Changing My Mind

Hello All,

Sorry this is late!

What are "occasional essays"? In the forward, Smith writes that she must recognize her "ideological inconsistencies". As I read through this book, I saw what I think Smith was writing about when referencing "ideological inconsistencies" but I don't agree with the terms. I think Smiths manic, spastic, seeming inconsistencies are in fact all a part of who she is both as a reader and writer, but also as a dynamic person. From the first chapter, "Her Eyes Were Watching God: What Does Soulful Mean?" the book allows her to explore her relationship between her and her mother in a gently critical light; the book also allowed her to address her struggles with reading, "I disliked the idea of "identifying with the fiction I read: I wanted to like Hurston because she represented "good writing," not because she represented me" (8). I Thought this quote so beautifully set up the rest of the book, the egocentric aspect of it, the way the the reader is forced to think critically and examine themselves by reading Smith's book.

Writing about reading only to have me write about Smith writing about her reading after I have read (wheew) forced me to identify myself in chapter 7, "That Crafty Feeling", originally I read the title as "That Crazy Feeling" speed reading gets you like that sometimes. I actually liked my title because sometimes I find myself dealing with the conflux and often contradictory Micro Planner versus Micro Manager dichotomy. Is anyone ever just one of these? I too am a lover of sticky notes and Moleskins. I never realized that it is the "structural security that gives him a great deal of freedom of movement". I always just thought I had a bad memory and was using those tools as a crutch to cling to the sparks of intelligence that I occasionally see in myself.

Smith's book, was yet another reminder about how much I miss reading and writing for pleasure. I wrote down so many of the books and movies that she references. I wonder if that was her intent at all? Showing off her past reading?