Pleasing things to do.

Writing is such a pleasant occupation, and drinking coffee is such a pleasing thing to do, that I could spend much of my time doing nothing but. Whenever the mood strikes me, I can be found behind the computer with a cup of coffee in my hand. Of course, since I live alone, not many people take the time to come looking for me and I am glad about that because I can go about my business undisturbed. To me that is the ultimate pleasure.

 

Tyke lies contentedly by my side because we have already been out for a walk in the cold wind. It was not as warm as I had anticipated and I missed the scarf that I had optimistically not worn. I had also not worn my gloves, but could put one hand in my pocket. I saw a daffodil and I might have seen more if I had been paying better attention, but I am always paying attention to Tyke, so I miss a lot. I have to make sure that he does not eat anything too weird off the ground.

 

My plan to start reading books is not working out well. I have tried two so far and have not enjoyed either one and now I do not know what to do. I suppose I should try another one and I do have several books of Margaret Drabble that I have not tried yet. I attempted to read her when I was still quite young and immature and did not understand her novels then, so I really must try them again. I am sure that I am grown up enough now to understand the deeper meaning of them.

 

I tried to read in bed, but the problem is that I fall asleep with my glasses on and it is most uncomfortable. I will try it again this afternoon when I take a nap and see if I can somehow make it work out without damaging my face. Reading in bed used to be my favorite thing to do and something I looked forward to every day. It prolonged the evening and postponed the time I fell asleep. It was also very cozy.

 

I went through a long period when I read women writers exclusively, but I think that is behind me now. I care about reading intellectual writers that go beyond emotional issues and female feelings and who write about the rougher stuff and they can be men and women. I think I needed to feel emotionally bonded with the things that occupied women for a while and what kept us busy, but now I have other needs. I want a more all encompassing point of view and not just read about the finer points of relationships.

 

Maybe that is what keeps me from reading, this distaste to fall into repetition and the sense that I have read it all. It may be a good idea to start reading the recommendations of some critics and the reading lists of other people whom I trust to have good sense and good taste. I can check out several newspapers on line n the weekends and see what sort of novels are talked about in the literature sections.

 

It would also not hurt if I started reading more Dutch language books because, although my Dutch is good, there is always room for improvement and I still make mistakes. This can be very frustrating when I want to talk about a specific issue and I don't know how to use a word and completely blow it. It does hurt your credibility. There are expressions I get wrong too or things I translate straight out of English that lose their impact in Dutch and sound silly.

 

Are you bilingual and get your languages mixed up?