Post-Grad Literary Crisis

I didn’t write a blog last week. In fact, I didn’t do anything last week. I didn’t read or write. I didn’t exercise. I didn’t even watch Netflix. Graduation was exhausting. And cold. Somehow that combination that rendered me unable to do anything for the whole week. But as Friday arrived, I realized that in order to thrive in this weird post-graduate world, I would need to make some changes. In August, I’ll be moving to Ireland for my fellowship for next year, but until then I can’t just keep doing nothing.

So, I started putting things into motion- at least a little. I went to the zoo with my sister and her friends. I went to our family cottage for a picnic on Sunday. I got a yoga studio membership. I filled out some summer job apps. I finished writing a chapter of my next novel. I started planning a retreat day for myself for this coming Thursday. (Wow, look at all the things I can do when I’m not in school?) I also finally got around to doing the most mythical of endeavors- “reading-for-fun.”

I graduated- now what?

I randomly grabbed a book off my mom’s desk: The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker. It was a book from my mom’s friend’s book club- literary fiction with a bildungsroman plot set in a pre-apocalyptic world. I read the whole book over the course of the weekend- indulgent that I actually had time to read the book in it’s entirely. (I’m not saying that I skimmed or, you know, partially read books for my English major… but then again I’m not going to say I didn’t). I finished reading it while sitting in the car on the way back from the cottage. I instantly launched into a full on monologue for my family- detailing the way it fit into the post-post-modern genre because of how it dealt with trauma and how it used a tradition plot structure to talk about something deeper, critiquing the author’s use of technology as outdated and unrealistic to youth technology use today, and reveling in the use of juxtaposition of ordinary plot with extraordinary setting. When I finished my book review monologue, I realized that no one was listening or cared my thoughts on this book.

While I’m outrageously happy to be free of papers, exams, and grades (and all the stress that comes with it), I’m realizing that my opportunities to discuss literature are dwindling. I’ve never been in this situation before. I’ve always been a literature course. However I’m realizing this will be the first year of my life that won’t involve doing anything bookish. I’ve been trained to read to analyze and argue about the books I read… and now nothing? As I’m hoping to teach English (or French), it’s so important to me to not lose these skills.

How do I articulate my reading experience in post-grad land?

So my solution for this is two part: 1) Starting a book club with my Notre Dame friends. Not only will this prevent me from losing contact (or keeling over because I miss them so terribly), but it will also give us all a place to discuss books. And 2) Discussing book on this blog as well. This is something I was planning on adding to this blog from the start, but I was unsure about when to roll it out. Long long ago (okay like 3 years ago) I used to run a book blog that I didn’t tell anyone about, mostly to get practice running a blog. I really liked the ability to share my thoughts on books I was reading and to interact with a community of people who had thoughts on books.

Come Living in the Light was a blog that was only about my faith life, which made sense, as it was part of my university’s Campus Ministry program. Faith is a huge part of my life. I search for God everywhere I go. It’s like breathing. But my life is also the books I read, the music I listen to, and the places I travel. I hope to be able to express those parts of my life on here as well. I plan on continuing to write some sort of reflection, usually faith related, each Tuesday- but I also plan to embellish this blog with book reviews, playlists, stories from my travels, and anything else I might think of.

So start keeping an eye out my thoughts on books (coming very very soon), as I see where these new wanderings take me.