A Ramble on Reading and Writing

When I was a kid I read voraciously, and my mom would complain, as she dutifully took me to the bookstore to buy yet another Sweet Valley High or Nancy Drew novel, that I read too fast. Did I even absorb anything I'd read?

After stops at Stephen King and Harlequin, I was strongly influenced by my Grade 10 English teacher, Mr. French, who gave us a list of authors for "mature reading" that mostly included the Canadian literary giants — the Margaret Atwoods and Margaret Laurences and Timothy Findleys. Since I wanted to be a Mature Reader, I dutifully read almost exclusively from that list for the next several years. (For those who don't know, Canadian literature is notoriously depressing, all wilderness and loneliness.)

And then, in 2002, I got a job as a copy editor at a medium-sized trade book publisher, and suddenly I couldn't stomach reading for pleasure anything heavier than chick lit. I started choosing books for their cute, sassy covers, and my favourite authors became Marian Keyes and Jennifer Weiner. And you know what? There's nothing wrong with that. If I ever write that novel I dreamed of writing when I was a teenager, I would want it to be like theirs.

Yeah, I wanted to be a writer, once upon a time. I originally chose journalism as a career because I figured it was a practical way to make a living through writing. Ultimately I realized I would be a terrible journalist, but in the process I did discover copyediting. You know what they say: those who can't write, edit.

Which sort of brings me to the point of this post. I started blogging probably for the same reasons anyone does — because I like to write and I wanted to record and share my thoughts and experiences. But I'm fully aware that this isn't riveting material. And I can't help but compare my blog to some of the truly amazing ones out there. I'd particularly like to highlight two that I admire: Between the Lines, which is written by Amber (aka somethingchangd); and Square Peg, Round Whole, written by Elizabeth (aka epphd).

They are both fantastic, incredibly articulate writers whose posts are thoughtful, insightful, poignant, funny, clever, and metaphorical, even — I could go on and on with the adjectives. Elizabeth, who is on a long TTC break, doesn't post often, but each post is a revelation. Amber, who is beginning her second IVF, bowls me over once or twice a week.

They are both well-known and well-loved Nesties, and hardly need my endorsement, but here it is anyway. If you haven't seen their blogs, you must check them out. (And Elizabeth and Amber, I hope you don't mind this post. Please let me know if I've crossed some line; I'm clueless when it comes to blogger etiquette.)