Reading with... Gordana Rodden
Reading with… Gordana Rodden, a weekend viewing suggestion, and more
Today on Field Notes we have Reading with… Gordana Rodden, some weekend viewing suggestions, and more.
P.S. I hope everyone in NZ is enjoying summer. The high temperature this week in Madison is supposed to be -13, with lows in the -20s.
Reading with… Gordana Rodden
Gordana is an avid reader and runs the Instagram page @gordyreads, where she posts short book reviews. This week I asked her a few questions about what she is currently reading and what she would recommend.
What book/books are you currently reading?
Transcendent Kingdom, Yaa Gyasi – about the aftermath of an opioid addiction on a migrant family.
How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy, Jenny Odell – a hard slog at times but trying to learn to slow down. It’s convinced me to put my phone away after 8pm.
No Such Thing as Normal, Bryony Gordon – a good book about mental health and how to ask for help.
Is there anything you have read recently that you would highly recommend? Why?
I haven’t read it recently but I will always recommend A Little Life, Hanya Yanagihara and Americanah by Chimimanda Ngozie Adiche. Two of the best books I’ve read.
A Little Life has such substance and the character development is so profound that by the time you reach the end of the book you’re infinitely attached and feel like you’re mourning.
Americanah because of the detail. Adiche crams such texture in brief, succinct sentences. I usually find romance plots too cringe, but this is the best I’ve read. The struggles the characters face are portrayed so vividly and intimately it feels like real life.
Describe your ideal reading situation (how/where/when do you like to read books?)
At the beach on a tropical island, on a day bed. No one is playing EDM from their UE boom near me. Alternating between reading and swimming.
Or in winter, on a big couch with lots of pillows, a soft blanket, warm socks. Alternating between reading and napping.
What current writers (poets, journalists, novelists, essayists) do you enjoy/admire the most?
Jia Tolentino, always. She’s a staff writer at The New Yorker and published a book of essays in 2019 that I love, called Trick Mirror. It made Barack Obama’s list of favourite books in 2019.
She can talk about philosophical concepts, like the absolute fantasy of being non-complicit with the unjust economy we exist in (see my 8pm no-phone rule, I bet that will last another week before I cave), “market-friendly” feminism or the poverty and violence she saw in her time in the Peace Corps. Then the next minute she’s talking about smoking a joint in a kayak with her 50kg dog.
She’s also incredibly funny, see the title of one of her essays: “The Story of a Generation in Seven Scams”. Hilarious, yet serious, and gets me every time.
I find her approach to writing so unapologetically human, which is a relief from a lot of the regurgitated shit we see in our day to day.
Are there any classic books you haven’t got around to reading yet but want to?
I bought Middlemarch in lockdown and still haven’t been able to bring myself to pick it up. It’s not particularly friendly on the wrist, and I’d really have to put some time aside to focus on it. There’s just always another book I want to read!
What topic do you wish was written about more?
I wish there were more books with bi-sexual (or, really, more queer, trans) main characters, and their bi-sexuality was not the main plot point.
Or a book about life being boring and mundane. A lot of the time it is, although all we see are people’s highlight reels.
Do you prefer ebooks or paper? Why?
Paper. I had a brief tousle with a Kindle but it just didn’t work for me. The only downside is that it’s more expensive, particularly in New Zealand where a new release hardback might cost you $50-$60 (I’m looking at you, Penguin Randomhouse).
Most books I buy are in the $25-$35 range, and the e-book version would save me at least $10. But I don’t need another tiny screen in my life. I do get tempted when I think about the environmental impact of all that paper, but then the flip side is Amazon! So many conflictions.
What is next on your reading list?
Station Eleven, Hilary St. John Mendel – not sure why I opted for this given it’s pandemic fiction, but I love survivalist stories (a little gloomy, I know).
What’s on this weekend?
Something to watch: The Super Bowl - Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs will take on Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV on Sunday (Monday NZT). The game will be played in Tampa Bay in front of around 25,000 fans and 30,000 cardboard cutouts, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. The Buccaneers will be the first team to play the Super Bowl in their home stadium. The venue for the Super Bowl is decided years in advance, rather than the highest-ranked team hosting.
In his first year playing in Tampa Bay, Tom Brady is looking to win his seventh Super Bowl, adding to the six he won in New England. While Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, who are currently three-point favourites, will be trying for back-to-back championships having beaten the San Francisco 49ers in last year’s Super Bowl.
Enjoy the game, and if you’ll be watching, let me know your predictions!
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Photo of the week
Enjoy the weekend!