Tag Archives: books

Grandma Life

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It was in May last year that I last wrote in this blog. I’ve had thoughts, but apart from irregular journal writing, I’ve mainly been adjusting to and assessing this “retired life”.

It has been almost five years since I retired from fulltime paid employment in my chosen career. And while I felt useful in my work, serving the community in a positive way, I am relieved to be away from the relentless and soul-sucking power plays of office politics.

In these past five years I have done things I have wanted to do: travelled Australia; “finished” and printed our family history; organised the family photos; wrote a short story of fiction; and walked in some beautiful places.

So many life goals and achievements are behind me now: getting married (still married for 41 years now); enjoying 20 years nurturing three children into adulthood; achieving two degrees and one Masters; designed four houses we built and lived in; travelled Australia; visited London, Paris, as well as other gorgeous parts of western Europe; competed in many events swimming, cycling, and running; trekked many mountains in Australia and the Overland Track in Tasmania; and fed my creative urges through writing, drawing, painting, photography, and playing the piano.

Now my hip is sore, and I feel my age. But I value this Grandma Life – #grandmalife. I cherish the memories I hold of my own grandparents, especially the women. I loved being in their company, soaking up the warmth, endless cups of tea, stories, and love.

It seems to me that era of basic warm circles of women is undervalued in today’s society. Who even makes tea in a pot anymore? Well, me, but … Apart from the tea-making, I hope I show my own two little granddaughters the value of this warm, quiet, cherishing, in the same way I experienced.

Still life sketch with teapot by SuesBent 2023

These days with most of my life behind me, I gladly put the “GO-GO-GO” lifestyle aside. I try to live in the beauty of a slow life – #beautifulslowlife. I enjoy the YouTube videos of The Cottage Fairy and try to soak up her slow rhythm and appreciation of small pleasures. (Although her life is about to change in a profound way with a baby on the way). I still listen to Rich Roll and enjoy his considered and in-depth conversations, although the testosterone levels can be a bit much at times.

I love regular dips in the clear green waters of Port Phillip Bay and this visceral experience always reminds me of the dips I have loved in this bay since first learning to swim as a child.

Cooking is always something I’ve loved and it’s great to have time to spend in the kitchen making healthy and nourishing meals for my husband and me.

I continue to feed my creativity with writing, painting, and piano playing. I walk and I will return to daily yoga when my hip feels better. I may have strained it doing pigeon pose with Adriene recently. Or perhaps when I trekked up to the top of Genoa Peak recently.

I read and log my journey on GoodReads. I reached my target of 50 books last year for the first time in the past eleven years. This year though I will relax and let my reading journey unravel as it will. So far, I have loved Wifedom by Anna Funder, Question 7 by Richard Flanagan, and A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles.

I continue to study things that interest me, so I will see what is available on Future Learn. I do lessons in the French language every day. I am also working through the daily lessons of A Course in Miracles, as well as watching some discussion online about this text. Many years ago, I attended a presentation in Melbourne where Marianne Williamson talked about A Course in Miracles. It was intense and spellbinding. Now she is a candidate for President of the US. Now there is someone who has never slowed down.

Reading as a writer

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So far this year I have not been writing anything of significance. I am in a lull between projects – and ideas. However I have been doing a lot more reading than I have done in the past, and I find I am reading like a writer.

Inspired by Benjamin McEvoy I wanted to expand and enrich my reading, and after watching his videos and taking notes I felt daunted by the prospect of a year’s worth of reading The Classics.

So, I looked at the award winners at the Booker Prize, the Miles Franklin Award, and others. I noted some of these titles on my “want to read” list. On closer inspection, some of these stories I find uninspiring and not what I want to read at all. Sometimes I will push through. I read the award winning Honeybee by Craig Silvey and gave it three stars, but I don’t think I am the target audience for that story.

