Hey there! For some reason, I’ve been feeling really overwhelmed lately. Sunday was especially bad, and when I mentioned it to my daughter she suggested it was the negative energy from the lunar eclipse. Well… it’s as good a reason as any, I guess. Anyway, I did finish a book, and that made me feel good.
I REALLY liked this! Can I just say that I wish I could discuss this in person with everyone I know, just so I can say the name “Nnedi Okorafor” over and over again? It’s such a cool name!
In this book, Zelu is a young, disabled, Nigerian-American woman whose life has hit rock bottom. She’s lost her teaching job and can’t get her novel published. Then, in a burst of inspiration, she writes a sci-fi novel called “Rusted Robots.” We have a novel within a novel, alternating chapters of Zelu’s life and chapters of her sci-fi bestseller.
Now- if you’re thinking, “I don’t want to read a sci-fi story called ‘Rusted Robots!’ That sounds idiotic!” Well- think again. The “Rusted Robots” story is REALLY interesting, as is the story of Zelu’s life. The two stories go together in a fascinating way, especially at the end.
This was another book where I googled “what happened at the end?” I knew what I thought happened, and was surprised to see that not everyone agrees. To me, it seems clear, but it is a twist. If anyone has read this and wants to email me, let’s talk!
Here’s a question: do you enjoy starting a new book? I used to HATE finishing a book and having to start a new one- but now I love it. I love to have several choices and sit down with all of them, reading a couple pages of each and then deciding on one to read next. Here are the three I’m sitting down with tonight:
Hopefully I’ll start to feel better as this week goes on. Wednesday I’m getting my car serviced, which I’m actually looking forward to. I’ll show up with my laptop, book, journal, and Earl Grey tea (obviously) and thoroughly enjoy the fact that I HAVE to sit there for a couple hours. Maybe I’ll get really lucky, and there will be a time-consuming (but inexpensive) repair that will take extra time, so I can sit there even longer (you know I’m feeling overwhelmed if I’m HOPING to be detained at the car dealership!)
Anyone else feeling weirdly out of sorts lately?
Have you read any of these books?
20 Responses
I was feeling all out of sorts a couple weeks ago!! Sort of in the time period where we got back from Florida, one kid started school, I felt just generally disorganized and kind of overwhelmed with everything. Knock on wood, I feel like things are settling down- both boys are back in school, and life is feeling more manageable and routine again. I hope it was just the moon for you! 😉 Hopefully you picked a good book! That’s a fun little “game” to play! 🙂
Yes, I hope it was the moon! I can see how you felt out of sorts in that in between phase- I can’t put my finger on a real reason for my weirdness. Anyway… I just need a day off, which is luckily tomorrow.
I hope you’re feeling less overwhelmed soon. I haven’t been feeling like that lately but I know exactly what you mean. Maybe you need what Lisa calls a “shouldless” day!
I haven’t read those books but I have read two books set in Nigeria in the past month. Sometimes if I finish a really good book it is a little hard to get into the next one – although usually I’m pretty excited to start a new book.
I don’t have a “shouldless” day coming up, but the closest thing will be tomorrow when I get my car serviced. It’s hard to have a real shouldless day when you have kids (although-Lisa has two young kids and she manages it!)
Sign me up for Death of the Author! I’ve heard some other raves for it, but hadn’t heard what it was about so now I’m intrigued. Sometimes I need a little push to pick up a book.
Sometimes after I finish a really good book it takes me a minute to get into the next book, and I may be a little more critical of it and more likely to DNF.
Bravo for turning the car appointment into a Jenny Retreat. I hope that whatever is off in the universe will settle down soon. I’m sending “inexpensive but time consuming” repair energy your way.
Ha, thanks Birchie! I hope you read the book and I hope you like it!
I feel kinda out of sorts too, not sure why, but hopefully we can both feel more grounded soon!
I also have a car service appointment this week, I’m going in the middle of my workday so I have to bring my laptop to do some work while I wait, but it’ll be nice to get out of the office for a bit.
