Tag: Neil Gaiman

The Fine Art Of Pleasing Everyone

It’s Lara’s birthday on Thursday. Remember when she and I did that book club together, along with our friend Nora? Well, in the time since that came to an unfortunate end, we’ve continued to send each other a book now and then. She’s turned to her own bookshelf, too, and started to review them on Instagram. Her posts are concise – I’ve tried persuading her to do longer ones elsewhere, to no avail – but they’re always worth reading (you can find them here). They also show off the variety of what she reads. One minute it’ll be a Neil Gaiman fantasy, the next a biography of Queen Elizabeth II. That’s good for me, because I know that in theory she’ll give anything a go (I bought her The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy last year, although I still don’t know if she’s actually read it yet). So why can’t I do the same now – settle on something, one that I’ve enjoyed, and have faith that she might like it too?

It all comes down to the anxiety I feel around all present-buying, for every special occasion. I live with that constantly creeping fear that I don’t know anyone in my life well enough to be sure about what they’d appreciate. It’s always the same, no matter how close the person may be. I can overcome it and press ahead, but this is not one of those times. So I’m stalling – I’ll have to owe Lara, because I can’t help feeling that I can’t afford to get this one wrong. On the upside, maybe it’ll be worth the wait. At the very least, it might end up on her Instagram – even if she gives it a hammering!

Mason

Operation Book Club, Part 6

I just thought I’d let you know that I recently decided to take a break from my book club with Lara and Nora. I did so halfway through Stardust, which I’ve told the girls they can go ahead and discuss without me. As it turns out, not being in that conversation might be a blessing in disguise, since I’d left the novel at a point where I was yet to write a single word about it in my lined red notebook. I bought it almost exactly a year ago with the intention of using it only for my literary observations, and while I had quite a few for the first couple of stories, my notes for this one currently consist only of its title, the name of its author, and the date on which I started reading.

It would be a shame to waste all that paper, so even though I might not have anyone to talk about it with, I’m going to carry on with Stardust regardless. In the absence of regular paid work to establish a 9-5 routine, it might be good to give myself that distraction. Of course, from a creative point of view, it’ll still get those creative juices flowing, even if there are only a few words or sentences. Sometimes the tiniest amount of input is enough to cause a deluge of inspiration, so by the time I do rejoin the girls, I might have more feedback than they bargained for. Beyond that, I’ve bought more than enough notebooks meant for one project that have been condemned to contain passwords and shopping lists for eternity – and I’m determined to save this one from the same fate!

Mason