Deborah Linn's Blog: Deborah Linn Updates

ANNOUNCEMENT:

It's okay to not finish reading a book.

It really is.

I'm probably announcing this more to myself than to anyone else. It's a recent decision I've made for myself. I think the decision comes from a place of maturity? Age? Maybe both. Also, my word for 2022, ACCEPTANCE, played a role.

Fist, the pandemic changed my thinking on a lot of things. Basically, it helped me adopt a "life's too short" mentality. As in--life's too short to waste it away slogging through a book you aren't enjoying. Focusing on ACCEPTANCE this year allowed me to deal in what is rather than what should be, could be, ought to be, or was planned to be. To go along with that idea, I've also added a DNF (did not finish) tag to my Goodreads bookshelf.

As an author, I always hesitated to add the DNF tag. I didn't want to claim that another author's work was not readable. I wouldn't want someone to make that claim about my book. However, what I have realized in my post-read conversations with many, many readers is that a book can be enjoyed at various levels in various phases of a person's reading life. What might not be readable for one reader might be amazing for another.

For example, Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love is a life changing book for me. My sister never raved about it like I did. We definitely were not in the same phase of life when we each read that book.

I've experienced it myself with the same book. My first read through Pride and Prejudice was torturous. I didn't love it. Heck, I didn't even like it. Now, I adore it almost as ardently as Darcy adores Lizzy.

So, I think it's okay and fair for me to, and any reader, to confess that he/she did not finish a book. Allowing this confession does two things. First, it allows me to still write a book review of the portion I did read. Anyone reading my review will have a more fair idea of my evaluation. Second, a public statement that I didn't finish it allows me to honestly enter a conversation as a reader. Surely, we've all been in those situations where we want to discuss the book, but we haven't finished it, so we're not sure if we should really weigh in on the conversation. Admitting limited knowledge is okay. In fact, it's preferable to either not FOMO or imposter syndrome. (And yes, I've seen both of those play out in the reading world.)

The DNF tag can actually be helpful. As an author, when I see a DNF tag for my own book, I can examine why the reader didn't finish. It will help me become a better writer. I always prefer an honest reaction to an insincere one.

And one more thing, GoodReads readers are intelligent. They are perfectly capable of reading through the many reviews and determining for themselves what to add to their "Want to Read' shelf. My one little DNF won't stop them if the really want to read it.

To sum up, if you needed permission to not finish and to tag a book as such, here it is. I received it from someone else a while back, accepted the gift, and now I'm paying it forward.

Happy Reading!

PS--I'd love to hear about the very best books that you just didn't finish for some reason. What a fun conversation that would be.

Last week I received a text from an acquaintance who is reading Just Daisy. She's a booklover. She belongs to a book club, but...well, I'll just share her text with you. She said:

"Hi. I've been meaning to tell you that I'm close to halfway through your book and I really like it! I love your writing style and now I want to read The Great Gatsby. It makes me wonder why I've never read or watched Gatsby before now. But I've never really been a "classics" person. I should change that though."

Friends, I think my work is done. Now, I'm going to go weep with pride and joy.

But wait. If reading Just Daisy leads readers back to The Great Gatsby, doesn't that mean that reading my current work in progress, a 1980s retelling of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, will lead readers back to Twain?

I guess my work is not done. Back to the keyboard!

What is your favorite retelling?

Remember when I said my scary word for 2022 is ACCEPT?

So a quick update...Ten days into 2022, I contracted Covid. I understand there are thousands of people whose symptoms are worse than mine, but holy smokes--Covid bites!

There are some things I can do to decrease symptoms, but mostly what I have to do is accept that I can't do much. I have to rest. I'm not good at resting. One thing that helps (and believe me, I know how awful this sounds) is that my sister is recovering from Covid right now, too. My other sister overcame her own bout with it a while back. Neither of them are good at resting, either. Somehow knowing we all share the struggle helps.

In only two weeks, I've learned that acceptance doesn't give options. I'm laying here trying to find ways to make this time productive, but I can't. I have to accept that. The most productive thing I can do is let my body heal. I have to let go of everything else.

I've always believed that when you put something out into the universe with conviction and passion, the universe answers. Sometimes those answers aren't fun or nice, but they usually deliver exactly what you ask for.

So I'm not reading. I'm not writing (except for this short blog). I'm not grading or lesson planning. I'm accepting. I'm resting, I'm healing.

Be well.

We are only a few days into 2022, and my word is already kicking my butt. I can't tell you the number of times my friends and family have spoken this word to me. And not in a "Acceptance is your word, isn't it?" kind of way. I don't even know if they know it's my word. But they all sure know I need a healthy dose of it.

The word "acceptance" has already taught me how bossy and (I'm cringing as I write it) judgmental I've become. I hate to blame Covid for all the ills in the world. (LOL, see what I did there?) But honestly, teaching through a pandemic has turned me into a cranky, negative, judgey, impatient person. By nature, I'm the kind of person who rejects all those things. I don't like negative, icky emotions. I scamper out of them as soon as possible. But over the last two years, I've wallowed in them,

In having so little control over how I can teach my students and where I can go for entertainment and where I can travel on holidays, I became someone who tried to control people around me. It's come to the point that I need a teacher. I need a lesson in accepting only what I am in control of and letting go of everything else. I don't know why, but that is scaring me. I think it has something to do with the fact that once I really focus on only what I can control, now I'm responsible for it. I can't blame anything or anyone for my failings or shortcomings.

My dad always told me, "Take care of yourself. It's a full time job." I used to laugh at it. I was sometimes insulted by it. But I've come to realize it's real meaning. It is a 24-hour-a-day, lifelong job to take care of ourselves. That's my main responsibility. So here I go. I'm accepting that reality, even if it's already kicking my butt.