Goodreads is a great tool for managing your own reading journey and since 2013 I have challenged myself with a target of reading 50 books each year. So far, I have failed every year. Of course I only include books that I have read from start to finish. I don’t list books I do not finish, or books I just skim. (In the past I used Library Thing).

This year though I have started well as I certainly have more time in this retired life, but also I am reading in an attempt to see how these books are crafted. I read on a more analytical level, noticing how the story arc is told, how the characters come to life, conversations, what the story is actually about, and how it evokes feeling and imagery.

So far I have finished 12 books this year. The last story I read was Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. I loved it and gave it 5 stars on Goodreads. I am currently reading The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill and this book is a great example to would-be writers. While the story unfolds, we are shown three levels of how this story is being created. First from the main character and her friends, then in correspondence between the fictional author and a trusted friend and fellow writer, and then as the actual creator of the story. It is thoroughly engaging especially for other writers.

I have just added a page of contents to my blog Sues Bent, because with 15 years of blog posts I wanted to make it more accessible.

It is no surprise that when I look at my tag cloud I see that the main topics I write about are: books, reading, creativity, writing, libraries, learning, technology and lifestyle.

I have looked back through these posts knowing that I have written about ‘reading’ from different perspectives over these years, especially in my work as a librarian. The ones that stand out to me are these:

Meanwhile this retired life allows me the time to do all of those things I struggled to find time to do when I was working. I can write, read, practice French, play my piano, knit, play with my granddaughters, sketch, paint, walk, listen to music and podcasts, swim regularly, do yoga each morning, cycle occasionally, try new cooking recipes, archive the old family photos, and catch up with friends. It is amazing how quickly the day passes, and I find I still haven’t done all of the things I planned for that day.

Review of 2022

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It is good to look back upon the year that was. This retired life is often free from milestones, goals, and ambition, and we often forget all that we have done.

  • This year I committed to weekly swimming at the local pool YAWA, and I stayed true to that, swimming about 1600 metres each time.
  • I walked regularly and did yoga at home in the mornings.
  • I continued to listen to the Rich Roll podcast, sometimes listening as I walked, and also often tuning in to the YouTube version. He has been consistently providing these interesting interviews for ten years now and I have listened to every episode. While I used to tune in during my commutes to and from work, now I have to make time in order to listen.
  • I have been practicing the French language using the Duolingo language app.
  • I joined the Peninsula Writers Club and while I have not attended many meetings, I did enjoy the workshops that I went to.
  • I wrote a work of historical fiction, and my autobiography to the present year. These were both great exercises for me to complete and my writing apprenticeship has broadened.
  • I read 32 books of the 50 book Reading Challenge I set for myself on Goodreads. My favourite piece of fiction was Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. My favourite piece of non-fiction was A Place in the World: Finding the Meaning of Home by Frances Mayes.
  • Time spent with my granddaughters was a lot of fun. Together we swam, cycled, drew, painted, cooked, played games, and enjoyed watching Bluey.
  • My husband and I had our DNA tests completed with Ancestry, and this confirmed my research into our family history.
  • The coronavirus pandemic is still circulating unseen.
  • I didn’t practice my piano lessons as often as I planned and hope to do more in 2023.
  • We didn’t go on any trips this year staying close to home.
  • We sold the caravan.
  • We are planning an itinerary for an overseas trip in 2023.
  • As of now I am hopping off social media. I deleted my Twitter account after subscribing in 2007. Instagram annoys me so much now that I can’t bear to be on there for more than a minute. I am not interested in TikTok. Facebook seems to be a necessary evil, but I will try not to post anything. I deleted my Strava account. Of course, I will keep Google and YouTube as these are actually helpful platforms.
Fun with my granddaughters 2022

Zen and the Art of Creative Writing

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The things I have written this year are ‘Not For Publication’ (NFP). Am I wasting precious time? I think not. I am practising the art of creative writing and trying to adjust to this lifestyle. I like it. It suits my psyche. I feel like I am in the apprenticeship phase of my writing life, despite the fact of my Earth years.

