 pgs)
08.) Something is Killing the Children, Volume 9 (Graphic Novel, 144 pgs) | 4/5
09.) The Test by Sylvain Neuvel (Novella, 108 pgs) | 4/5
10.) WildC.A.T.s Compendium One by Jim Lee (Graphic Novel, 952 pgs) | 3/5
11.) The Nice House by the Sea, Vol. 1 by James Tynion IV (Graphic Novel, 168 pgs) | 4/5
12.) Agents of Dreamland by Caitlin R. Kiernan (Novella, 125 pgs) | 4/5
13.) Remina by Junji Ito (Graphic Novel, 256 pgs) | 2/5
14.) Moan by Junji Ito (Graphic Novel, 272 pgs) | 3/5
15.) Deserter by Junji Ito (Graphic Novel, 392 pgs) | 3/5
16.) Alley by Junji Ito (Graphic Novel, 344 pgs) | 3/5
17.) Strange Buildings by Uketsu (Novel, 384 pgs) | 2/5
18.) Shiver by Junji Ito (Graphic Novel, 400 pgs) | 3/5
19.) The Liminal Zone, Vol. 2 by Junji Ito (Graphic Novel, 224 pgs) | 4/5
20.) Lovesickness by Junji Ito (Graphic Novel, 408 pgs) | 4/5
21.) Statues by Junji Ito (Graphic Novel, 328 pgs) | 3/5
22.) Smashed by Junji Ito (Graphic Novel, 416 pgs) | 4/5
*
The first three months of the new job were a bit uphill, a new level of chaos introduced into the day-to-day. But it's smoothed out now, both due to insight from great coworkers and through a better understanding of the flow of things. It would not be incorrect to say the process is not ideal for me or my productivity, but we're making it work. 'Be like water,' as Bruce Lee famously said. I am trying to be more malleable in my ways.
Finding my way into that better state of fluidity has required a massive mental expenditure. I've slept hard and spent much of March actively finding ways to fully disconnect at the end of the work day. The work has been intense and fruitful, so the minor frustrations are easily outweighed as it is truly a fun office to work from. Hell, they even made me Employee of the Month, which was a nice surprise.
But that full disconnect has been great at putting me back into a reading mindstate. I've not written much at all since finding my stride at work, so I've run headlong into the "consume all the art" part of creating so that when I'm able to sit down and write, I'll have enough inspiration in the tank to hopefully knock out a few stories before the end of the summer.
I've taken to handwriting, forcing myself to manually think through narrative issues with some .corpsegod stories that are well underway. I am THRILLED at the lunacy of the new pieces. They're unlike anything I've done before and I cannot wait to put the collection out into the world. There's so much about them that feels familiar and almost comfortable, but there's also something wrong about the way they taste on the tongue, how unsettling they feel while crystallizing across the gray matter. Like reading your favorite book on a throne made of body parts.
Unsurprisingly, An Atlas of Bone & Sorrow remains a tough one to dive back into with any regularity. Looking back at my records while unemployed, .corpsegod sucked 23,189 words out of me while AAoB&S leeched away less than 3,500 across the same time frame. It's a dense one; it's complicated. The desire to finish it (but well) is very strong. Still trying to figure out how to say some things, and the days since starting the project continue to complicate in the ways that only life can.
*
My first book event of the year is in just a few weeks. I'm heading a smidge north to St. Joseph, MO. for St. Joe Retro Con. I've got some old friends working the production of the event, so it'll be good to catch up with them, even if briefly.
May 2nd and 3rd
St. Joe Retro Con
(28,573)
Comments
Post a Comment