Reading Lately

I can tell I am finally getting over being sick because I accidentally rode through my stop on the train on the way home today. You might say the lack of attention suggests I am still very much in the realm of illness, but the fact that I was able to make the walk home (1/4 mi farther than usual) without wanting to keel over, and in fact, feeling slightly invigorated, is an excellent sign!

My attention was diverted by the book I was reading, Separated @ Birth. I'm a little obsessed twins-separated-at-birth memoirs lately, having also recently finished Identical Strangers. It's fascinating to think about what it would be like to discover as an adult that you are a twin. Very much of my identity is based on the idea that I am a unique individual. Not in the "special snowflake" sense often attributed to millennials (I'm more of a Gen-Xer, myself), but just the simple fact that there is no one else in the world with my particular dna, personality, upbringing, aptitudes, appearance, and so on. It must be very jarring to discover a stranger who shakes that foundation. Identical Strangers was full of stories of twins who met as adults and found that they have similar mannerisms, drive the same cars, had kids at the same time, smoke the same cigarettes, work in the same fields, and so on. I think these days popular opinion has swung more towards "nurture" in the nature vs. nurture debate, but the experiences of reunited twins has certainly challenged my assumptions.

I've actually been galloping through my reading list over the past few days; being home sick Monday definitely helped. I've read HHhH (a novel about Heydrich's assassination), Not My Father's Son by Alan Cumming, and Yes Please by Amy Poehler. Of the three, I enjoyed Cumming's memoir the most. He had an interesting and bounded story to tell, and shared it with warmth and humor.

Music Advent, day 3 (1983)
Another excellent year for pop music! I was going to share Prince's 1999 in honor of my now-home state of Minnesota, but it turns out that was released in 1982 and still going strong on the charts in 1983. As a runner up, I will instead pick Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) by the Eurythmics. It's so deliciously 80s.