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.