I found myself moved by the death of a character in my Thomas Covenant book (The Power that Preserves) and wanted to write about it. I didn't mention the location, though, and I wish I had because it has such a great name—Hotash Slay. Isn't that great? My writing is obviously personal, so there will be spoilers for the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant.

And no, I drove to Claonaig from Lodge Glencoe’s installation in Kinlochleven, not Ardrossan or Troon, but I was listening to Sons of Darkness. I know that as I took a photo the next morning while waiting for the ferry back to Arran. I love the way that books imprint on my travelling.

I finally made it to the top of the hill after chopping back the bracken and brambles to clear that path. Now I can practice my masonic ritual on the forestry road in peace and get some exercise while doing it. That’s where I learn best.

I made a short video so you could hear the buzzing from the privet hedge and get a look at my reading chair.

Links

• Liza Libes on The Odyssey

• The Rest is History on The Odyssey

• Len Pennie on Word for Word

• human1011 on Word for Word

• How to Kill a Language, Sophia Smith Galer

I wrote my pages on the MV Caledonian Isles ferry from Brodick to Ardrossan this morning. It was a nice day for a day trip to Glasgow and there were no, I repeat, no ferry cancellations or delayed trains (well, just one delayed train on the way back to Ardrossan, which meant it arrived after the ferry’s scheduled departure time but, miracle of miracles, the ferry waited for the train. That’s a first!) What does it say about public transport in Scotland when it’s a thing to be celebrated? Anyway, I digress.

I thought about not going to the book shop because my TBR is humungous and I couldn’t think of any titles I was looking for. But then isn’t that the best bit about visiting book shops, finding books that you’d never even heard of? The Pape book (A Very Short History of the Israel-Palestine Conflict) looks interesting, but at 140 pages for a tenner, it’s not the best value. I read Joe Sacco’s comic book Palestine a few years ago and that was great, but I felt I could do with some more information about the conflict, so a tenner spent.

Isiah Berlin’s book, Russian Thinkers, grabbed my attention as I was heading to the loos in Waterstones (the gents was out of order, but that was okay—they had another one on the top floor). It sounds right up my street, a series of essays on such luminaries as Turgenev and Tolstoy. How could I not?

I actually sought out the Helen Garner diaries (How to End a Story: Collected Diaries) after reading Petya Grady’s latest post on journaling methods. She’d recommended three and this was the only one that the Argyll Street Waterstones branch had as I headed back to Central Station.

Here is Petya’s post. It’s a topic that obviously resonates with me!

A reading life

This is NOT a Julia Cameron // The Artist’s Way hate-post

A few months ago my friend Charlee Brooks gifted me a copy of Helen Garner’s diaries. I brought the book to my office at work where I read it in little bursts when I have a solo lunch break. The book inspired me to pick up a few more diaries of inspiring women…

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9 days ago · 105 likes · 73 comments

And here’s what I wrote, which, as Petya talked about in her post, has me acting like a whiney bitch ... or dog, I suppose, given my sex. She has a point, though—it is all too easy to whine in one’s morning pages and spiral down rather than lift oneself up. I try to catch myself when I’m doing that.

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I found myself writing about a podcast episode I listened to through the night when I couldn't sleep. The episode is linked at the bottom.

Links

• On Taking Pictures, episode 376: Shrink-wrapped in anxiety

• Rick Booth - Photographer

• Helen Redfern’s piece: My Orange Tick Disappeared, and I Didn’t Even Notice

Stop Hiding Under the Desk

My Orange Tick Disappeared, and I Didn't Even Notice

Gaining my orange bestseller tick was one of the highlights of my writing life. This might sound shallow as it’s ‘just a number’ and we’re told ‘we shouldn’t be guided by metrics’, but to me it repre…

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15 days ago · 12 likes · 11 comments · Helen Redfern

Yesterday was a migraine day, and I didn't hold out much hope for today either. However, it cleared and I got to the end of my 40-page chapter analysis of Doctor Zhivago and the first draft. I'm feeling pretty chuffed about that.

Links

• The Power that Preserves, Stephen Donaldson

I used to hike a lot on Arran. Sometimes I would make hiking videos because I enjoyed watching others' hiking videos. Then, one day, I stopped. Someone called me out on YouTube, and it ended up finding its way into my writing this morning.

Links

• The Illearth War, Stephen R. Donaldson

• The Power that Preserves, Stephen R. Donaldson

• My Whin Dyke hiking video

Welcome to our family, Rupert!