I have written a short story from a particular incident from my family history. It could be for publication, but is it finished? I am not sure.

I have also written my life story, to get that out of the way and out of my head. Not for publication, but I feel relieved of the burden and the obstacle to a freer creative mind.

My own personal writing process has been revealed to me. I now understand how this energetic force unfurls within me, and then abates with The End, post editing of the Zero Draft.

Writing desk

    I feel well behind when it comes to my skills with crafting the English language. I place blame in part on the negligent curriculum set by Victoria’s Education department during the 1970’s. Grammar was not taught at all, and yet this is an essential tool for being able to express oneself properly, and this leads to effective and genuine communication. This society now converses in memes and acronyms, and we can see how that’s going.

    I favoured math, design, art, science, became an Industrial Designer and left English behind me in secondary school. And yet I have always needed an outlet to express my thoughts and ideas. My main blog is Sues Bent that I began in 2008. While continuing with this blog, I have also written for my side projects such as our big trip around Australia, and my love of French culture.

    Of course, I have written work-related items during my years employed as an Information Professional: reports, media briefs, copy for websites and advertisements, instructional manuals, strategic plans, and created presentations.

    All of this writing over many years has strengthened that muscle. I have put in the ten thousand hours towards mastery (as prescribed by Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers).

    I feel match ready.

    My Self-Initiated Lifelong Learning Experience continues and I draw further learning about the English language and writing from Benjamin McEvoy and his Hardcore Literature teachings. The Writers HQ continues to be a great source for motivation.

    I have my Writing Plan and some ideas for 2023.

    Next month I will write a review of 2022; things accomplished, books read, writing completed, etc. I have done this before, inspired by Chris Guillebeau. It is great way to plan for the year ahead.

    PS The title of this blog post highlights my love of the 1974 book by Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. I wonder if Benjamin McEvoy has a tutorial on this classic novel.

    Catching butterflies

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    “Catching butterflies” is a poetic notion offered by author Jock Serong at a recent workshop at the Peninsula Writers Club, that I attended recently.

    Jock Serong presenting at the Peninsula Writers Club

    It refers to one of the ways writers engage with the creative process. The butterflies are the ideas that flit around in our heads, or out in the ether. As writers (or artists) we get a glimpse of the colour, a shimmer of light reflected from their wings, and then it is gone. Maybe to return.

    How quick do we respond? Can we catch it, study it, pin it down, find the words to describe it accurately? Or will it dart away to another creative soul who will be ready? Elizabeth Gilbert, in her book Big Magic, expresses the idea that ideas have their own life that is independent of the writer. If one creative person will not express it, the idea will find another willing creative.

    The topic of the workshop with Jock Serong was Plotting and Structure. He paced us through his ideas, giving examples from his books, and others. I liked his presentation style and the easy logic of his process. His description of his own novels inspired me to want to read them, as I haven’t yet. The Settlement is his most recent and the third of a trilogy.

    We did a few exercises that he set for us. One was to put a character into a stressful situation and see how they react. A method often used by Stephen King.

    We wrote for ten minutes. Others read out what they had written, and they were great. How quickly they put themselves into this character and the situation. Meanwhile I was still imagining my hero in her setting. Obviously, we have different approaches, but it illustrates my beginner’s ability, compared to the seasoned writers in the club

    I was not disheartened though and left with a new ‘to-do’ list and fresh ideas. I made a structure table for my story and will have a look at the Scrivener software. I am now reading On Writing by Stephen King as this seems to always crop up as a ‘must read’ book for writers.

    My own story has a new thread and I have plotted out the scenes, ready to start writing.

    Writer’s Work

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    After attending the Writer’s Workshop this month provided by the Peninsula Writers Club and facilitated by author Kate Mildenhall, I have been quietly contemplating… and not much actual writing.

