Reading and Writing

The celebrations are over and it's time to get down to the business of reading. I want to start all of my new books and old books in waiting at once, but I am already in the middle of five books, one of which has been ignored (Fabric of the Cosmos) and a second which is frequently snubbed (Clarissa). The Virginian is moving along. I am also reading David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas and enjoying it very much. Then there is Beyond the Promised Land which is fascinating look at the idea of the promised land in western thought. Since I have several really good books going at once, deciding which one to read when I sit down is not easy. Mood is not always helpful. So I am trying to switch between them in a somewhat equitable manner. As you can imagine, that's not working very well. I'll start by reading Promised Land, reach a break in the narrative and then put it down and pick up Cloud Atlas. Read that for a bit until a break in the narrative and put it down and pick up The Virginian. They are all vying for my attention so I am scattering it around willy-nilly. Must try and focus more. Then there is the Loft catalog that came in the mail the other day. The Loft is where I have taken two writing classes now. I am not feeling tempted by any long-term classes at the moment, though there is a rather unusual two-day workshop that is intriguing. Horse Wisdom: Finding Authentic Voice is a workshop where participants get to write and play with horses. Unfortunately it doesn't say what kind of interaction you get to have with the horses. Will there be riding? Or just mucking out of stalls? Horses are such beautiful animals and I am so in awe of them, I'm afraid if I took the workshop I'd be doing it more for the horse aspect than the writing aspect. And if it's horses I want, I can spend time at a stable for less than the workshop fee. But if that isn't interesting enough, there is also Writing Yoga: Writing from Your Core, a class where "prose meets pose." I won't be taking that class either. I like that they are getting creative with the class offerings though. If they would only offer a workshop on discovering your writing self through chocolate, I'd be there.