It sounds like your car appointment might not be as enjoyable as mine, but I agree, it’s nice to get out in the middle of the day and so something different.
You and I have been twinning lately. I have felt so scattered and am finally starting to feel a tiny bit more settled. Part of it was coming to the end of a summer that was fairly intensive in terms of being “on” as a mom. Part of it was stress about how the transition to high school would go for my oldest (thankfully it went great), but I think a big part of it was not enough sleep and silence. I need both and was woefully short on silence and that makes me more tired. I napped THREE times in the last week and am feeling a bit less scattered and a bit more human.
I can so relate to the car appointment thing. I’ve had days where I’m disappointed how quickly the servicing is finished because I enjoyed having the quiet solo time!
Yes, sleep and silence… I’ve had a few nights of sub-par sleep, and maybe that’s part of the problem. Glad you’re starting to feel better!
That book sounds like a really interesting premise. I’m glad that your reading life is going well but I hope the rest of things feel less scattered soon.
I’ve found recently that I like to have three or four books on hand to read. More than that and I feel pressure to make sure that I finish it before the library due date. Even though I’ve never not finished a book I really like before it was due. Less and I worry l’ll run out of reading material.
That’s pretty much my sweet spot as well! Recently i had SEVEN books out of the library at one time (thanks to several holds all coming in at once) and it was stressing me out. But if I only have one or two books, that’s no good either. What if I don’t like them? I did start one of those three books last night and I’m enjoying it so far!
I did read Death of the Author and I want to talk about it. I have so many questions about the ending! And, unlike you, I found the Rusted Robots chapters INTERMINABLY BORING and much preferred the chapters about Zelu navigating through Chicago winters with her disability. I thought the novella Binti from Nnedi Okorafor was quite a bit better than this one.
How was there an entire post without a photo of a cat on your blog? Charlotte, Muffin, and Foxy are disappointed. Books are not better than them!
Ha ha, you’re right1 How did this turn out to be a cat-less post??? And… I’m going to email you about the book.
I’m at a conference this week that has been one of my most intense work experiences. I just got back to my hotel and have take out coming. I will be in bed very very early! I feel almost dizzy/delirious from my long days of so much talking!!
I’m not feeling out of sorts, but I’m feeling like there is not enough time in the day so when I have a few minutes I sort of struggle with which thing on my list of things to do I should do.
I’ve not read any of those books. I do hate finishing a book if I’m loving it. I usually have a decent list of books ready to go so I can dive right into the next one. It stinks though if the next one isn’t great. Ugh, it happens. I hope you like your next read. I hope you start to feel more centered.
I was feeling weird a week ago, Tuesday to Friday to be exact, no reason, just tired?! down? the weekend away made me feel more refreshed.
hope you feel better soon too. how are the cats? mine are in fight all day long.
I really enjoyed Death of the Author. Mind you, I thought it was set in the present then found it was the future THEN an American friend posted a video of being in a self-driving taxi!!!!! I was OK with the novel-within-a-novel, too, which isn’t something I expected when I first encountered it.
I am in a bit of a swither myself as husband is under so much pressure from work and the situation with his parents (in a care home, v expensive, and we won’t get their house sold until their money to pay for the care home has run out and we’ll have to pay for a bit) and I am trying my best to support him while dealing with health stuff, supporting friends, working, volunteering … Thank goodness for blogs where I can feel I’m moving outside the situation a bit, and for books, of course!
I’m sorry you’ve been feeling overwhelmed lately! I hope things start to improve. I am feeling okay right now, but I know things are about to get BUSY so I’m basically in a “lala” state where I’m pretending everything is not going to be crazy in a few weeks, haha.
I haven’t read Death of the Author, but I’ve heard mixed reviews. I don’t always love the “book within a book” trope, which is turning me off a little. But I’m glad it worked so well for you!
Well, maybe you had a premonition of the days ahead, because looking back it makes 100% sense that you felt off this week.
I dove into Culpability that Wendy suggested — nothing to do with the type of blaming I was hiding from. I think I’ll try Death of the Author next.