Welcome to Given Context!
I hope you are here to talk about BOOKS. I also hope you want to talk about ideas, life, learning, and all manner of things. When I finally finished my bachelor’s degree in English Literature at the age of 39 I immediately began looking for ways to continue reading and engaging in conversations about books and ideas. I went back to an old book club and joined a new one. I took on reading challenges to broaden my literary horizons. I quite literally look for ways to work books into any and all conversations. For me, books are a way to connect with people. I can connect with real people through conversations about books. I can also connect with historical or fictional people by reading about them. I can connect with unreal and unreliable people. The myriad experiences available in books is irreplaceable.
There are countless Book Blogs, so you might be asking yourself why you should read mine…
Books are a huge part of my life, but I cannot promise that every post will be always and only about books. The intent for this blog is to talk about how books intersect with the rest of my life. Did you ever read something in a book and then it pops up in your life? Did you ever try to analyze something that wasn’t a book the same way you would a text? The thing about getting a degree in literature is — you can’t stop analyzing stuff. I will be talking about this *phenomenon* frequently.
At least we won’t talk about Math. Oh, wait…
My (wonderful) day job revolves around doing a lot of MATH. Some people would say that my English degree doesn’t mesh well with this, but contrary to popular belief, I can do some Math. My degree taught me to be an expert in evidence-based analysis. I am also pretty good at the logic and syntax required for complicated formulas. Sometimes the value I add comes from my ability to “read between the lines” or “see the big picture.” If all else fails, I can provide some puns, cliches, and hyperbole!
The Outsiders…
All of this bookishness can make me seem like a square peg trying to fit in a round hole. Some of my readers will be able to relate to this feeling. If that’s you, you will relate to posts I write about my own struggles with trying to get this creative endeavor started. I have resisted writing and calling myself a writer, because I do not want to write fiction. The only stories I have to tell are my own — and I have a few of them! I always felt like this meant I couldn’t be a “real writer.” Then one day someone asked me, “Are you a writer?” and I remembered a *statistic* about women feeling like they need to have 110% of the qualifications for a job before they will apply and men diving in head first if they have something like 30%. I decided that day to answer, “YES. I write non-fiction.” POOF! I’m a writer! That was easy.
Grab your towel!
In addition to starting conversations around books and commiserating with my fellow square pegs, I hope this blog will be a place for me to share some of the lessons I have learned and am learning about Life, the Universe, and Everything. I am starting this blog at the magical age of 42. I am on the verge of having the proverbial “empty nest.” I am learning new things every day in my work and home lives, and when I learn something new, I like to share. Another thing I love about books is the ability to learn from someone else’s experience (fictional, NF, or SF.) There could possibly be something in my experience that will save someone the grief of learning the hard way, which is probably how I did it.
I sincerely hope you will help me engage in conversations about books, how they fit into our lives, and how we are working toward better lives (and a better Universe.) Share some of your favorite books and stories with me!