I’ve made no secret about the fact that I absolutely love being a freelancer. It affords me a flexible schedule, and I relish not having a boss breathing down my neck. Still, I love to see when people with “legit” jobs get creative and obviously enjoy themselves. Today’s clip is of a really fun presentation a math teacher did for his students. I can’t decide if it’s cool-cool or nerd-cool…

Remember that awesome Billy Joel song and how it summed up, like, a ton of history in just a couple of minutes, while simultaneously taking absolutely no responsibility for anything that has happened?  That was cool, and it had a beat you could dance to, Dick.

Today I came across this video that sums up the last decade in seven minutes flat.  I like the way the narrator manages to get in a few zingers, even while talking a mile a minute.

ETA: Oops, I guess it’s seven minutes and three seconds. Now how will we find the time to watch it?

Sorry, but it’s the truth.

Most are weird good, the type of weird that brings a smile to your face and an expedience to your typing. The kind of weird that your loved ones smirk at but sometimes don’t get, but they’re cool with it. But your pets are sometimes confused as hell when you’re wearing a wig and a baseball cap and dressed in a t-shirt and shorts with slippers in the shape of Scooby Doo. However some are weird WEIRD. I have tried to make a full and frank account of some of them here. Feel free to add your own habits and weird little things so we can compare and contrast and then nervously change the subject and then pretend we never said anything.

W. H. Auden was perhaps one of the first writers to uses stimulants as a  “labor-saving device”. He habitually used speed and swallowed Benzedrine every morning for twenty years. He balanced the somewhat uplifting effects of these amphetamines with the barbiturate Seconal when he wanted to sleep (as well as keeping a glass of vodka at the end of the bed if he woke up). Having such a haphazard approach to narcotics, he saw it as as a pragmatic approach to his workload that sometimes led to physical breakdown and mental collapses. Not to be recommended unless you have a very sturdy constitution.

Stephen King is probably the most prolific Horror writer of our generation so surely there is something to learn from his habits. He seems to put a lot down to routine. “There are certain things I do if I sit down to write,” he said. “I have a glass of water or a cup of tea. There’s a certain time I sit down, from 8:00 to 8:30, somewhere within that half hour every morning,” he explained. “I have my vitamin pill and my music, sit in the same seat, and the papers are all arranged in the same places. The cumulative purpose of doing these things the same way every day seems to be a way of saying to the mind, you’re going to be dreaming soon.” So it seems a certain amount of compulsive tendencies may help upkeep the writing habit.
“It’s not any different than a bedtime routine,” he continued. “Do you go to bed a different way every night? Is there a certain side you sleep on? I mean I brush my teeth, I wash my hands. Why would anybody wash their hands before they go to bed? I don’t know. And the pillows are supposed to be pointed a certain way. The open side of the pillowcase is supposed to be pointed in toward the other side of the bed. I don’t know why.” Yep, definitely a freaky need for routine and order but then ho can argue with his portfolio. Also, I guess you have to admit that the process of writing needs selfish isolation sometimes, who can completely switch off the world around them to concentrate?

Finally for this part of an ongoing series a well known figure more for his leadership rather than his  writing prowess, Winston Churchill. HIs daily routine changed little during even the war years. He always awoke about 7:30 a.m. and stayed in bed waiting for his gargantuan  breakfast whilst he read his mail and papers. And then, get this for a great gig, he stayed in bed for a couple of hours working whilst he dictated to his secretaries. Then, it gets better, at 1100, he arose, had bath and perhaps took a walk around the garden in anticipation of his whisky and soda to his study.
At 1300 he usually joined guests and family for a three-course lunch. It seems like it was a boozy lunch too, his wife Clementine drank claret and Winston Pol Roger champagne served at a specific temperature (with the obligatory port brandy and cigars). Lunch ended about 1530 and he went back to his study to work or, if the mood took him, played cards or backgammon with Clementine. At 1700, after another whisky and soda, he had a nap for ninety minutes. Amazingly this little siesta, a habit he had learned from his time in Cuba, allowed him to work 1 1/2 days in every 24 hours. At 1830, he woke up, had another bath and dressed for a 2000 dinner, which was the focal point and highlight of Churchill’s day. The talk of the day, usually dominated by Winston, was probably more important that was on their plates. Depending on the guests drinks and cigars went into the the wee hours. The guests retired and Churchill returned to his study for another hour or so of work.
So there you have it, part one of this ongoing series shows that writer’s routines are weird, even weirder than you. (So far).