    Group picture – Peninsula Writer’s Club – 7 August 2022

    The workshop on Pitching and Publishing was useful, but more so were the exercises and discussions with all of the writers in the room. It was interesting to hear about the progress of other writer’s projects, successes, and not so successful experiences.

    I felt energised after the event and came home to prepare my own Annual Writing Work Plan. I am great at writing plans: work plans, project plans, communication plans, staff development plans, implementation plans. And I am happy with the personal creative writing plan that I prepared for myself.

    I now have a year’s worth of relevant resources to work through in order to expand and deepen this skill of creative writing. I will list some of them below for reference.

    Kate Mildenhall was an excellent facilitator for this workshop and her former career in the teaching profession was evident. I had already read and enjoyed her historical fiction Skylarking and after this workshop read The Mother Fault. I confessed to her that I could see many similarities between her novel Skylarking and my work-in-progress. We both had identified Anne of Green Gables as a story that was of a similar strain to our own works. So, yes, similarities, but totally different tales.

    My own story sits idle. But I now have an idea about how to develop my story further. The ideas sit inside my head, as the main story did for years before I downloaded it from my brain through my fingers onto paper and computer and wove it into a comprehensible narrative. I am at the point where I need to sit and get these new ideas onto ‘paper’. I will need to prepare a storyboard like I did for the main part of the story, and then plot the scenes and weave the new scenes into the other part of the story that I have already completed. So, while the creative ideas continue to percolate in my head, I write lists of things to do, and read books about writing.

    Here are some resources (in no particular order) that I have incorporated into my Annual Writing Work Plan (some I have read and listened to already*):

    BOOKS ABOUT WRITING

    • Save the Cat! Writes A Novel by Jessica Brody*                                                  
    • The Artists Way by Julia Cameron*
    • The Vein of Gold by Julia Cameron*                                                        
    • Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer by Roy Peter Clark *                            
    • Use Your Words: A Myth-Busting, No-Fear Approach to Writing by Catherine Deveny       
    • Everything I Know About Writing by Annie Dillard                                                                              
    • Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert*                                
    • Wild Mind by Natalie Goldberg*                               
    • Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg*                                                   
    • Searching for The Secret River by Kate Grenville                                 
    • Ten Things About Writing: Build Your Story One Word at A Time by Joanne Harris *
    • Night Fishing by Vicki Hastrich                                   
    • On Writing by Stephen King                                                        
    • Steal Like an Artist, Show Your Work, Keep Going by Austin Kleon                                              
    • The Writer Laid Bare by Lee Koffman                                                     
    • Bird by Bird by Ann Lamott                                                          
    • The Cost of Living by Deborah Levy                                                          
    • Before and After the Book Deal by Courtney Maum                                          
    • Writing Your Life by Patti Miller*                                                              
    • How to be an Artist by Jerry Saltz                                                              
    • A Swim in the Pond in the Rain by George Saunders                                                         
    • The Science of Storytelling by Will Storr                                                 
    • The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp                                                           
    • The Little Red Writing Book by Mark Tredinnick
    • The Luminous Solution by Charlotte Wood                                          
    • The Writer’s Room by Charlotte Wood                                                   
    • How Fiction Works by James Wood         

    PODCASTS

    • Magic Lessons by Elizabeth Gilbert*
    • The First Time by Katherine Collette and Kate Mildenhall
    • The Garret: Writers on Writing by Astrid Edwards             
    • The Writers Room by Charlotte Wood
    • Ruts and Routines by Madeline Dore
    • How to Fail by Elizabeth Day
    • Keeping a Notebook by Nina LaCour
    • Writer’s Routine by Dan Simpson
    • Between the Covers: Conversations with Writers by David Naimon
    • So, You Want to Be a Writer by Valerie Khoo and Vic Writers Centre
    • First Draft: A Dialogue on Writing by Mitzi Rapkin
    • James and Ashley Stay at Home by James Watson and Ashley Blunt          
    • The Screenwriting Life by Meg LeFauve and Lorien McKenna       
    • Dead & Buried by Carly Godden and Lee Hooper*

    SOME OTHER RESOURCES

    Those Adverbs!

