Thoughts and views about writing, researching and creating. All the doubts and wonders I come across, all the surprises and discovery of new roads I am lucky to experience when working with my non-fiction texts. A big and warm welcome to you, I’m very happy to see you here. - Majken xx
Lists! Lists! Lists! I’m a big fan of lists. Oh, so many lists you can do. Food lists, travel lists, next steps lists, music lists…speaking of which, last time I checked my account on Spotify, I stumbled upon some rather exciting list categories. Did you know that besides the more traditional ones, such as ‘Pop’, ‘Rock’, ’Country’, and ‘Classics’, there is also a ‘Cooking and Dinner’ list? (How about doing a ‘Kitchen Swagger’ or going music-travelling worldwide - ‘Trattoria Italiana’, ‘Spanish Tapas Bar’, ‘Café Africa’…?). There are lists of love songs, all from ‘Warm Fuzzy Feeling’ and ‘Jazzy Romance’ to the more sad end of the scale; ‘Let Him Go’ and ‘When The Party’s Over’. And then there’s the rather interesting Wellness list, which offers more than just soft electronic music and sounds recorded in nature, like the list of ‘Restaurant Sounds’, which - to my surprise - are pretty soothing (try out ‘Mid Day Café’, or the ‘Cosy Italian Restaurant’). There is the ‘Rainy Café’ category which is up the same road; however, still, the sound of raindrops falling on pavements and parasols indeed add some extra cosiness to the background (some of my favs are: ‘Rainy Evening At Italian Restaurant’, ‘Coffee and Thunder’ and ‘Cappuccino and Rain’). And also, there’s the ‘Train Sounds’-list (‘Interior Train Ride’ and ‘Rails Of Sleep’ are both rather good) and a list of ‘Fan Sounds’, which puzzled me a bit since most of them seem rather annoying and not at all relaxing (not even the ‘Relaxing Fan’).
Anyway, forgive me for falling down this Spotify rabbit hole because the type of list I’d like to talk about here is a LIST OF BOOKS. And I’m not referring to bestseller lists or lists of my favourite summer reads; no, I’m on to: Lists of Books to Use as a Warm-up.
It’s all about the mood the book represents altogether because the mood of the book helps me slip into the energy I need for this particular day, doing this specific part of my work.
I have lists like that. Written in documents, materialised in stacks of books placed on shelves in my living room, saved in my ‘library’ on Audible and my podcast app. The point is: I know where to find them when I need them, which I do (almost) daily.
Often I read books as a warm-up of the day, and the book I choose I choose not only because of its content. The content plays a part for sure, but how the book is created as a whole is also essential; the language, the writing style, the layout, and, if it’s an audiobook, the narration. It’s all about the mood the book represents altogether because the mood of the book helps me slip into the energy I need for this particular day, doing this specific part of my work. I’ll give you some examples.
Malcolm Gladwell’s books and, not least, listening to him narrating them himself is kind of like listening to dance music. There’s lots of bubbly and sparkling energy, lots of ‘move your feet across the dance floor and move them fast’ to them.
In the morning, I might need to get into a vibrant “I’m ready to take on the day”-mood. Often I listen to an audiobook while doing my daily morning walk, and one book that has worked for me rather perfectly is “Paperboy” by Tony Macaulay. It’s about a young lad from Belfast who grew up during the conflict in Northern Ireland but whose life has more to do with Dr. Who, the Bay City Rollers (a Scottish pop/rock band from the 1970s…) and the beautiful local girl Sharon Burgess than it has to do with bombs and battles. “It is a story that will charm your socks off, make you laugh out loud”, it says in the introduction, and it truly is. And it gets even better when listening to the audiobook, which is brilliantly narrated - in a thick Belfast dialect - by Macaulay himself.
Also, books by Canadian journalist and author Malcolm Gladwell are often very lively. Such as “Talking to Strangers”, “The Tipping Point”, or “Miracle and Wonder”, a musical biography in which Gladwell interviews Paul Simon about his songwriting and his creativity. (This is, by the way, the only narrated book I’ve ever listened to more than once which possibly, has to do with me being a lifelong fan of Paul Simon and his fantastic music.) Anyway, Malcolm Gladwell’s books and, not least, listening to him narrating them himself is kind of like listening to dance music. There’s lots of bubbly and sparkling energy, lots of ‘move your feet across the dance floor and move them fast’ to them. And you always walk away with new information and exciting world views.
So much for the energetic books.
When I've arrived home, made myself a cup of coffee and sat down at my desk, I often need quite the opposite type of reading. The work I’m about to do usually requires a rather intense focus, and I need to glide into a somewhat calm yet still energetic, light, and with a touch of humour -type of energy.
One book I’ve used - and still am using - is “The Last American Man” by the American author Elizabeth Gilbert because, well, it more or less has everything I’m looking for. It’s about the (last?) American man Eustace Conway, who has lived most of his life in the Appalachian Mountains. Here he spends his time making fire with sticks while trying to convince Americans to give up their materialistic lifestyles and return with him back to nature. The book is written in a light way and with a sense of humour that strongly appeals to me, yet still, it is packed with information about Mr. Conway and different parts of American history. Marvellously done.
I’m also fond of the biography “J.R.R. Tolkien” by British writer and radio broadcaster Humphrey Carpenter. This is more of a slow-burn book, and it has a drive and energy to it that makes me curious and calm at the same time. Somehow it helps me move forward steadily, which is essential to get things done.
But I do need to be careful when pulling these publications out of my bookshelf since they can make things go a little wild. On the other hand…now and then, going a little wild is just what I need.
However, sometimes my work demands a high level of energy and playfulness. When this happens, I often turn to children’s books which are brilliant for this purpose. There’s David Walliams’ “The World’s Worst Teachers”, “Code Name Bananas”, and “Grandpa’s Great Escape” (wonderfully illustrated by Tony Ross and Quentin Blake). Or how about Roald Dahl: “The Witches”, “Matilda” and “Danny the Champion of the World”. But I do need to be careful when pulling these publications out of my bookshelf since they can make things go a little wild. On the other hand…now and then, going a little wild is just what I need.
Oh yes, lists. Lists! Lists! Lists! I will continue to create various lists of Books to Use as a Warm-up. However, I am also considering starting other ones, such as Lists of Books with Extraordinary Covers, Layouts and Illustrations. (I already have a cookbook and a fairytale book to add. And some bookazines too.) Or how about a List of Books With Recommendations of Places to Go to Discretely Woven Into the Text? (My husband and I once visited the National Mining Museum Scotland near Edinburgh because of a footnote in Ken Follett's "A Place Called Freedom".)
Oh, so many lists you can do. Are you a fan of lists too? Which ones are your favourite? And what lists are you planning to do next?
This is the last blog post from me this season. Thank you for reading along; sharing my scribbles with you is a pleasure! The following season will begin September 14; however, as I am in a busy part of a book project, I’m not sure yet what the next season exactly will look like. However, you will be hearing from me for sure - and as always, I’m looking forward to it.
I wish you a wonderful summer ☀️
Majken xx
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THIS IS a blog post from me to you. I send it out once every fortnight - if you want to join my email list please go HERE. In turn, you will receive ‘a handful of history’, which is me sharing real-life stories from around the world, narratives I’ve picked that are rooted in history one way or another. Every other time, my latest act, ‘from my corner of the world’, will land in your email. These are texts in which I share with you thoughts and views about writing, researching and creating. All the doubts and wonders I come across, all the surprises and discovery of new roads I am lucky to experience when working with my non-fiction texts.
Thanks for reading. I’m happy to see you here! - Majken xx
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