We’ve all heard the advice that if you want to be a good writer, you should also be an avid reader.  I have to admit that I’ve been resting on my laurels for quite some time now.  Since I received my Kindle, however, I’ve poked my head out of my shell and dived into the world of literature once again.  I recently asked you all to offer suggestions for what I should read.

It went something like this: “What should I read, and why? Tell me about your favorite fiction. What classics make the world a better place by their mere existence? Fill me in on industry books I should be reading. What authors will blow my mind? What’s the best nonfiction book I’ve been missing out on for these last several years?”

Many of you jumped on board and offered some great suggestions.  I thought it would make sense to list them all in one place so each of us could take advantage of the advice of our colleagues.  I’ll continue to add to the list if and when more suggestions are made.  I was trying to gather 100, and we have 35, not counting specific authors that were recommended.

So far, I’ve used my electronic book to read Alice Sebold’s The Almost Moon, Gregory McGuire’s Wicked, and Cami Walker’s 29 Gifts.  What should I choose next?  Maybe one of the following from Freelance Writing Job readers.

Laney Landry

Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins (3)

Simon J. James

Catch 22 by Joseph Heller

Closing Time by Joseph Heller

The Liar by Stephen Fry

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

Tomas by James Palumbo

Choke by Chuck Palahnuik

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson

Heidi Heidel

The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe by J. Randy Taraborelli

Alice

The Shadow of the Wind by Carolos Ruiz Zafon

The Angel’s Game by Carolos Ruiz Zafon

Better by Atul Gawande

Complications by Atul Gawande

Unconditional Parenting aby Alfie Kohn

Human Croquet by Kate Atkinson

The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood

Wicked by Gregory Maguire

Theresa

The Witching Hour by Anne Rice

The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley

This House of Sky by Ivan Doig

English Creek by Ivan Doig

Jodee

Rebecca by Daphne Dumaurier

The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory

The Chamber by John Grisham

Kirsten

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Meghna

The Japanese Wife by Kunal Basu

Mike

Treasure Island by Robert Stevenson

Journey to the center of the Earth by Jules Verne

The Bourne Trilogy by Robert Ludlum (3)

The Witching Hour by Anne Rice (second time this one was mentioned)

Authors that were also suggested:

David Sedaris

Matt Taibbi

Tony Hillerman

Jody Picoult

Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse

Nora Robers (as J.D. Robb)

Mary Higgins Clark

James Patterson

Janet Evonovich

Before I start to tell you more about my experience with the Kindle, I wanted to hit you all up for naming suggestions. It turns out that you can give your device its own name, and I haven’t come up with the perfect one yet. If you’ve got a suggestion, please leave it in the comments.

As I mentioned previously, my darling husband bought me a Kindle for my birthday. I do love my little toy, let me tell you. We’ve had some issues, and I had to get a replacement because once my battery ran all the way down, it wouldn’t start back up. I sounded so forlorn telling my hubby, “My Kindle won’t wake up.” It reminded me of some little kid who has just found his goldfish floating belly-up in the bowl.

It didn’t help matters that I was 1/3 of the way through Wicked at the time and was going to have to wait for the new one to arrive via FedEx. I know the delivery guys get all kinds of comments when they show up with packages, but this one nearly got French kissed on my front porch.

There are some things I really like about my new Kindle:
1. I can use it one-handed, which means that as long as she doesn’t realize Mama is trying to multi-task, I can read while nursing the baby.
2. I love the instant gratification that comes with being able to download a book immediately.
3. I don’t have to flip through the book to find out where I left off. (Because I’m just no good at using bookmarks.)

There are also some things I don’t like so well:
1. If you accidentally hit the “back” button, you may spend the next ten minutes trying to find your place.
2. It’s pretty easy to accidentally advance multiple pages. (I believe this was addressed with the Kindle II.)
3. Apparently, you should never let the battery run all the way down.
4. Because it is a “no-no” and has buttons, my daughter covets it to a ridiculous degree.

