Invisible Ink

Weekly Roundup #18

The oddest things I’ve seen since living in Rhode Island have involved the highway. What, with our dilapidated bridges and now collapsing parking garages, I have been spending a lot of time stuck in traffic. And in my 15+ years of driving, I have never had these two things happen to me as frequently as they have in the past year:

1. The number of times I have been in dead still bumper-to-bumper traffic and then just had to move for an emergency vehicle is at least 2 dozen. It happened twice on Thursday, and has never happened to me before last year.

2. I have seen more USPS trucks being towed than I have ever had in my life. I’m generally all for the USPS and its maintenance, but if they mess up my Girl Scout Cookie order, we’re going to have words.

With all of this, I can’t help but wonder - should I just leave this state?! Philosophical questions aside, here’s where my attention as a writer has been drawn to this week.

What I’m reading:

While I’m not behind on my overall reading goal for the year, I am behind on my French books goal. Normally, I try to read one a month. A reasonable goal, yet one that I’m having trouble fulfilling. It is March. This does not bode well.

I have a feeling the constant mental strain of having to read and grade papers is what’s wearing me down here. At the end of a day of teaching, I don’t want to have to use my brain more to read in my second language. I want to read brain candy or play puzzle games.

To get around this, I’m reading short books in French, harkening back to the actual French origins of the Short Books Short Month challenge (Petit Mois, Petit Livre.) Patrick Modiano is a writer I studied in college, and he won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2014. Encre sympathique (Invisible Ink, in English) contains many of the themes Modiano is known for: shifting identities, shady characters, and being unable to truly know a person. Our unnamed narrator is in search of one Noelle Lefebvre, and I have a feeling he will never find her.

• Great for: folks who like small little literary novels, folks who like translated literature

• Bad for: people who need answers

What I’m writing:

While I know I can tend towards the hyperbolic, I was not kidding when I said I was behind on grading. Please observe Exhibit A:

Behold: all the papers I have to grade. Doesn’t even include the online submissions, either.

Part of this is my own fault. For one, I assigned all these papers. I could have chosen other ways to assess my students. I also read every paper twice, which certainly slows my turnaround time. I take notes the first time, and then on the second read through, see if I agree with my original assessment. Most of the time I do, sometimes I don’t. It’s the best way I can think of to be objective as possible when giving feedback.

Anyways, I’m writing comments and grading papers for midterms and writing this newsletter and not doing much in terms of creative fiction which is a bummer. Spring break for my schools is next week, and that can’t come soon enough.

• Great for: the jobs I am contractually obligated to fulfill

• Bad for: literally everyone, myself included

What I’m listening to:

In terms of the perennial zeitgeist, I am aware of what’s going on in the literature world, and to an extent the film and television world (books getting adapted, natch.) Music? Absolutely not. It’s a big black box.

So it is absolutely no surprise that I only just discovered ‘Murder On The Dancefloor.’ How have I never heard this song?? I kept asking to myself as I bopped around my kitchen, distracting myself while doing dishes. Is it new?

No, dear reader, it is not new. It came out in 2001. What was I doing then? Really unclear, as I was a child. But it has become my new ear worm, and I would definitely dance in a nightclub in a shiny dress to this.

• Great for: disco divas, people who need a reason to get on the dance floor

• Bad for: disco-haters, people who don’t dance

No New Books™️ Challenge:

I have returned to form in the No New Books™️ Challenge. There’s not much to report here, other than some light foreshadowing. Next week, I am going on vacation, and will include many bookish adventures. Some of those, I am sure, will include book purchases. Until then, I am enjoying my willpower and restraint.

• Streak to Beat: 50 days (January 1st - February 19th)

• Current Streak: 11 days (February 27th - Present)

Mug Moment of the Week:

We haven’t had a morning mug moment in a minute. Last fall, I regaled you with the tale¹ of how I broke my favorite mug, and then how I replaced it. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, the rundown is here.

Anyways, I mentioned that I ordered two replacement mugs from Ocean Fire Pottery in York, Maine, and here is the second. Yes, I ordered two of the same mugs in two different colors. No, I regret nothing. Yes, this one is technically my favorite because it is purple and purple is the best color. No, I will not be explaining further.

On a very rainy and dreary Thursday, I decided it was the other Ocean Fire Pottery mug’s time to shine. The green version I have has a silky finish to it, while this one has a rougher finish to it. These are probably not the correct technical pottery terms, but this one feels more earthy in my hands. The tea, of course, was Bigelow’s Pomegranate Green Tea, the only tea I will drink in the mornings. I had two mugs of this steaming goodness before heading off into the wilds of Rhode Island.

• Great for: my pair of beloved mugs.

• Bad for: None. There are no downsides here.

There will be an Artist Interview coming this month, I promise. I blame the aforementioned grading and students for why it’s late. Until then, stay dry and may the oncoming allergy season spare you.

1. I make no apologies for the excessive rhyming and alliteration.