2017 starts off with a resolution to read more books, starting with those books we didn't finish in 2016.
By Owen Panettieri (playwright, lyricist)
Ah, a new year! The promise of adopting new habits, setting new goals and achieving new achievements. To be honest, I wasn't sure if I was going to continue blogging this year. In the face of this incoming administration, I wasn't sure what I wanted to say about the world we're living in and what's to come. I find it all very stressful and couldn't see myself staying sane if I was going to jump into writing politically-minded posts. That's not to say I won't be involved or stay aware of what's happening in this country, but I just didn't want to feel like I had to comment on it as it was happening. So I was thinking I wouldn't actually blog for the winter, but then I never got around to actually telling anyone at Crazytown that was my plan, and suddenly it was time to start up again! So rather than leave people in a lurch, here I am!
2016 had been a very full and artistically satisfying year for me, but one thing that was missing was books. I haven''t make time in my day for books. I've felt their absence in my life. Having time to read has been an issue ever since I moved from Astoria into Hell's Kitchen over two years ago. I used to read on the train and now that commute has been considerably shortened. What I was spending a lot of my time on was web-browsing and reading online. I consider web-browsing the empty calories of reading. It occupies your mind until you're full, but it doesn't really provide you the nutrients you need. I felt if I could cut an hour of web-browsing out of my day and use that time for book-reading I'd be much better off.
Several friends have also chosen to recommit to reading this year and are doing Reading List programs to diversify the kind of books they're reading. I'm working off of BookRiot.com's list and also this other list that friend's have sent me - I'm unaware of the original source.
I decided to put my hour of reading time at the start of my day, since my sweet dog Lucy wakes me up for her morning walk LOOONG before I actually need to get up to start my work day. So now after we get up and go for her walk and giver her breakfast, I keep my computer closed and leave my phone out of reach and read for an hour in the quiet and stillness of my living room. I'm hoping to get through 3 books a month this way, but maybe I can stretch it to four. I enjoy taking my time with books, so we'll see how it goes. We're halfway through January and I'm 2/3 the way through book #2. (My sweet boy Josh is also doing the reading challenge, but reads much faster than I do and I expect by December he'll be through double the amount of books.)
The first book I choose for 2017 was Her Again: Becoming Meryl Streep, by Michael Schulman. This checks the box for both "A Book You Previously Abandoned" and "A Biography." Michael and I go a long way back. In the mid-2000's I was dating his roommate and we spent a lot of time together at their apartment. In the early morning hours of one memorable night, I came down with a violent 24-hour bug. I tried to make my way to the one bathroom in the apartment before throwing up, but I did not make it in time. Instead, I threw up on the floor of the living room, slipped in my own vomit, had both of my legs flip out from under me, landed flat on my back and then proceeded to throw up all over myself as I lie there. I can see it all happening again as I write this and I laugh at the absurd sight it must've been, but at the time it was just really gross. I remember thinking - as I dragged myself to the bathroom so I could continue to throw up into the toilet like a respectable human being - about how badly I left about throwing up on Michael Schulman's floor. Michael and I shared better moments than this one. We also performed in a Muppet Cabaret at Don't Tell Mama and that was a total delight. Evidence of me singing "Piggy's Fantasy" can be found here.
So when Michael's book first came out, I wanted to read it right away. I bought it at Barnes and Noble and started it, but could never find my rhythm with it on the train for the reasons stated above. Now that I was committing time to reading to start the year, it was the obvious first choice to pull from the bookshelf. And as I was reading it last week, Ms. Streep made her fantastic speech at the Golden Globes which only made the timing feel even more appropriate to learn about the beginnings of what made Marie Louise Streep into MERYL STREEP.
Her Again, chronicles the early life of Meryl Streep from her childhood in New Jersey, through college at Vassar, to Grad School at Yale, years doing theater in NYC all the way through her first Academy Award win for Kramer-vs.Kramer. It's a fascinating read and written so expertly by Michael. What's great about this type of biography is that with someone like Meryl who is an icon whose film career has been so successful for so many years, it's easy to make the mistake in thinking that she's always been that way. It's not like she sprung from Joe Papp's head fully grown, dressed for an awards show wielding an Oscar and a SAG Award in each hand. Michael does an incredible job exploring where both Marie Louise and Meryl came from and provides an amazing sense of cultural context along the way. What was happening in the country throughout the 50's 60's and 70's greatly informed who she was an artist and as a woman. The resulting book is a thorough portrait of a compassionate and intelligent person who is also one of the most talented actresses of our time. I gained a great appreciation for who she is and what she stands for as a result of reading this biography. I highly recommend it whether or not you are working through a Reading List in 2017. I'm glad I went back and gave it the attention it deserves.
I expect to be back with more reviews of my reading journey throughout the winter. Let's hope the resolution holds!
OWEN PANETTIERI is the author of the awarding-winning plays Vestments of the Gods and The Timing of a Day. His play A Burial Place had it's world Debut in NYC in 2016. Member of Playwrights Gallery in NYC. www.owenpanettieri.com
Recent Comments