January Reads

I’ve not been reading much lately (as I mentioned in my end of the year post) and I decided to change that.

And here at the end of January, I’ve already beaten my 2020 numbers, and hope to do so every month of 2021.

In addition, I got a new Kindle to replace my broken Nook. I’ve got entirely too many ebooks and this is helping me read them.

So, what did I read in January 2021?

The Writing Life – Anne Dillard

A book length essay about being a writer. Short, and wandering the way a writer’s life and mind are. There were pieces of wisdom and asides I could relate to all throughout. Short, but enjoyable.

The Rib From Which I’ll Remake the World – Ed Kurtz

I had missed this the first time around, so when it was rereleased I made sure to grab it.

Noir, horror, a traveling movie show comes to a small town and everything changes. Recommended.

The Poetry Handbook – Mary Oliver

This is a tech lit type book, meaning that it is about definitions and structure, rather than a writing book that works to inspire or teaches you how to practice. A pleasant refresher for me, and a great starter for anyone looking.

High King’s Tomb – Kristin Britain

I started the Green Rider series a very long time ago, having gotten the second book when it came out. This is the third, and despite the time away, it was so easy to drift back into this world and remember why I loved these characters.

I’ve got more on my shelf, and look forward to reading the rest.

Collected Poems – Rita Dove (1/7)

This is a large collection of 7 books of poetry by Rita Dove. I don’t like to rush through a book of poems, especially one written by someone as masterful as Dove. So I am taking my 1/7th credit for the first book.

And Dove, like Clifton and Tracy K. Smith, should be on your bookshelf.

Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte

This was the first book I read in my new Kindle. I wanted to read something gothic, and well, I got something gothic.

I’d read Wild Sargasso Sea forever ago, not knowing it was a prequel to Jane Eyre, making me a biased. (I may have said “BURN IT DOWN” a few times during the read)

I got the copy from Standard Ebooks a great site for well formatted public domain books.

The Parable of the Sower – Octavia Butler

I’ve owned this one entirely too long for it to have been unread. Set in the near future (nearer now in more than just time), about a dystopian US and the formation of Earthseed.

A difficult, beautiful read.

The Path of Ice & Salt – Jose Luis Zurate

Translated from Spanish, this novella is about the boat ride from Europe to England in Dracula by a boat named Demeter.

A dark tale full of thick prose, a quick but strong read.

Thunder and Lightning – Natalie Goldberg

I’ve read this once, at least once, before. It was a common one I’d pick up and read during moments at stores or breaks at work. Goldberg’s writing makes it easy to do so. A follow-on to Writing Down the Bones, a book I recommend so much, I keep giving away my copies.

It’s essays about writing, but about introspection into writing, writers. Even a second or third time through it was a great read.

Ten Thousand Doors of January – Alix E.Harrow

Believe it or not I was about 30% into this book before realized the significance of the title. And January was the last book I read in January.

And it was a great book! A family with secrets, an archeological society with secrets, books with secrets, door, so many doors!

Unfinished

Proensa – George Economou

A collection of Troubadour poetry translated into a more modern style than you’d expect. It is a fun, dense at times, reading with history and commentary as well.

I got on a Troubadour kick this summer, and this was one of the titles I grabbed. A few more to read, or finish (like Songs of the Women Troubadours which I started in, uh, June?), this year. (And maybe two more purchased…)

Poetry and Poets – TS Eliot (1/2)

I’ve only read the first half of this book, the Poetry part, but I’m going to claim it here. This is not, as I had hoped, a book on poetics written by TS Eliot. It is, rather, a collection of professional lectures that Elliott had given over his life… and they read as such.

They are interesting, once I understood they weren’t what I was looking for. But a bit on the dry side…

I’ll probably read the second half later, but this is a thick book.

Am I A “Real Writer”?

The question is asked, internally at first, then externally, usually in response to some advice or anecdote about writing. One of the most common is “write every day” which gets responses about how that isn’t possible for everyone and the discussion moves away from the purpose of “write everyday” to something about “am I a real writer”—

People seeking validation, but in the form of pushing against gatekeeping. But the gatekeeper here is, of course, ourselves.

I’ve been writing since I was very young, telling stories longer. Writing poetry since I was 16, first published at 19. I started writing horror short stories when I was 22 and was first published (on horrorfind.com) at 23. I started my first novel when I was 17. I wanted to write epic multi-volume fantasy.

Am I a real writer? I’ve not completed a story in over a year, and have only composed a handful of poems worth reading in the same time. I’ve got over a dozen half finished novel drafts on my computer archive, none of which are finished.

I certainly don’t feel like a real writer no matter how I stack the statistics, the metrics, nothing I put together gets past the gatekeeper—me.

I do write everyday, most every day, journal entries, sometimes little poems or scenes from stories. Writing everyday is about practice, it’s about using a skill so you get better at it.

It is not about “real writer”–you can practice a sport everyday and not be a player. Writing everyday is just one of the things suggested because, statistically, you will get better the more you write. But, to push the sport metaphor, you still have to play the game.

In this moment the game, for me, is finishing a thing, a collection of poems, a novel, a short story collection. The “game” itself isn’t so much publication, as it would be more commonly referred to, but instead bring to fruition a work of art.

“Real writer” is a bad term. There is a difference between a published writer and an unpublished writer, but both are still writers. There is no marker or metric that defines ‘real.’

Then how do we, how do I, find validation? And for me the answer has always come to being read, which to do I would have to finish something.

Are you a “real writer” if you write everyday? You tell me. What is it you are seeking?

Because this is a journey, and no two people take the same path.

A Year in Reading, 2020

This was not a year for reading. By 26 December 2020 I had read one book.

One.

Granted, it was a great book, Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. It is a fantastic gothic horror book, and if it had been the only thing I read in 2020, it would have been a good reading year.

On the 26th, I decided I wanted to do a little better, so I picked up a book I had started in July, but only got about 40 pages in before life got in the way—The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo, who I had discovered a few years ago with The Ghost Bride with a random, but successful Amazon recommendation. Both are historical novels in Malaysia, and both are fantastic reads.

And then on the night of the 30th, thought, why not one more? Why not. I picked up Black Sun bu Rebecca Roanhorse. Another great book, and a great way to see out the year.

As always, I read a lot of LampLight submissions, and can never discount the amount of work and emotional energy that goes into submissions. And I am always grateful for the writers who send me stories.

BRO!

For poetry, there is one shining ball of amazing from 2020, and that is the translation of Beowulf from Maria Dahvana Headley. It is fantastic, and so readable. I haven’t finished yet, but will do so tomorrow, bringing in the new year right.

Bro, tell me we still speak of kings!

TL;DR

Here’s what I read in 2020 and I recommend them all.

Mexican Gothic – Silvia Moreno-Garcia
The Night Tiger – Yangsze Choo
Black Sun – Rebecca Roanhorse
Beowulf – Maria Dahvana Headley