Category: Literature

Things that have Never Been

Posted on by Erin of the Hills

And now we welcome the new year. Full of things that have never been.

-Rainer Maria Rilke

OK, OK, I know it’s not the new year. But it kind of is in a sense for me. I’ve restarted my exercise regime for the first time since my 2.5-year-old was born and it feels amazing. I’m also writing at a minimum twice a week now which has not happened consistently since before kids.

And I’m reading. Oh, I’m reading up a storm.

Not only am I reading, dear reader, but I’m reading with a promise to review. Yes, I finally signed up for Netgalley. Nothing like a social commitment to challenge oneself.

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Done Questioning

Posted on by Erin of the Hills

Do not let what you think they think of you make you stop and question everything you are.

Carrie Fisher

I’m not sure what your opinion on the late, great Carrie Fisher is. Despite having found her tweets incredibly confounding, what long-form writing of hers I was exposed to really stayed with me. Postcards from the Edge might be the first book I’ve ever read where the author’s voice truly struck me as unique.

Now…this may say more about where I was in my reading journey and life overall at the time than being any kind of disparaging comment on anything I had read previously but…I digress.

The point is, whether she meant this or not, in reading that book I truly felt as if Ms. Fisher herself was speaking to me – trying to explain something about who she was and what her seemingly glamorous life was or had been like. It went beyond memoir or autobiography, despite being fiction. Like cracking open a soul.

Her book confirmed what I had already surmised: I wanted to write and I wanted to write in my own voice – not one that was prescribed to me.

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A Bookish Atmosphere

Posted on by Erin of the Hills

This place has atmosphere, different from a bookshop with just new books. In here you sense the weight of time stretching way back to the past.

Michiko Aoyama, What You Are Looking For is in The Library

I’ve always found that for both writing and reading, atmosphere is important to me. Now, this is not to say that I can only read or write in a specific location. Only that to fully focus my creative mind, I need to feel comfortable in my surroundings.

When we first saw the house we now call home, back in January, it was not initially what I thought we had been looking for. Most of the houses we had looked at leading up to this one had been just out of town with at least an acre of land (one actually had 5!) They were my vision of an oasis of tranquility where we could escape just a little from the frantic pace of modern life.

Having looked at all these beautiful country homes, we decided to check this one out for a very specific reason. I had grown up only a 5-minute walk from my elementary school and I remember truly loving being so close…especially as someone who has never been a morning person and for whom mornings were less than tranquil. This house would give the girls the same experience growing up but it was far from the secluded country retreat I had been dreaming about. Regardless, it seemed to be perfectly situated for the kids on a quiet cul-de-sac close to not only their school but also the walking path, fair grounds and library. And that meant something.

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Reading Roundup: December 2023

Posted on by Erin of the Hills

Never trust anyone who has not brought a book with them.

Lemony Snicket, Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can’t Avoid

Happy New Year Everyone!

Well, the last month flew by and I did not get any writing done. However, I managed to squeeze in quite a bit of reading so I’m going to go ahead and call that a win.

I couldn’t help but choose the Lemony Snicket quote above to kick off my first post of the year as one of my main hopes for 2024 is to finally wrest myself from the persistent phone addiction that has had me in a chokehold since the pandemic. Part of my strategy to achieve this includes bringing a book everywhere I go to get out of the habit of pulling out my phone whenever I need to wait even 5 minutes for something. Another change I’ll be making is no more phone in the bathroom (don’t lie, you do it too). Hopefully these small changes will lead to even more reading this year…one can only hope!

But, without further ado, let’s take a look at all the wonderful things I managed to read in December, shall we? Who knows, maybe you’ll find your next great inspiration here. I certainly took something away from each and every one of these articles, blogs and books; do let me know if you do too, it’s the reason I write these posts in the first place. Happy Reading!

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Reading Roundup: November 2023

Posted on by Erin of the Hills

I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing.

Dame Agatha Christie

This past month has been a tough one, I’m not going to sugarcoat it. We cycled through several colds in our household, the last one being a doozy and I can safely say I was racked with both misery and coughing fits. As a result of that last rough one, I even spent part of an overnight in the hospital with our youngest with the nurses checking her vitals every hour or so. Thankfully she is just fine now and it ended up being most likely a very mild (thank goodness) case of RSV but it was definitely a scary experience – including her very first (hopefully last) ride in an ambulance!

Suffice it to say, reading has not been much of a priority this month as we’ve been in survival mode but I think we’ve gotten through the worst of it (she says hesitantly not wanting to provoke any celestial last laughs). But I did read some great things even if only one of them was a book proper. And for that I am both thankful and proud. See, Mom? Getting a wee bit less hard on myself finally. What an improvement.

