Lost in a book

Forgive me reader, for I have not blogged. Recently I've felt I've needed some non-screen time. Spending all day and all night in front of a computer can make you yearn for the yellowed page. So I spent yesterday curled up under a blanket, lost in a book. This used to be one of my favourite things to do; still is in fact, but funny how reading gets shoved to the bottom of the list these days. But yesterday I threw that to-do list out the window and immersed myself in another world. I was reading Anne Tyler's Digging to America, that I picked up for 99p at Oxfam.  An easy, almost comforting read full of colourful characters, families, noise -  I read it all in one sitting. 

Do you find that the more you write and the more you try to squeeze in the less you read? When was the last time you let yourself get lost in a book?

Settling

I went to see Revolutionary Road today. I was prepared for it to be hard hitting,  and it is, but at the same time it is powerful and honest and will make you squirm in recognition. The part that resonated with me was how important it is to have an outlet for your creativity, something you do not for the money, but because you love to do it. The film is the story of what happens when you ignore your creative passions, make excuses, and settle.

It reminded me of a piece I read in 'Women who run with the wolves' the other night:

'Excuses are another form of pollution. From women writers, painters, dancers, and other artists, I have heard every excuse concocted since the earth cooled. "Oh, I'll get round to it one of these days." In the meantime, she has the grinning depression. "I keep busy, yes I squeeze in my writing here and there, why I wrote two poems last year, yes, and finished one painting and part of another over the last eighteen months, yes, the house, the kids, the husband, the boyfriend, the cat, the toddler, need my consummate attention. I am going to get around to it, I don't have the time, I can't find the time, I can't make the time, I can't start until I have the finest most expensive instruments or experiences, I just don't feel like it right now, the mood is not right yet. I just ned at least a day's worth of time, I just need to have a few days' time to get it done,  I just need to have a few weeks of time to myself to get it done, I just, just, just..."

What excuses do you make to yourself and how do you overcome them?

P.S On a lighter note, Kate Winslet gets to wear some great 50s outfits.