I read a passage from the book about Sherman, the rescue donkey, who went from Pennsylvania to Colorado to compete in a burro ultra-marathon. I read the passage that I most like to the BLBP board members, one in which Sherman, in his trailer, sees all the other competitors and lets out a bray of joy.

This was one of those books that I wished kept going. I wish there was a sequel. Few books are like this. I also think that for books to resonate with readers, they need to be in the right head space.

The above is reader response criticism. It came and went in a flash because theories about the death of the author were close on its heels. I liked reader response criticism. As with so many other things in my life, I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The same with my interest in the composing process of writers.

I may, with this book project, be in the right place at the right time – I know what I’m doing, and aside from the fact that I’m not getting paid for what I do, and it takes too much time out of my day, I take joy in it. But, yes, things must change.

I was thinking the other day (and this idea is related) that artists get paid for their work. And writers like me pay them. But most of the time, writers do not get paid for their work. I think this when I look at the horse art in our living room. Yes, I paid for these illustrations. But those I wrote articles for, about horses for example, never paid me. Why is this?

I sometimes look at math and science books with diagrams and notations and I think, here’s proof that those who came up with these diagrams and theorems spent years learning what manifests itself in these books. But pick up a book of creative nonfiction by a writer (and this is a genre-related example), and you don’t have proof that the writer spent years learning their craft.

And many do write books when they are older, and unlike those in the math and sciences, without putting years of work learning their craft. So much writing is so, so bad. I am not able to say the same about math.

I have in working with Skye, my math tutor, developed a strong appreciation for good math texts. Good math texts show you how to problem solve. The best math texts show you two or three ways of going about it. I have not yet come across a “best” math text.

What I like in general about the BLBP is that the conversations are very thought provoking. There is very little small talk. Well sometimes there is, in which case, if I can, I slip away. Small talk is like listening to nails being scraped on a chalk board. Alas, there are no more chalk boards.

Next: 67. 3/8/26: Sunday: Still Snowing