The brain has not checked in yet. I’m starting to wonder if it has gone on a Himalayan trek without letting me know.
I imagine that trek is crowded with brains from all over, brains that need a break. Brains that need a vacation. Brains that are out of shape and think a festive hike in a different setting might get them back in fighting trim. All I know is I feel pretty light headed.
Still. I’ve been reading. When I first got WIZARD OF THE CROW ( by N. Wa Thiongo, mentioned before) I was in the midst of a Nerve Destroying, Bone Shattering But All For the Best Personal Planetary Shift. I knew this was a great book but my concentration wasn’t up to the task. Instead I finished JONATHAN STRANGE AND MR. NORRELL by Susanna Clark which I loved, and which also seemed related to the work I was commencing on somehow. Instructive, as it were, so I could focus. Also I had broken part of my foot and needed something Long and Weighty to keep me occupied. Now I am back to WIZARD and I must say: Fantastic. It is hilarious , awful at the same time, wonderful and instructive . Also, it is good to keep in mind while watching the news from Lagos.
Yesterday, when I finally had to admit I could go no further after seeing the contents of my mailbox, I staged a retreat to the backyard with THE MIRACLE LIFE OF EDGAR MINT, by Brady Udall. Another hilarious and awful book, closer to home and requiring some unflinching attention, but I read almost the whole book in one afternoon.
So. I feel better even though the brain is AWOL and I have to Go Outside and Act Like A Functioning Grown Up Now which I am not altogether sure I can pull off today. But those two books gave me some food for the soul, and I thank their writers for that very much, indeed.
Boozilla: learning to fly one room at a time 