Thoughts on Reading

I've just finished reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman for the next gathering of the Novel Ideas Meetup. The first meetup and the subsequent reading of this book has made me realize some things about myself. I love to read. I read a lot. But I'm not an avid reader. I'm not a bibliophile. I pay precious little attention to the names of authors, books, genres and such. In short, I'm not a reading fanatic. But I'm a fan of reading.

I had no idea who Neil Gaiman was when I started reading this book (or when I finished the book part of it). In the e-edition, the contents of his online journal are included. It shares his perspective on the editing process. It wasn't until I read the journal that I knew he was somebody (i.e. not a first-timer). In the journal, he refers to lots of authors who are obviously supposed to be known to the reader. The only name I recognized was Stephen King... and that not because of reading his books, but because of his pop icon status.

I have treated books and the reading of them like I treat music and the listening to it. For the most part, I don't remember authors names or even the names of their books, nor do I keep a catalog of songs and their artists in my memory. With the notable exceptions of Dean Koontz and the Carpenters, I really can't tell you who writes or sings what. But I've read a lot. And I've listened to a lot of music.

So I guess the question I'm left with is this: Is it okay to simply consume books, without regard to their deeper meaning or the identity of the author and his or her influences? Am I shallow? I feel shallow. I feel like a good reading hobbyist would be aware of the nuances of genre, the influences of various authors on another, the award-winners and their significance, etc.

Clearly (from my first meet-up) I don't over-analyze what I read. In fact, I don't know that I analyze it all. That's not to say I'm indiscriminate (well, sometimes I am). I know when I've read something that was poorly edited... and believe me, there are lots of poorly-edited books in this new world of self-published ebooks.

Anyway... just wanted to process this in writing. Wondering if I should become more studied, or just continue in my own little oblivious way.

PS - I may blog about American Gods later. We'll see.

The Derrick Family

A few weeks ago I wrote about "Mysterious Myrna." In the course of pursuing that line of inquest, I found myself on the phone for almost an hour with Harvey Derrick. Harvey is the youngest son of R. H. Derrick, Myrna's first husband. He's what I would call a "cowboy poet" and musician in his retirement years. Although Harvey didn't know anything specifically about Myrna, he was happy to know that I had in my possession a number of photos of his family over a 30ish-year period.

Here's what Harvey had to say about his father:

Your pictures are of my Dad, me and my brother Don. Dad was born in March 1900 in Marnard, TX and everybody called him "Tex." These pictures were probably taken in 1949 when my dad picked Don and me up at his sister, Lottie's home in Granbury, TX where we had been living for a few years. He was living in Tulsa, OK at the time and that is where he took us. He was married at the time and I can't remember what his wife's name was... If I remember correctly, my Dad told us he was married 7 or 8 times and to my and Don's mother two times.  Her name was Billie Dean Kifer, from Cushing, OK. The only one of his other wives's name I remember is the last one he was married to.  Her name was Hazel.  They were still married when Dad died in 1960.

Although I don't know anything more about Myrna's time with "Tex" Derrick, I'm happy to know that the letters and photos from Myrna's album have now been shared with the Derrick family.

Harvey shared some of his music with me. He is currently selling an album to benefit a local animal rescue organization in Oklahoma. Check it out...

Harvey's Links:
NEW: Dogs Don't Care If You're Ugly CD:  www.cdbaby.com/cd/harveyderrick
NEW: Dogs Don't Care If You're Ugly Video (Susan Owen videographer): www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSW4L5M6Rbw
Let's Not Forget Our Veterans Video:  www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJl7V2Z4pJo
Harvey Derrick & Friends CD: www.cdbaby.com/harveyd or www.mytexasmusic.com/harveyderrick
My Veteran's Help Projecect Web Site: http://lets-not-forget-our-veterans-project.bbnow.org/index.php

The Death of Handwriting

I was alarmed to hear one of our office volunteers talking about how her granddaughter's school does not teach the children how to write in cursive. WHAT?! How will they know how to sign their name? How will they read letters from their grandmother? Or the Declaration of Independence? Or many, many, many historic documents? I do believe that schools are doing a great disservice to our country and to family histories that are passed down through the written word. I understand that there are people who prefer to print. Fine. But what about learning the ability to READ what is written in cursive? If you don't learn to write it, you're probably not learning to read it either. This, in my opinion, is a travesty.

If your child is currently in a school that does not teach cursive (either the reading or the writing of it), I implore you to teach it to them yourself. What kind of upstanding citizen can't read their nation's historic documents? Or their great-grandfather's letters from the war? Or the cause of death on their ancestor's death certificate?

Doppleganger

I was just catching up on some of the blogs I've missed... perusing AliseWrite's weekly "Stuff I've Been Reading" and lo and behold I found myself. The first one listed this week was a post called "The Body I Have" by a blogger I've never read before, Dani Kelley. As I read her post, her "About Me" and some of her other blog entries... I was amazed at how much of myself I saw in her! She's ten years younger than me. I found myself wishing I'd practiced a little introspection way back then. I might be a different person today. Who knows. But I'm glad I've stumbled upon this young lady. And I'm glad I have finally learned some of the lessons she's blogging about. Better late than never.

By the way, I share her desire to write more. I've said this every year: I'm going to write more this year. I am. I really am. Seriously. Quit laughing.

What to do with 2013...?

• Show up on time to work.
• Get some more exercise.
• Go on a genealogy trip. Virginia? Tennessee?
• Take lunch to work every day... I'm spending entirely too much money eating out.
• Write more regularly. Maybe a blog-a-week?
• I still want to read 52 books in a year. I can DO this!
• Probably should look more intently at a second source of income. Freelancing again? I don't want to... but I'm not getting ahead this way.

That's all I've come up with for now. I'm all about comfort and stability... but 2012 was an entirely throw-away year. I really must have something more to show for 2013.