Tsundoku: One Step Backward to Take Two Steps Forward

"Did you like this one?"

"The one by Tsukiyama? I haven't read that one yet, but you can borrow it."

"What about this Donald Hall memoir?"

"No. Not yet. But I'm sure it's good. I love his writing."

"Well, I don't want to borrow one you haven't read yet."

"Okay. Let me look..."

It's true. I suffer from tsundoku. As a teacher and avid reader, I am surrounded by books. I arrange them in artistic piles with blue stones I collect on the shores of Lake Superior. My collection of bird feathers is framed and perches on another stack. They're on night stands, kitchen counters, and in hand-woven baskets.  I force myself to purge my collection every year, but it's truly a struggle because books bring me joy...all of them. I don't buy joyless books. 

Growing up, I was never that little girl who played princesses and dreamed about who I was going to marry and how many kids we'd have. I was too busy staging neighborhood musicals, writing poetry,  and reading and writing books. My childhood and adolescent fantasies hinged on independence...and books, music, culture, and ideas. On Saturday mornings, I'd escape to our small town's public library while my mom wheeled my little sister around the Kroger's in a shopping cart filled with Betty Crocker, Duncan Hines, and little jello boxes. I'd camp out in the stacks, journal in hand, and copy poems so I could possess them. The librarian, with her pursed lips and long stares over the top of her glasses, always let me check out more books than the kid limit. Bless her. 

Back in January, I made my "boundless list."  The fact that books are on my list is no surprise to friends and family. Books have always transported me to new places...they've always revealed me to myself. I have stacks and stacks of books that I have yet to read. However,  I've identified five that I will read over the course of April. They're about creativity and mindfulness, because for me, creativity and mindfulness are married. I'll be musing about them throughout this month. 

Your Inner Critic Is A Big Jerk And Other Truths About Being Creative by Danielle Krysa is the first on my reading list. I found this gem at the Detroit Institute of Arts gift shop. Museum gift shops have THE BEST books! I bought this book because I can't seem to get the old nagging hag that lives inside my mind to shut her pie hole when I'm trying to get my creative groove going. Stop by next weekend when I'll be exploring this book in depth. 

Recently, I returned to that little public library.  It was as if I'd stepped back in time. It smelled the same, that old book smell of paper and ink and ideas, waiting to be rediscovered. The same librarian was there, silver-haired now, but her mouth still set in the same thin line. This time, she was perched behind a computer, and all the Saturday morning memories knotted themselves into a ball of nostalgia at the base of my throat.  I was overwhelmed, teary-eyed and transported again. Sometimes, one has to look back before moving forward. I can not wait for the new journeys in store this month!