Podcast: Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS
Just about every novel I read has the word “memory” in it.
But few novels serve as meditations on the nature of memory itself.
Enter Brad Kelly’s House of Sleep.
The novel is literary, but not at the expense of having a driving plot.
And the writing is exquisite in how it brings out both the plot and the novel’s central themes.
To discuss the theme of memory in House of Sleep and much more, Brad Kelly joins me on this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast.
In addition to writing, Kelly is also a pro Tarot reader. As a bonus on this episode, he demonstrates his divination skills on this podcast itself.
Cool, or what?
Who Is Brad Kelly?
Brad Kelly is a widely published author and former Michener Fellow who focuses on the darkness lurking within creativity.
He is also the co-host of The Art of Darkness Podcast. The discussions revolve around a variety of artists, musicians and writers who transformed their issues in life by channeling it into their cultural productions.
Follow Brad Kelly on TwiXter for notifications of new episodes and more.
About House of Sleep
As someone obsessed with remembering dreams, I knew I had to read House of Sleep.
That’s because Kelly’s novel revolves around a number of characters, most specifically:
- Lynne
- Daniel
- The Diving Man
Lynne seeks out a program offered by the Diving Man that uses a drug to help people use dreams to resolve issues. Only, she doesn’t realize that the Diving Man not only has ties to the CIA, but perhaps a number of troubling motives beyond offering therapy.
Readers of this blog and fans of the MMM Podcast will likely enjoy the scenes that involve Daniel committing vocabulary to memory. These passages will stimulate you to think reflectively on the nature of language learning and meaning.
Fictional Memory Palace Options
Although using novels as a source of Memory Palaces is not always the most direct way to memorize, this novel features a few locations you could use for mnemonic visualization practice.
The homes of Lynne and Daniel, albeit featured only briefly, could be useful to your practice. And the Diving Man’s mansion provides several sub-locations to explore.
The book cover itself could also be useful as a mini-Memory Palace for those of you willing to explore smaller loci.
Brad Kelly On the Tarot
Exploring the Tarot with Kelly is one of my favorite aspects of this interview.
I am asked fairly frequently about how to memorize the cards and have started thinking more about it in recent years, especially in the context of Sacred Geometry.
As memory skeptics loaded up with multiple types of critical thinking, some of us tend to dismiss practices like the Tarot. Although I have been as guilty of brushing off things like the Tarot and the horoscope, I’m glad to have opened to them a bit more.
As Kelly reveals, there’s a practical way to use the tools with an open mind – but a mind not so open that your brain falls out. That is a very good thing indeed.
I’m grateful for Kelly’s reading of the MMM project overall because it did exactly as promised. It provided food for thought that both affirms and negates some of my deeply held memory biases.
The experience also reminding me of another author with the surname Kelly, and my wish to revisit The Memory Code. There is surely much more to explore when it comes to the mnemonic aspects built into the Tarot. Mnemosyne willing, I sure that we shall dive deeper as this project carries on.
So…
Should you read House of Sleep?
I certainly think so and encourage you to check out Brad Kelly’s other projects, both current and forthcoming.
Enjoy, and for more on how to combine fiction with mnemonics, check out How to Remember a Story Using a Memory Palace next.