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    I hesitate at the edge, procrastinating, fearful about plunging into the deep, the real work of writing a book. I am surrounded by experts, published authors, stories already told.

    But here I am at the precipice, ready to go deep into the story.

    “Everyone has a book in them.” ~ Stan Smith (my father)

    The preparation is done, and no more time to dally.

    Writers desk at the ready

    I have not been writing in this blog for a while.

    • First there was the travel adventure around Australia where I concentrated my efforts on a bit of travel writing through Mick & Sue’s Aussie Adventure.
    • Then last year I completed the family story and printed that tome for family.
    • During February I have been trying to get my head to the task. I’m not sure that taking part in #FebFlourish on Instagram helped at all, except to add to my procrastination.

    So, my plan now is to:

    • Assign blocks of time for this writing adventure.
    • Go over my notes.
    • Do a bit more planning so I have a structure to write into.
    • Aim for a number of words per session goal.
    • Just start writing and try to get this first draft down.
    • And maybe I should do the online courses offered by WritersHQ.UK
      • Balance Your Writing Life that starts in March
      • Editing 101 that starts in April

    Searching for Phosphorescence

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    Phosphorescence by Julia Baird explores ideas around the things that can lift us when life gets us down.

    She begins poetically with the enchanting existence of phosphorescence in the natural world. I loved her descriptions of lit-up underwater creatures and this drew me in.

    Julia goes on to talk about people who seek the deeper beauty that exists in this world: storm-chasers, divers, forest bathers, silence seekers, tree huggers, cloud appreciators. I relate to these ideas as here she validates my own deeper yearnings and life pursuits.

    With my smartphone handy I enjoyed looking up more information about the people and ideas Julia mentions: Nick Moir, Robert Hoge, and others.

    Julia touches on feminism and her own indecision about using her hard-earned title of ‘Dr.’. Her ideas on ‘lookism’ I appreciate and needs more exploration generally.

    My interest waned a little when she discusses religion but given where she was in her own precarious battle with cancer, I understand.

    Returning to the initial ideas of searching for phosphorescence in the underwater world was a nice way to close the book and reignited my own sense of wonder.

    Books read in 2019

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    I read 26 books this year of my personal challenge of 50 books. Of those 18 are fiction and 8 are non-fiction. Books Read 2019-12-27 103509

    These are the books that I read and enjoyed in 2019 with my rating – three I rated 5 star:

    1. The 5AM Club by Robin Sharma – Fiction – 4 stars
    2. The Rain Watcher by Tatiana de Rosnay – Fiction – 4 stars
    3. The Library Book by Susan Orlean – Non-Fiction – 5 stars
    4. The Greenprint by Marco Borges – Non-Fiction – 4 stars
    5. Attitudes of Gratitude by M.J. Ryan – Non-Fiction – 3 stars
    6. Wormwood Mire by Judith Russell – Junior Fiction – 4 stars
    7. Two Steps Forward by Graeme Simsion – Fiction – 3 stars
    8. The Strawberry Thief by Joanne Harris – Fiction – 5 stars
    9. The Book of Dreams by Nina George – Fiction – 3 stars
    10. My Life After Death by Erik Medhus – Non-Fiction – 2 stars
    11. Wanderlust by Jeff Krasno – Non-Fiction – 3 stars
    12. Vanlife Diaries by Kathleen Morton – Non-Fiction – 2 stars
    13. State of Fear by Tim Ayliffe – Fiction – 3 stars
    14. Writing Your Life by Patti Miller – Non-Fiction – 5 stars
    15. Artemis by Andyd Weir – Fiction – 3 stars
    16. City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert – Fiction – 4 stars
    17. Eucalyptus by Murray Bail – Fiction – 4 stars
    18. Everything is F*cked by Mark Manson – Non-Fiction – 4 stars
    19. The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart by Holly Ringland – Fiction – 4 stars
    20. The Rembrandt Affair by Daniel Silva – Fiction – 3 stars
    21. The English Girl by Daniel Silva – Fiction – 3 stars
    22. Bruny by Heather Rose – Fiction – 4 stars
    23. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd – Fiction – 4 stars
    24. Homeland by Barbara Kingsolver – Fiction – 3 stars
    25. The End of the Ocean by Maja Lunde – Fiction – 3 stars
    26. The Night Ferry by Michael Robotham – Fiction – 3 stars

