Free Press
The sidewalks of Toronto are paved with free books and the like. Not to mention the Free Little Libraries that dot our neighbourhoods and the actual libraries. No one in this city wants for reading material. I am trying to limit the books I bring home because I have a two foot high column of unread volumes stacked up by my bedside. One of the things on my to-do list actually says “finish reading one g-d book already.”
I did bring home a couple of books on our weekend sidemart shopping trip. One was a bioraphy of TV producer Norman Lear (I’m a sucker for celebrity tell alls). The other was a little hardcover about the history of Tiffany rings (a good reference for my day jobs). While I like free things, I do think it’s important to support writers and publishers, so I do try to pay and promote artists when I can. Another thing on my to do list says “finish writing one g-d book already.” Yes I co-authoured Cover Garden Home, but I’ve got at least three other tomes in the oven. One is actually done, I just have to send it out into the world to see if anyone is interested in publishing it.
In the meantime, one can never have enough blank notebooks to write random thought and to-do lists in. I also picked up this notebook and pen from a “free” box. It should come in handy.
I have a theory about why I’m having trouble finishing any books. In the olden times I was a voracious reader and could put away a 600 page novel in one sleepless night. But since the lockdowns. I can’t seem to focus on anything. The last book I completed was “Trixie and Katya’s Guidr To Modern Womanhood.” It was very entertaining but it did have a lot of pictures. But back to my theory. I usually read while something else is going on — for example, music is playing in the background. But now that everyone is working from home, I worry that my sonic wallpaper will disturb others.
I still have to put my theory to the test, and these brand new, stil in their original packaging Bluetooth headphones that I rescued from the curb will help me rock out (or at least listen to podcasts) while ai power my way through Michael Palin’s “Erebus” — a book I bought at the airport in March 2020.
