Reading: A whole bunch of things:
The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter, a book of lush fairytale retellings, about which I will write more later
Gargantua and Pantagruel by Francois Rabelais for Rick Moody’s class, which is one of the craziest things I’ve ever read, and certainly the most scatalogical
Religion for Atheists by Alain de Botton, which I plan to write more about later also; in short it is an interesting look, written by an atheist philosopher, at the reasons why humans need religion, and the positive things that religious ways of interacting with each other and with ideas can do even for atheists
The Rings of Saturn by W. G. Sebald, Rick Moody’s favorite book
The Collected Stories by Amy Hempel, still looking for good short stories for the class I’m teaching next semester
Europe in the High Middle Ages by William Chester Jordan, for research
Planning: Today I am going to a master class by Emily Barton on reading one’s work aloud. I had other plans for the weekend, but perhaps I should spend it quietly, inside, recovering, since I couldn’t sleep for coughing again last night.
Wearing: Turquoise flats, olive drab cargo skirt, off-white hoodie sweater
Writing: I need to finish edits on the modern Icelandic Saga story, I have an assignment to write a retelling of one of Perrault’s fairytales, and an idea of how to do it, and if I do spend all weekend inside, it seems like a good time to outline the Trapped Priest novel.