I spent November more focused on writing a book than reading any, but I did manage to finish reading one book (I've also been dipping in and out of a few more) as well as write over 35k words of a second draft of the novel I started in 2019. I was hoping to be a NaNoWriMo winner again this year by writing 50k words in 30 days, but I was running a bit behind and then had a cold these last few days, when I was hoping to bump it all up, which put an end to that. Still, I'm very proud of myself for getting a good start on the second draft (I'm...maybe halfway through? not entirely sure), and I'm hoping to finish the draft, which will probably be more than 50k words, in December.
Book Read in November
- We Were Dreamers by Simu Liu--I started watching Simu Liu on Kim's Convenience as the cool-guy prodigal son Jung (a show which, sidenote, one of my students thought they had personally discovered and thought I was extremely hip for watching!) I was so happy when he was cast as Marvel's first big-budget movie Asian superhero Shang Chi. Still, I was surprised to hear that he'd written a memoir, since he's only in his early 30s (my age too). I'd been wanting to read it, and luckily one of my book clubs picked it for December, so I had my incentive! I was truly impressed with this story, from the quality of the writing, to the sense of self-awareness and humor threaded throughout, and the brave and unflinching honesty with which he explored his relationship with his parents, as a young Chinese immigrant coming of age in Canada as opposed to his parents, who grew up in China during the Cultural Revolution. I'm not Asian-American, but many of my friends and people I grew up with had similar experiences to Liu, and I'm glad that he has shared his story and his parents' and done it without villainizing or excusing them or himself. He clearly derives a powerful sense of meaning from his Asian-American identity and explicitly states that he and his parents wanted to share their story so others can learn from their experiences. I look forward to following the future of his acting career, and, I hope, reading more of his books!
Also Currently Reading
- Incarnadine: Poems by Mary Szybist--I've been reading these for a while; I like some of them a lot, but there's a lot of Christian religious imagery that's harder for me to relate to--lots of plays on the name "Mary" that I'm sure are meaningful to the author for obvious reasons!
- Deacon King Kong by James McBride, narrated by Dominic Hoffman--I'm listening to this on audiobook in the car, and since I don't have a daily commute, it may take a while! But the audiobook reminds me just how incredible McBride is with voice, I think this may be the best example of that yet actually, certainly his best example with names--primary characters include Sportcoat, Hot Sausage, and the Elephant, as examples. The voice actor, Dominic Hoffman, is also incredible.
- Promises Stronger Than Darkness by Charlie Jane Anders--I think I've been reading this for two months now, and the the truth is, I don't want it to end. I've been lingering at the end of this third book in the trilogy for a while. I just love Charlie Jane Anders' worlds and characters so much and find her writing so comforting--and this is the last fiction book she has out that I haven't read, though I could probably dig up some short stories (which is how I found out about her in the first place).
EDIT: I did finish Incarnadine before midnight on November 30, so that brings my total up to 2 books for the month!
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