I stopped reading

I haven't read much these last few years.

Now I listen to NPR and count that.

Big Magic -- Enchantment

Good Morning!

So far, I'm into the beginning of the second part, Enchantment. Without looking back to reference the book, I have a few reaction notes...

Firstly, I love how Gilbert personifies everything. She personifies ideas, inspiration... Just everything. That's cool. It's ba very unique way to see the world. The way Gilbert uses this skill is useful to her and very positive.

I could see this method of interacting with creativity go awry for someone who isn't as positive as this Big Magical Author, but I'm happy she puts it out there. I think a lot of readers can benefit in this viewpoint of seeing the world.

Getting ready to clock in now! More updates soon!

Courage, A Discussion of Part One of Big Magic

Allllllrighty then, I read the second half of part one.

There's a big list of fears that takes up two pages! I admit, I've battled these fears all my life. I have most of them down to a putty-like substance that my self esteem walks all over. Some, however, like fear of never being "successful" have been on my radar for years and only recently have I done something to try and combat it.

Gilbert makes an excellent point about all creatures knowing fear and that fear shouldn't make us unique. The sentences she uses to describe this were so moving that I photographed them into my own little Gilbert tadpole meme. I never considered the size of a tadpole's brain anyway, nor did I except her to use the comparison of its size to a punctuation mark. That entire section is very well written.

Later she says she has made room in her head for fear. This did not resonate with me. I can't bring myself to see fear like this, but since she's comfortable with the fear in her creative process, maybe what she's talking about isnt actually fear. Maybe it's fear metamorphosized into creation anxiety. Maybe it's just the ever present survival mechanism that's always going to be in our brains going into autopilot. However, I did like the letter she wrote to her fear and the road trip.

Probably my favorite part of the section was in the middle "scary scary scary" -- Yes, this is healthy -- yes we should mock our fear in an effort to disarm it from its power.

Big Magic -- Strong Opening

Right away I like this book. It's easy to read and I really enjoyed the opening story about Jack Gilbert. (Which makes sense since I've slaved away on my fair share of poetry).

I used to not enjoy easy read books. I used to be so annoyed by them (this was before my English degree lol) -- Since I've gotten older, I let less things stop me from reading things. I also read much slower and absorb more.

In Big Magic, the next anecdote about the figure skater at 40 is just great. I like the way the book feels. I like being happy for people I don't know.

As for the message of the book, anything that tells me to be brave is totally excellent. I'm only up to page 12 (which is really page 8) so far. But overall, the impression is positive and I feel as though I must finish it to the end.

In addition, since my shift to reading slower and easier works, I give less thought about how I seem to come off stupid a lot in my own writing. First, I'm not stupid; second, criticizing everything only makes someone sound smart temporarily. Everyone uses this trick. I don't need that anymore. 
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So this blog is going to be very INFORMAL and if you are reading this and you think I sound stupid, move on! I don't need your input. If you want to discuss Big Magic, then stay and let's discuss.
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OK! Back to reading!

Welcome to the Newest Blog by Stefanie!

Hello! I have no idea what I meant by "Mimic Your Mime" -- I think I just liked the way it sounded. This is omg, probably my 19th blog with blogger. I was being stalked on one by my family and that truly bothered me, so I had to shut down my main blog that I had used for years. It was nuts.

Anyway, I needed a place to store my new blog thoughts and ideas so I logged into this blog -- one I never actually published on.

My first series will be a set of reactions to Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert, which has been a really good read so far. My good friend Mary lent me the book and I'm finally able to read it (busy two weeks).

So, I hope Mary and I can generate a good discussion on this blog about this book!