    I am yet to reach my goal of 50 books in one year. Here is my record from Goodreads over the past few years:

    IMG_1386[1943]

    What is a Library?

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    The father of library science, Dr. S. R. Ranganathan, defines the term ‘library’:

    “A library is a public institution or establishment charged with the care of a collection of books and the duty of making them accessible to those who require to use them and the task of converting every person in its neighbourhood into a habitual library goer and a regular reader.”

    Oxford defines a ‘library’:

    “A building or room containing collections of books, periodicals, and sometimes films and recorded music for the use or borrowing by the public or the members of an institution.”

    Cambridge definition:

    “A building, room, or organization that has a collection, especially of books for people to read or borrow, usually without payment.”

    Wikipedia definition:

    “A library is a curated collection of sources of information and similar resources, selected by experts and made accessible to a defined community for reference or borrowing. It provides physical or digital access to material and may be a physical location or a virtual space, or both.”

    Nowhere are the words ‘programs’, ‘events’, ‘performance’, ‘show’, or ‘hub’ mentioned.

    It is a sad day when a library collection is being arbitrarily shoved aside to make room for random artists to show-off. And these significant decisions are being made not by ‘experts’. Not by Library Professionals. Not by the people who are educated and qualified and comprehensively appreciate the importance of a properly functioning library with an appropriately curated collection.

    A Library is not a hall, or a meeting place, or an auditorium. It is not a place where individuals ‘perform’. That is a different place: maybe an Arts Centre, or a public hall.

    In trying to reinvent themselves to assure a slice of public funding, public libraries have done a disservice in trying to be all things to all people. Basic storytime has morphed into miked-up performance to a large crowd expecting a ‘show’. While you can’t deny the popularity of storytime sessions in every public library across the nation, it has raised the expectation to put on a show for every single event, week, cause, and celebration.

    Science Week becomes an opportunity for a Science Show complete with explosions. Children’s Book Week invites character dress-ups, but also another “show” based on the theme.

    These examples are relevant in the library space, but now “they” expect this every week for every random idea or theme. Libraries exist on the premise of inclusivity. But where are the ‘collections’ in all of this? Where are the books? Where are the spaces for investigation, learning, study, and contemplation? Where is the avenue for the Self-Initiated Lifelong Learning Experiences?

    I don’t believe all people are lazy and mindless and willing to sit back and be delivered an idea through a performance. All people are creative and wish to activate their own thing.

    I believe libraries need to focus on the very core definition of a ‘library’ in order to reinvent themselves, and not accept the current coercion that reduces the library to a day centre, performance space, community hub, and marketing opportunity.

    I am a book lover and perpetually curious about this life. I love to read and investigate. I can do some of that online, but I also like to delve into a physical book, being unplugged, sitting under a tree, holding the book in my hand, turning the pages, absorbed in the unfolding story. This story inevitably leads to further investigation and more reading resources as I delve and learn further.

    Public libraries need help from everyone as public funds are being redirected and usurped into other areas by people not qualified, or educated to understand the elemental and crucial function of a ‘Library’. If there are no books, regardless of the format, it is NOT a library!

    Me and many other Library Professionals like me have worked hard and conscientiously for libraries for many years, but I fear that public libraries won’t be there when I am retired and looking for a good book to borrow.

    Public Libraries RIP.