I started this book over Christmas and finished it in March. It’s the only fiction book I read and reflected on over the spring because there was a lot of research reading I was doing as a result of my diagnosis. That was planned. Other than Drew Magary’s novel The Hike, this book, and starting… Continue reading Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link
A leisurely time writing at Needmore Coffee The introduction to this book struck me, but like a lot of Newport’s work the first half is like beating a dead horse from an argument standpoint—because that’s his training as an academic. But the second half is filled with helpful suggestions. The introduction, however, is argumentative gold.… Continue reading Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport.
No not this David Finch This one. Forgive me for this one because there will be a lot of comic book puns. David J. Finch is like me—a writer, a parent, and husband. At my age, he was diagnosed with Aspergers. But when he was a kid he was also diagnosed with ADD and… Continue reading The Journal of Best Practices by David J. Finch
The first symptoms of my conditions are dysthymia and extreme egotism, which—I think—if you read this website you can see that I have that. The first thing that damages one’s relationship with others as someone with ADD and Aspergers is how self-centered they are, unfocused, and inflexible. They are used to managing themselves through their… Continue reading How to Talk So Little Kids Listen By Joanna Faber and Julia King
The book and my journal--open to today's entry. What finally convinced me to read the Meditations by Marcus Aurelius was how frequently it was mentioned in the Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Carroll. The other thing that struck me was that Carroll was diagnosed with ADD when he was younger and eventually this led to… Continue reading The Method.
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, translated by Gregory Hayes I read a lot of Stoic philosophy this season. I started with daily reading of the Daily Stoic blog, which led me to Letters from a Stoic by Seneca, then Meditations by Marcus Aurelius and the latter really struck me. I haven’t finished it, but I find… Continue reading A Meditation on Meditations by Marcus Aurelius.
Some of my favorite pieces from David Sedaris Diaries: A Visual Compendium. I knew that I would find this much more interesting than Theft by Finding, but what I enjoyed most was how the visual always pairs with words and every day things. He pays attention to the world from the visual to the person,… Continue reading David Sedaris’ Diaries.
Five things I learned from Theft by Finding by David Sedaris. One: That diaries are not that interesting. Two: They are necessary as a collection of your experiences that can be mined for better writing. Three: They’re good to reflect on after years to see how very little you’ve changed and see that and develop strategies. Four: his… Continue reading Five things I learned from Theft by Finding by David Sedaris.
In my year-end newsletter, I talked about how much I loved Benjamin Percy’s Thrill Me– his collection of essays on writing fiction. Percy is the author of Red Moon and the recent Dark Net as well as the writer behind Green Arrow and Teen Titans and a recent run on James Bond. I finally managed… Continue reading Five Things I Learned from Benjamin Percy’s Thrill Me
