Reading. Quiet. Calm.

...

I finished reading “The City and Its Uncertain Walls” this morning. A Christmas gift from my wife and an unexpected sequel(?) to “Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World”. Not a sequel - in the afterword Murakami says that both full length novels are “responses” to a short story he wrote nearly 40 years ago. The original story contained something “vital” to him but he was not yet skilled enough to convey. Hard Boiled was one attempt. The City is another. I didn’t love Hard Boiled but I did love The City and Its Uncertain Walls.

I also love that he was able to finish this work that for so long has “felt like a small fish bone caught in [his] throat”. It gives me hope that I might someday be able to finally remove the many fish bones in my own throat.

---

---

It’s been a quiet week in the basement. I have a few projects in the works so rather than try and rush something to “done enough” in order to share, I thought I might instead show a bit of semi-related process - a peak inside the notebooks.

I’m trying to get back in the habit of keeping a pocket notebook on hand. I have one that I keep in my bag and another that I keep in my pants pocket. One strange benefit I’ve found with the pocket book is it’s roughly the same size as my phone. This means that the reflex to look at my phone is often met with a notebook suddenly in hand, which in turn results in all sort of strange thoughts ending up in there. Which of course, is the point.

---

I’ve never tried to keep a common book before. I don’t have any real goals to this one - just something I keep seeing people do and figured I’d give it a try. Pretty easy to just drop quotes from wherever.

I do try and cite them as best I can. I’ve already forgotten writing some of these down - there’s no way I’ll remember who said what where in 6 months or god help me, in 6 years.

---

I usually write a page in the journal first thing while drinking a cup of coffee. It’s meandering and just helps to get the brain going. After that it’s a free-for-all in there.

Morning page on the left, random thoughts and a comic idea on the right.

---

I’ve been keeping these daily spreads for work since August of last year. It helps me figure out what I’m doing at the start of the day and keeps me on track. The hours are a pretty rough gauge but it’s nice to know how I spend my days. This spread is based on Cal Newport’s time blocking method.

---

The log book is new. Austin Kleon has kept one for years and I like the idea of it. I’ve done similar things but never in they’re own dedicated book. I’m still figuring out the format - just trying to keep each day to a page.

More fun ☝️ - More detail 👇

---

And here’s a sneak peak at some in progress stuff. An experimental comic and some character sketches for a fishbone caught in my throat.

Read anything good lately? I need something to follow up The City. Might start IQ84 but wouldn’t mind trying another author.

I recently finished reasing some great comics - “The Love Bunglers” was way more real and intense than I expected and stuck with me for a while. Instant fan of Jaime Hernandez.

---

Here’s every book in Phil Elverum’s house on June 9th, 2022.

---

---

I’m excited to see how it goes but for now I’m just dropping

I’ve never kept a “Common Book” before, so that’s new.

A25 is the first normal notebook of 2025. Pretty active so far. The “Work” notebook is almost full. I keep a daily spread to track of what I’m doing at work - it’s based on Cal Newports block scheduling pattern. The Logbook is a new thing this year. Austin Kleon has kept a logbook for years and it seemed like the sort of thing I might like. Still working out the format.

- we’ll see how much I like it in a few months I guess.

I’m trying to get used to bringing the pocket notebook with me.

---