Really, though, I’m quite pleased with my gift. It was a refurbished unit, which means hubby didn’t pay full price, and I like that, too. Since the birth of my first child, I managed to read ZERO books. I am now on my fourth since the end of September. As odd as it sounds, I kind of feel like myself again. There was a time when you just wouldn’t find me without a book in my hand, and even though this one is electronic, that’s starting to be the case again.

So, it turns out that I’m a jackass. Not just a cute little petting-zoo burro, either; but a braying, bucking donkey of a blogger.

After four months of inventing word games, of finding hilarious videos, and of attempting to share my self-deprecating humor, I was so sad that no one seemed to be reading. My self-esteem took a nosedive, but I kept trying to put cool stuff up here because a) that’s what I was hired to do, and b) it’s fun. A lot of times, it seemed like Julia was the only one who was interested.

This little donkey threw a bit of a pity party, hee-hawing and boo-hooing to herself. After all, when I asked a community of writers for their reading suggestions (Oh, Literature. How I’ve Missed You) and only got one, I was seriously bummed. To be honest, my self-confidence took a hit right around that time. Again with the boo-hooing.

Then I got an email from Deb today. She asks if I realize that I’m supposed to be moderating the comments. Wha…? Comments? People have been commenting and I didn’t know? Sure enough, following Deb’s email was a slew of comments that she had apparently approved for me.

So, I’d like to apologize to all of you who have had something to say and feel like I’ve completely ignored you. I have, but not purposely. I appreciate that you’ve been adding your two cents’ worth, even if you weren’t getting an acknowledgement for it. I promise to make a point to check the comments and approve you as quickly as possible from here on out!

Heeeee-haaaaaaw.

Below you will find several sets of letters. If you add the same letter to both the beginning and the end of the group, you will have formed a real word. For example, _REA_ would become “DREAD” when a D is placed at the beginning and the end. Put your answer in the comments without looking at what other people have said.

1. _tlant_
2. _ada_
3. _eldin_
4. _illo_

Below you will find several sets of letters. If you add the same letter to both the beginning and the end of the group, you will have formed a real word. For example, _REA_ would become “DREAD” when a D is placed at the beginning and the end. Put your answer in the comments without looking at what other people have said.

1. _riti_
2. _awnsho_
3. _oin_
4. _oftnes_

Usually I can make these videos and other posts somehow relate to the writing life, but I’d really have to stretch pretty thin to make that work today.  Still, I thought this was pretty darn funny, even if it does have a laugh track.

For some reason, it didn’t quite register when my husband pointed the camera at me as I opened my birthday gift a week and a half ago, that there was something truly special secreted under the purple flowered wrapping paper I’d bought during a school fundraising drive several years ago. It turns out that he wanted to capture the look on my face as I opened the package to find my biggest (current) materialistic dream had been fulfilled.

He bought me a Kindle. And I am in love. Um, with him. Yeah, that’s what I meant.

Here’s the not-so-flattering picture he got, by the way:

As someone who gave up the love of reading as life got more and more hectic and then a baby was thrown into the equation, I fondled my new electronic device with mixed emotions. Of course, I was elated by the gadget…and the fact that my darling husband had actually heard something I’d said in the past six months. But, there was the fear that I wouldn’t use it enough. That it would be a waste of money.

Fortunately, I’m already about 90% done with my first novel (Alice Sebold’s Almost Moon) and already have a wish list in mind. Next will be The Timetraveler’s Wife, and then is Wicked. (I’m telling you, I am really far behind in pop culture reading.)

But, I’m not content with my piddly little list of “must reads.” I am insatiable at the moment. That’s why I’m asking you to offer suggestions for my wish list. What should I read, and why? Tell me about your favorite fiction. What classics make the world a better place by their mere existence? Fill me in on industry books I should be reading. What authors will blow my mind? What’s the best nonfiction book I’ve been missing out on for these last several years?

Go crazy, people. I’m hoping to have a list of 100 “must-read” books that lets me know my husband will get his money’s worth out of this purchase.

If you’re not reading this through your RSS Reader, it’s safe to assume the person who posted this is a content thief and should be reported.