Fixing my Reading Habits — Day 1: Grief is the Thing with Feathers (pt. 1)

Grief felt fourth-dimensional, abstract, faintly familiar.

Since this is Day 1 I should introduce it, albeit briefly. My book-reading habits are a mess; I might spend weeks reading for hours a day and then not really read for around a year.

Additionally, my attention span is atrocious. I might get stuck with one book for months and struggle to remain focussed enough to get through it — ultimately leaving me without a solid understanding of what I’ve read. Even in the few minutes writing this (so far) I’ve been distracted twice and had to come back to it.

In an attempt to remedy my shortcomings, and to introduce more time into my day where I sit away from technology, I will spend some time reading and then evaluating how it felt. Spoiler-free of course.

A varied style of writing had me gripped immediately. Without giving too much away, Max Porter switches Point-of-View periodically and so the way in which I felt inclined to read each different section varied massively; one particular POV is sharp and choppy but incredibly rhythmic that it reads like poetry.

Although only reading for 10 minutes, I was able to stay focussed and follow the narrative, and without having to go back and read anything for a second time.

I must add that some sentences are very short. Just a single word. They remind me of myself when failing to make sense of a situation. Fleeting thoughts.

I made errors in my writing and in some places even wrote the completely wrong word, ha.

Grief felt fourth-dimensional, abstract, faintly familiar.

You can follow this thread on my Twitter, where I will be updating each day. Thanks,

❤️ Hendrix