March 21, 2026
It’s only been a few days since my last entry, but once again I’m trying to get back into a routine. This past week actually went pretty well. I put fewer, longer items on my list and actually managed to get through... pretty much everything I had to do?
Something I thought about:
- I just read Orlando by Virginia Woolf, which of course made me think about time. I mentioned at the end of last year, when I was reading Swann’s Way, that I wanted to read books that deal with temporality. After writing a dissertation on place, I started to get more interested in time — and not only the temporal aspects of placemaking, although that was a starting point. The Solvej Balle books were part of my “time” readings, and of course Orlando and Swann’s Way. I’m not sure what I’ll read next along this theme, but everything I’ve read so far has my brain buzzing in good ways.
Something I did:
- I had a couple of committee meetings.
- I read.
- Mostly I got into a better routine of reading, writing, and walking. I need to keep going with this.
Something I read:
- As I noted above,, I read Orlando by Virginia Woolf. I had read her journals, Mrs. Dalloway, To the Lighthouse, and A Room of One’s Own (and taught the latter), but that was all. Some recent online conversations got me interested in Orlando and The Waves (which I picked up when I returned Orlando). It was checked out last time, which I love? We have a town of readers.
- Here Come the Aunties! by Cynthia Leitich Smith, illustrated by Aphelandra. I saw this picture book on display in the children’s room of the library, and the cover was so exuberant that I had to check it out. It’s surprisingly complex — the aunties are introduced in their various roles, showing different aspects of an indigenous child’s life and community. This would have been a solid enough premise, but school begins, seasons change, and the protagonist waits for a new sibling to be born. The school year is paired with the nine months of pregnancy, so the aunties and their various roles are introduced along temporal beats.
- Reelin’ in the Years by Colin Dickey, an excellent essay on Orlando, types of time, and modernism.
