We have a new puppy. A nearly-five-month-old puddelpointer to be exact. She’s a versatile hunting dog, which means she (in theory) will hunt upland birds and water fowl with equal fervor. We won’t know which she will hunt best until she gets her (enormous) paws on the ground this fall.
What we do know is that she is passionate about chewing and running. Hence the delightful picture and (unexpected) topic of this post: Books. Paragraphs. Sentences. And words.
They all matter in the telling of stories. One tiny change can impact the meaning entirely.
Case in point. I was reading “How to Kill Men and Get Away With It” by Katy Brent. It’s a twisted, psychological thriller with sass, and is literally about a woman who takes justice into her own hands after inadvertently killing the man who tried to assault her. A simple letter substitution from “a” to “e”, and the main character progresses from a victim of one man to a serial killer of men.
I was on page 168 when I set my book down before work. By the time I returned, my novel had turned into a how to manual thanks to my new puppy’s passion for chewing while teething. My book now reads, “How to Kill Me and Get Away With It.” In Charlotte’s case (Charlie for short) it could have been a biography. I was that mad.
At any given time, simple word choices can change the outcome of a story and how we feel about it. History is usually written by the victors. Memoirs are often a product of trauma. But what happens when the script is flipped? What happens when “killing men” becomes “killing me”?
What happens when we take what we think we know, rip it apart, examine the basic building blocks of our understanding, and weave it back together? How much more depth and passion might we discover in those altered stories? How much more robust might our lives be if we braid together multiple perspectives making one strong strand out of three weaker ones?
If you want to find out, you’re in luck! We have two programs at the library that address this idea of deconstructing something before putting it back together.
Every Tuesday night (tonight!!) we host Creative Café from 6pm-7:30pm. Some creatives are working on altered books—the process of adding to or taking away from an old book in such a way that the story changes and becomes yours. Others write, bring projects from home, or simply bask in the support and camaraderie of fellow creatives.
Creative Café makes space for all skill levels and interests, and is only marginally intimidating. As a believer that all books are sacred, I had a hard time digging in and altering the pages of my discarded (and very broken) book. Yet once I began pasting, painting, blacking out, and doodling, I felt liberated. Sometimes altering a story is necessary.
Just ask Charlie!
Sometimes, however, the initial telling of a story is equally necessary. Especially when it is later shared with others. Over the noon hour on the third Thursday of each month, individuals can come to the library to discuss a collection of podcasts put out by the Podcast Brunch Club. This is great program for people who have little time to read, but still want to participate in important conversations on a wide variety of topics.
Connecting over stories and discussing them from different perspectives is powerful. It helps us appreciate those around us and understand that we don’t all have the same experiences (thankfully), and that those experiences are all relevant.
The June theme is all about water: specifically, oceans and sea life. From the vastness of it, to the life below it, and the myths and legends and art we pull from it, oceans impact us–even on our Midwest plains. Hop on the Podcast Brunch Club website, listen to June’s podcast listening list, and join us at noon on June 20th to share your thoughts.
The library will be closed Wednesday, June 19, in observance of Juneteenth. If you want to learn more about this holiday, please ask us info on a book or two!
~sign up for the summer reading program, keep reading, and earn an ice cream cone treat complements of Pipestone Area Friends of the Library~
