5 Books I'm struggling not to DNF

[@ToReadersItMayConcern]

I hope far, far from today others will read my books-with all their various scribbles within them-and connect to me the way you're connecting to your uncle through his. That's such a fascinating way in, a faraway way in to another's life. Sometimes when I annotate and organize my notes, I imagine my younger brother sifting through them, and I even add words here and there, just for him, not personal messages, merely markers of placement and interest, like lingering "hello"s born of past musings. In the back layers of my bookshelves are many of my dad's former books, ones he left me a long time ago. After his passing I may find myself reading them and feeling how you feel, like the ritual of closing the final page is too much of a connection lost. Grief seems not to let go in the ways we want.

[@jennyjaybles]

@@ToReadersItMayConcern That is so very sweet. I love how you are doing that. He didn't write any notes in the book. 🥹 It is very sad, my mom threw away a bunch of his stuff. She was very negative about him being mentally ill, about having no success and she would criticize his art. No compassion. There is a lot of mental illness in my family but for some reason it skipped over me. It's why I love being a therapist. I love helping people because I could never help my family. My uncle was really proud of me for being a therapist. He understood that helping others is important. He said "It's the greatest thing one can do." So many people came to his memorial. He was loved and adored by his friends. He spent a lot of time helping people. My mom does not get it at all. She could never stop ripping into him and he was so kind and gentle. Even at his memorial she was criticizing his paintings. There's hardly any of his stuff left. At least as far as I know she is not getting rid of his paintings. So there is that. Don't let anyone throw away your dad's books or things. These things are very precious. I got one of your dad's books by the way. I am going to read it soon. Thank you Ruben.

[@thegrimmreader3649]

Hi Jenny! I love your cat; she is so cute, and she clearly loves you. Regarding the Grimm book, so that is a fairly recent translation by Zipes of the first edition of the Grimm fairytales. Those early versions are less literary and, in my opinion, less entertaining than the “final” versions from 1857. It IS interesting to compare those earlier versions to the later ones, but in my class, we focus on the 1857 versions. Those are still “weird” enough to be interesting to analyze. That being said, it is a lovely book! (I have not read all the tales!) Ah yes I totally understand the difficulties of reading a beloved relatives book: I have hard time reading my mother’s works for a whole jumble of unresolved reasons: some guilt because I feel like I got in the way of her career, some resentment because of how her writing got in the way of our relationship but also just in general because when I read her books I get sad because she is gone. (and I relive my life with her a bit too much). It’s just heavy. I do also think these difficult areas are what life really is about: dealing with or acknowledging them. To be honest I’m not surprised Jung was a monster. So many men were and are. It IS infuriating, I totally agree. (I had to look up the movie, it passed me by completely!) This was great! Hooray for venting! It’s therapeutic!

[@jennyjaybles]

Thank you for the insight on the Grimm fairytales. That explains a lot. I plan to get into those other translations too. I really like folklore and fairytales. I am sorry you understand about not wanting to read a book because of the bereavement and grief connected to it. 😿 I really miss my uncle around this time of year. It is difficult. He was a very kind person, one of the last positive family members I had left. I have my brother and sister who are great but unfortunately they live with my mother and her husband who are abusive people and I can't visit. But I have been making progress on this book on Sabina Spielrein and trying to push my rage aside while I read it. There's been a lot of bad news this year with famous male authors. It really makes me go into a bad place when I read about this stuff. But I also want to make a video about Sabina because she deserves to be respected. She was very intelligent. I am pushing myself through it for her. Thank you for your support and kindness.

[@thegrimmreader3649]

@@jennyjaybles if she was behind the ideas then I think it's ok to read the books. I actually love the idea of altering the cover to acknowledge her authorship! Staying away from abusive people is the best you can do! Hope you have a nice time over the holidays with your cats! Ours give me/us so much joy!

[@apoetreadstowrite]

Love that cover for Brothers Grimm. And wow, Fairfield Porter sounds amazing, I will definitely search him out. Strewth, I haven't heard any of these Jung stories before, can't believe I've missed all this interrogation of his personal life, yikes! Thank you for alerting me to Sabina's story, I agree with you, her story is very important to tell. (Strike, that pastel landscape by your uncle is phenomenal, I love it!!! Thanks for sharing this...

[@jennyjaybles]

Thank you. This edition of the Brothers Grimm has some really nice illustrations in it. Porter is interesting. I have to finish that one. And the stuff about Jung is not widely known which is a shame but the Jungians really don't want it to be widely known. They want him to remain a hero of psychology, not a predator to his patients. And thank you for complimenting my uncles art. I wish more people would get to see his paintings. Only his family and close friends ever saw any of it and he wanted to be appreciated.

[@apoetreadstowrite]

@@jennyjaybles: That landscape you showed us is remarkable. I love it!

[@jennyjaybles]

@apoetreadstowrite Yes he did a lot of landscape paintings. Some very traditional and some more surreal and from his imagination. I think he told me he picked the colors for this one from one of my paintings that's at my grandmother's house where he lived with my mom. It's the nearest we got to painting together or collaborating in a way. I was always too busy trying to survive school and work to paint. But he was always painting. One of his friends at his memorial told me he made people kinder when they were around him. She said "better versions of ourselves." He had a lot of friends who really loved him. Thank you Phillip.

[@apoetreadstowrite]

@@jennyjaybles: He sounds like a wonderful person. We're all complicated in various ways, aren't we? It's not always easy, navigating this difficult but awesome world. I love that you can celebrate his memory.

[@jennyjaybles]

@apoetreadstowrite Thank you Phillip. I am feeling quite blue. He died in November 2019 and it still makes me sad this time of year. Thank you for being here while I remember.

[@michellesvintagelibrary]

I am glad you shared this information about Jung. I never looked into him very deeply and I wasn’t aware of any of that. I have found the cognitive types that are attributed to him useful, but now I’m so disturbed that they’re associated with someone so unethical.

[@jennyjaybles]

@@michellesvintagelibrary yes I know it's so disappointing. I think t's okay to find his ideas useful. I still feel that way but at the same time I'm just being aware that not all his ideas were his own and I am hoping to be able to read more of Spielrein's ideas. Apparently it took a really long time to get her work translated to english which is partly why she's been in the shadows of history and I think it still may not all have been translated yet. I am trying to figure out what the best sources are for her work without buying from one of these historians who writes about her in a condescending way like she was just a silly girl with a crush. If I figure this out I will make another video about her and her work. Thank you for watching and commenting.