What I’m Reading
January 14, 2021
This week’s What I’m Reading opens a new year of reading recommendations with a kicker in the wrong place, a sad reality check, and an effort to find a productive distraction from reality lands in the wonderful world of literature.
A Kicker To Start The Year
A kicker is what broadcast journalists term a lighthearted, little story that ends a news show. I always liked the concept, for the search for such a story can lead to wonderful little nuggets that highlight the joy and humor of life.
Instead of placing today’s kicker in its proper position, I’ve decided to lead with it. Together with the third recommendation, it wraps around the more serious story in this little collection like a protective layer of smiles.
“To Run and Take Notes at the Same Time” also makes the segue from my last post, which started the year 2021 and concluded (for now) the writing about my running to the harsher reality of the years 2020 and 2021 a bit smoother.
Jen A. Miller, the article’s author, describes her experience of participating in a 24-hour race — an undertaking she decided to document by interviewing her fellow racers while racing.
The result is an enjoyable first-person look behind the scenes of the event. We learn of her challenges combining running and reporting (and here I thought juggling a hand-held water bottle, GoPro, and food on my long-runs was challenging…), the mental distractions from the running that popped in and out, and general pointers of what it feels like to run a 24-hour race.
Throughout the brief article, the race atmosphere shines through beautifully — from the excitement to the long night and the exhaustion, cold, and pain.
The Sad Reality Check
“Achter de klapdeuren” is a powerful, sad, and much-needed part of the Covid coverage that I’d like to point to because it goes beyond the numbers and day-to-day headline coverage we see everywhere we look.
It comes from the Dutch newspaper NRC, is written by Hans Steketee, and features striking pictures by VII photographer Ilvy Njiokiktjien.
The writing is Dutch, which may or may not be a language you can read.
I myself can’t really, but I get the general picture if I give it a concentrated effort.
There are also terrific translation options out there these days that are sufficient for a bit of a look around (the Google translate extension for Chrome, for example, seems to do a decent enough job with this story).
Even if we leave the writing aside for a moment, the pictures communicate universally. And they do so convincingly and emotionally. Not a hint of sensationalism. A sober and empathetic look at the truth. Photojournalism at its best.
The headline translates to “Behind the Swing Doors” and brings us to the intensive care unit at the Jeroen Bosch hospital in the Dutch city of Den Bosch.
Steketee leads with a quote from a doctor who expresses the wish the public sees what’s going on in hospitals because of the pandemic and realizes the severity of what they as doctors (and we all as humans) are going through.
The story details five people’s battle with covid; four survived, one died. The introduction includes explainers on how the reporting worked and some context on the pandemic in the Netherlands.
It’s a heavy story, for sure. But it’s powerful journalism that shows us a facet of the pandemic we don’t generally get to see. The photographs alone are worth giving this a look.
Back To Calm Via Literature
If you’re looking for an activity that simultaneously eases and stimulates the mind, reading is a wonderful way of achieving that.
A recent look through the arts section of The New York Times brought me to a book review called ‘Summerwater’ Makes an Intimate Study of Social Class Out of a Long, Rainy Day.
Writer Dwight Garner convinced me to add Sarah Moss’s “Summerwater” to an already long reading list. Why? Because I don’t only smell a terrific story wrapped between the two covers, but also a good chunk of writing education sprinkled in.
Garner promises a “great rain novel” that accomplishes to create a “strong sense of the natural world.”
Moss is said to combine those elements of nature with curious insights into humanity.
A group of people stuck indoors, no Internet, left with nothing to do but do observe one another from the comfort of their windows. As brief as this plot synopsis is, it sounds intriguing.
I’m also curious to see if I agree with Garner’s impression of this book as a “beautiful” look at middle-class life (with dreams both successful and unsuccessful) that’s well-written and accessible without the need for a literature degree.
This review has made me hungry to explore Moss’s work. Check it out for yourself; maybe it accomplishes the same for you as well.
And that’s a good note to end this year’s first What I’m Reading post. Next week, I’ll share a few more nutrition impressions (not as comprehensive as last time, but a bit of a visual round-up of some new additions).
