Now that my Sundays are free again (as far as blogging goes), I'm not sure what to do with them. It's crossed my mind to take the day off as it is generally very quiet here on weekends, though I like the daily routine of writing something. I'm also contemplating joining The Sunday Salon. It seems though, that the idea behind the Sunday Salon is to spend time reading and then write about it and perhaps drop in on other Sunday Salon participants and see what they're up to? I feel like that's similar to what I'm already doing during the week, so maybe it would just be repetitive?
It would be nice to incorporate more nonfiction reading into the day, whatever I decide to do on the blogging end. I've mentioned that I want to read much more nonfiction this year than I have previously. I tend to rely heavily on biographies when it comes to my nonfiction choices, and I have quite a few in mind that I'd like to read sometime in the near future. As a matter of fact after watching this movie about Agatha Christie last night (which I thought was very good by the way), I need to find a good biography to read about her life (suggestions welcome as there seem to be a few out there to choose from).
Along with biographies I'd like to start reading more essays. I wouldn't mind some sort of essay project in the vein of what I did last year with short stories, but I don't want reading and writing about them to become too much like work (it's the writing about them part that sometimes feels like work to me). I have a few books on hand to choose from including Phillip Lopate's wonderful survey of the art form, Art of the Personal Essay. It's a nice big book with over seventy essays to choose from. I hate to add another book to my reading pile, but I could treat it the same as the short story collection I have started--something to have on hand to randomly choose an essay from. Along with the Lopate I have Kennedy Fraser's Ornament and Silence: Essays on Women's Lives from Edith Wharton to Germaine Greer, Alain de Botton's The Art of Travel, Nick Hornby's Housekeeping vs. the Dirt (which looks to be a quick read), and The Best American Essays 2008 edited by Adam Gopnik (which I see has gotten very unfavorable reviews--may save this one for later).
I also received a subscription to The Smithsonian Magazine for Christmas. The first issue came this weekend and I am looking forward to reading the articles. When I reach for something to read it is generally a book, and that book is usually a novel. I need to get into the habit of sometimes reaching for something other than a novel, be it whatever nonfiction book I have started or a current magazine that I invariably have on hand. Some people amaze me with the vast knowledge they have about seemingly everything, yet I only know about peripherally. It makes joining the conversation difficult--the only way to improve myself seems to be read more, and more varied literature (and not just novels).
So, what recent (really good) nonfiction title can you recommend, and any magazines out there with excellent writing and interesting articles/essays?