So, without further ado and before we all get sick again…here’s my roundup for the month.

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Reading Roundup: October 2023

Posted on by Erin of the Hills

“Speak to your darkest and most negative interior voices the way a hostage negotiator speaks to a violent psychopath: calmly, but firmly. Most of all, never back down. You cannot afford to back down. The life you are negotiating to save, after all, is your own.

Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic

I’ll admit, this has not been a great month for writing. In fact, it has been downright dismal. What a wonderful time, therefore, for me to come across my favourite lines from Elizabeth Gilbert’s brilliant Big Magic to remind me how unnecessary and, perhaps, even downright harmful it is to denigrate myself for having such an off month.

I mean, think about it. What do we gain from beating ourselves up so? Who wins in that battle? Certainly not the self being harassed. And not even the self doing the harassing. So…basically…no one wins. My husband often tells me that the worst part about me beating myself up is that he can’t confront the person bullying his love because, well, that person is also his love (albeit a very mean version of her reserved exclusively for self-flagellation).

So, this is me talking to that negative being who lives inside of me: shush you. That’s how hostage negotiators talk…no?

I may not have managed much writing this month but oh boy did I ever manage a bunch of reading. This is going to be a long one! So, get cozy with a nice hot drink and come on a journey with me through the very best of what I read in October.

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Reading Roundup: September 2023

Posted on by Erin of the Hills

She rocked a little forward and back in her chair, her mind chasing this thought, then dashing after another.

Renée Gendron, The Ninth Star

I’ll be honest, September was not the most focused of months for me. It’s our first time really having the “back to school” experience as my eldest was returning to preschool for her 2nd and final year and it was…a transition to put it lightly. Sleep has been off, behaviour has been challenging and I’ve been just all-around exhausted.

Perhaps counter-intuitively, when I’m tired reading is usually the last thing I want to do. That does not mean that I don’t find reading relaxing – I do. However, I also need at least some mental energy in order to properly immerse myself in the worlds being painted in the authors’ words – that’s just how I have always approached reading. So, when my mental energy is low, I don’t tend to reach for a book. Does that sound strange? Maybe. But it’s just the type of reader I am and I have come to terms with this.

So, all that being said, if my reading total seems low this month…this is why! Let’s get on with it, shall we?

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Reading Roundup: August 2023

Posted on by Erin of the Hills

A flare of hope shot up inside her, a sudden bright puff like the lighting of a gas stove.

Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumn

It may not seem like much to the casual reader but…I truly cannot believe the streak I am on in terms of publishing posts on this blog. I mean, if I’m being honest (and why wouldn’t I be since this is easy enough for anyone to fact check), it has been years since I have been this consistent with my writing. Years.

Dare I hope that my spark is back?

I think I will dare. After all, better to hope than to prematurely despair.

Speaking of streaks…Here I go publishing my monthly reading roundup on time! And since it’s not a catchup post, it will be nice and short. You’re welcome!

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Reading Roundup: March – July 2023

Posted on by Erin of the Hills

Whatever you are meant to do, do it now. The conditions are always impossible

Doris Lessing

I’m sure Ms. Lessing was referring to something far more important than a blog when she said the above quote, and not only since she lived the vast majority of her life far before blogs were even invented. She was a Nobel prize winner after all.

However, in my case, this gem from my book of Beautiful Words spoke to me today because this is a post I have been dreading tackling. I want to get back to my monthly reading roundup but…before I do that I needed to catch up from the last 5 months. Why? Because that’s the type of person I am. Sigh.

Thankfully I read a heck of a lot more books than articles so this post won’t be as long as it could have been.

So, let’s do this now. Shall we?

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Reading Roundup: February 2023

Posted on by Erin of the Hills

The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.

Dr Seuss

Where oh where did February go and how is it already March?

As with all of the grandest of ambitions, I hit a snag with my writing goals last month when we were hit with not one, not two but 3 different illnesses one after the other (I know, I know, perfectly normal when your kid starts preschool but STILL). Couple that with my 4 month old going through an also-perfectly-normal-developmentally sleep regression and, well, we were definitely in survival mode.

As I’m still recovering from the latest cold, I’m going to go easy on myself this week and publish my reading roundup and I’ll get back to the other content next week (hopefully).

Send all the healthy vibes our way – we need them!

One thing I did manage to do despite being sick was read. And boy did I ever read. In fact, according to Goodreads I’m 3 books ahead of schedule for my 2023 reading goal! Considering I read the bulk of my books in November and December last year…it’s safe to say I’m currently pleased as punch at this development.

So, without further ado, here are some fantastic things I read this month. Enjoy!

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