Reading Is Keeping Me Sane

Wednesday is all about books. And writing. And Covid today. COVID-19!

We are isolating. Our family has that thing that used to be called Coronavirus, or Covid-19, but is now just referred to as COVID, or The Covid. Oscar didn’t feel so great last week. And he’s never sick. He wanted a day in bed and we thought that was wise. When his cough seemed a little different, a little more intense we got a test (RAT) and it was positive. Day one for us. Well, day zero actually.

And what a day zero. I quit Facebook. The Parliament protest ended in riot. And my son tested positive for the Covids. This all felt like it happened within the same one hour actually…

I rang the phoneline to report it. “hi you’re speaking with Rona”.

I’m not kidding.

“Yes, and about that”, I said…

We kept upbeat and hunkered down. We had the kitchen well stocked, we had medical supplies. We’re a household with two incomes and one child. We knew we were better off than many. We also figured we’d get positive tests the next day and we could all coast through this together.

But it hasn’t quite been like that.

A few days, and a couple of negative (failed?) tests later we were at the weekend and a bit bored by being inside. Checking the rules to see if we could walk the dog around the block so long as wearing a mask and socially distancing.

And then on Sunday Katy tested positive. She had been getting sicker throughout the week and then the weekend knocked her about big time. So much sleep.

I dodged it another day and cleaned the house – by the end of Sunday I felt like I was bulletproof.

“I’m not going to get it”, I said quite triumphantly before bed on Sunday night.

Monday morning arrived. And I woke up sick the proverbial. My RAT finally confirmed this.

So we were at day one – well, day zero – all over again. Third time’s a charm.

I set Oscar a reading challenge – to finish his Percy Jackson book by the weekend. The reward? I’d buy him another book. He’s racing me, as I try to – finally – finish The Shining. A book I feel I know so well from knowing so much about it without ever reading it, from watching the movie so many times and absorbing any associated trivia, documentary or book about the movie...

But it’s hard to read. And that’s always been my least favourite thing about any kind of head-cold related sickness. Your eyes glaze so quickly. The fog descends. You hack a cough and lose your place on the page. Reading has been used over the last couple of days as a sleeping agent. It helps me to drift off. And sleep is the magic cure.

We are observing all the rules, doing all the things. We have support (including family dropping off grocery top-ups) and a friend walking the dog. We couldn’t be any luckier. We have understanding employers, we have a kid basking in YouTube and X-Box (and reading). He’s also writing his own novel and making a rap album.

And we were vaccinated and boosted (well, Oscar of course had only had the one shot, is due his second right around now).

I can’t imagine how bad it must be for the unvaccinated. For those with longer gaps between household members catching it. For those with more kids, smaller houses, lower incomes. Etc…

Because I can only just get my head around our own situation.

And it is unpleasant enough, whilst being totally manageable. Our stretched health system and picked-on Government has made this as decent and manageable as can be. And I’m grateful for that.

So, not much of a newsletter today. But an update.

The book that I did manage to read so far – and absolutely loved – is Having and Being Had by Eula Biss. An amazing set of essays from a brilliant non-fiction specialist. She writes about the things we own, the motivations for feeling we need them, the values we place on the types of work we do or seek and of course there’s plenty of writing about writing. It is also about trying to live ethically within the overarching structure of capitalism. Is this even possible? It is exquisite, deft prose. And it’s one of the very best books I’ve read in a long, long time.

Over the weekend, when the RATS were still negative, I finished reading Steve Braunias’ Cover Story. Which is about New Zealand albums, but really about NZ album covers. Steve’s winning way with words makes this a must. It’s also like an exhibition of New Zealand’s cultural (cringe) past. Would make a great gift. Or a beach-house installation. Would make a good holiday read for anyone – and perfect for the music-lover in your life. Maybe that’s you. Maybe that’s someone else…

I also finished John Hodgman’s book of essays, Vacationland. Essays are a thing. Have been for a while. But they’re certainly having another moment right now. And this book – a few years old, but recent/ish – is absolutely brilliant. Very funny. Very lovely.

And I woke up today, my back sore from coughing, wearing a leather frost, to someone tweeting me the news that Bob Dylan has a new book on the way! The Philosophy of Modern Song is not published until November of this year. But it’s been 18 years since Dylan’s last book. So the wait doesn’t feel like much. The weight of it feels impressive already, some 60 essays about songwriting – Dylan working on this over the last 12 years. And of course while he was putting this together he was studiously avoiding the second volume of his memoir (allegedly a three-volume set) and I find that perversely funny in a typical Dylan way.

I’m also excited to hear of a new book of poems by Barry Gifford. This is only a couple of weeks away…

And this weekend, my Audible sub will provide me with a new credit. So I’ll probably check out Bob Odenkirk’s brand new memoir. We all love Bob. Don’t we? Comedian. Dramatic actor. Recent action star. But also a brilliant, brilliant writer. So that’s a no-brainer.

I hope I can listen for long enough. I hope I can enjoy it and the coughing and sneezing and sweats and fever-dreams have disappeared by then.

Reading is keeping me sane. Making me happy. And I know it’s only been a week since I ditched Facebook but I haven’t missed it at all. And I know my reading time has increased. And it’s been worth it for that alone.

What have you all been reading lately? And how are you coping in this strange new world, this new – weird – normal? Any good reading tips and recommendations?