A headache day. 😦

Links

• The Reading Habit That Changed How I Understand Books, Sabrina Nesbitt | PhD student —

• How not to forget what matters, Henrik Karlsson and Johanna Karlsson —

I’m having a good time with The Silmarillion. But don’t call my wife Melkor!

Links

• The Silmarillion

• The Silmarillion read-along that has just started on Substack. (Many Meetings)

• The Illearth War

• Gilden-Fire (included in Daughter of Regals)

I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

A lovely morning in Claonaig with a couple of hours before the first ferry home. I ended up going quite deep and personal in this one—must’ve been the fresh air and chilled vibes. This one’s paywalled.

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I picked up the pen this morning after reading a rather moving piece by (this one here). I’ve been thinking about Austin Kleon this week as well, after ’s interview with him. It was Austin Kleon who got me started on the whole YouTube and writing online thing, or at least made me start taking it more seriously. In fact, I wrote a blog post about that moment in 2020:

I’d like to do more with my writing, or just write more. That’s what’s on my mind this week, while I spend most of my time reading.

And here are the holiday entries I wrote last week about our family trip to London to see our daughter’s finals recital at Guildhall School of Music & Drama.

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The Diamine Grape ink works in the Ellington pen—it started right up this morning after a few days of inactivity. It was a pleasure to write with.

Links

• Get a discount on an Ellington fountain pen

• Lara: The Untold Love Story That Inspired Doctor Zhivago, Anna Pasternak

• Hill of Beans reading vlog

I'm enjoying the colour of this ink rather a lot. It gushes out the Pelikan’s gorgeous broad nib, so I have to be slow and steady lest I smudge it.

Also, look what just happened!

Links

• Silmarillion slow-read starts in June. (Many Meetings Substack)

Links

• Lara: The Untold Love Story That Inspired Doctor Zhivago, Anna Pasternak

• There Is Nothing for You Here: Finding Opportunity in the Twenty-First Century, Fiona Hill

• Doctor Zhivago Slow Read

I thought that leaving the posts until the end of the day would give me a chance to add some typed text about whether I’d achieved what I set out to do in my writing, but evenings aren’t good for posting and I forgot. So you get two days’ worth of writing today. It’s still not a wall of text, so I don’t feel too bad about it. Plus, I got to report on whether I achieved Monday’s goals in today’s writing, so I guess I’ve got that covered.

Tune in tomorrow to see whether the Ellington fountain pen will dry out with the different ink in it.

Links

• The Silmarillion read-along (starts 14 June)

Many Meetings

What's Next For Many Meetings

Our five week journey through The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien has concluded. It had been a couple years since I had read the book all the way through, and I can honestly say that intentionally reading it alongside other people made me appreciate this familiar story in a fresh new way. I’ve experienced this many times, but the amount of depth and detail tha…

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3 months ago · 90 likes · 79 comments · Breanne | Celebreabird

• Lara: The Untold Love Story That Inspired Doctor Zhivago, Anna Pasternak

• There is Nothing for You Here, Fiona Hill

A good wee writing sesh out on the porch before it got too cold and I scurried back in.

I'm posting at 7 p.m. I didn't get up the hill, but I did read a fantastic chapter of Lara. It's enhancing my reading of Doctor Zhivago immeasurably. We also took Hamish out for lunch, and Lorraine managed to get two pairs of trousers in Arran Active. Oh, and I seem to have come home with a book from the charity shop: a John Irving novel I hadn't heard of. I seem to have already read the first chapter. It seems like classic Irving!

Oh, and I couldn’t find my notebook of masonic visits. It literally lives in the jacket pocket of my suit, and I can’t think where else I would have put it. So I had to trawl through calendar entries and photos to make the list. That could’ve been Hill of Beans time right there. Ugh.

The Doctor Zhivago chapter six essay is out! I always feel good after publishing. It’s remarkable that I’ve kept to my schedule for six weeks in a row. I honestly feel like I’ve found my thing, and my work is getting better all the time. Whether it can make me a reasonable living remains to be seen, but I’m doing good work, and that’s the only part I can control. Strategy could be the missing link, but in terms of working to my rhythm and energy levels, I’m not sure what else I could do. As soon as I start to think of a strategy, my brain clouds over. No, I’m pleased with where I am.

And I can’t wait for our London trip next month! Three nights, Freya’s finals recital, dinner with Freya and her partner and family, and tickets to The Lion King. Even Hamish is coming!

Links

• Doctor Zhivago slow read

• Lara: The Untold Love Story That Inspired Doctor Zhivago, Anna Pasternak