I am a nervous flyer. Some flights are better than others, and that usually correlates to how I’m doing on the anxiety front at that particular time. I’ve often wondered what I could do to help alleviate some of that anxiety and have come up with some ideas like going in a real flight simulator or even getting a computer game that does it. But I’ve never taken action – mostly because they involve spending money. So when I stumbled across How to Land a Plane by Mark Vanhoenacker at the library I thought, Woo! Here we go, I can learn!
One of my worries/thoughts (among many!) when I’m flying is the ‘what if’ scenario of having to step (or sit, really) in the captain’s chair should something happen to him, or anyone else who could fly, while we’re up in the air. I think maybe I’ve watched the start of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom too many times. What on earth would I do? Well, this book takes you through that process. It’s a curious little book which, upon finishing, I’m not entirely sure what to make of. Although I certainly learned a lot about the principles of flight and what certain indicators and instruments do, the overall impression I was left with was how stressful it would be to be in that predicament – so I’m not sure if it helped or made me feel worse!
I’m still on my short text run and a perfect choice for that is Postcards from the Edge by Carrie Fisher. She had (I wrote ‘has’ before I remembered she is no longer with us… gosh, I’m still so sad about that, my brain is still processing the news) a Wildean wit – aphoristic, but not for aphoristic ends alone. There are so many one-liners that hit you in the heart and I’m only a couple dozen pages in.
I bought Getting There by Gillian Zoe Segel last weekend at an annual secondhand book sale for the local Oxfam group. It’s one of my favourite days because the quality is great and I get so many bargains. See? All these for $12.50.
I know this aspirational/self-improvement topic isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, and I can take-or-leave a lot of them myself, but the cover grabbed my attention – understandably, as you can see – as well as the title. Maybe because it evokes the idea of progress and process (what I love!) as opposed to the end, the destination. You’re not there yet… you’re getting there. These books tend to feature a lot of what I call ‘usual suspects’ who pop up a lot to (re)share their success stories. While there are a couple in this one, it’s been nice to discover some new names.
What are you reading this month? I’d love to hear.
