I've been reading a lot recently. Which is to say, even more than usual.
Here are some of the books I've read in the past few months that I've liked, loved, or found somehow inspiring:
About a Mountain, by John D'Agata
No Man's Land: American Essays, by Eula Biss
Just Kids, by Patti Smith
Devotion, by Dani Shapiro
Poser: My Life in 23 Yoga Poses, by Claire Dederer
The Book of Disquiet, by Fernando Pessoa
The Principles of Uncertainty, and And the Pursuit of Happiness, by Maira Kalman
The Dirty Life: On Farming, Food, and Love, by Kristin Kimball
The Winter of Our Disconnect: How Three Totally Wired Teenagers (and a Mother Who Slept With Her iPhone) Pulled the Plug on Their Technology and Lived to Tell the Tale) by Susan Maushart
Little Bee, by Chris Cleave
Freedom, by Jonathan Franzen
Lighthead, by Terrence Hayes
Bright Felon, by Kazim Ali
My next reading project--if I can avoid the distraction of the new books shelf at the library--is to reread some great books, and to pick up some classics that I never got around to. I haven't read much Shakespeare since college. And Patti Smith made me want to read Rimbaud and Baudelaire.
So, readers, I'm curious: what books have you been reading? What do you recommend? What's on your list of books to read or reread?
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5 comments:
The new book shelf always beckons me too and I wistfully pass by classics and old favorites.
So I shocked myself by reading and then immediately rereading a novel called The Golden Mean by Andrea Lyon. It is about Aristotle, the tutor of Alexander the Great. I really appreciated the rhythm of the dialogue the second time around. Bet I'd get even MORE out of it if I'd read it a third time.
Thank you for your list! I'm reading Late Nights on Air by Elizabeth Hay and enjoying it. Talk soon-- Jess
Oh, this is a tempting invitation (and thanks for your list!).
Classics:
- Beowulf, Seamus Heaney trans.
- The Odyssey, Fagles trans.
Early/mid 20th c. gems:
- Nightwood, Djuna Barnes
- Sound of Waves, Yukio Mishima
Contemporary gems:
- The Patience Stone, Atiq Rahimi
- anything by Jeanette Winterson
Also, Create Dangerously is a searing collection of essays by Edwidge Danticat.
Kazim Ali is an old friend. If you'd like to get in touch, let me know.
xo Rebecca
I am moved by the image of you reading all those wonderful books. Thank you for sharing your list. I recently designed a reading room in the dormer of a Shingle-Style house. The windows overlook a field of lavender. The breeze blowing the curtains is proof that the ocean's nearby. I am the client and the design in is my mind. There's a natural linen club chair and a cat curled up on a kilim ottoman. Best of all, there are shelves on three sides, filled with the titles I can't wait to read.
I really enjoyed "Room" by Emma Donoghue. "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" had me captivated from start to finish; I *loved* the narrator's voice. I haven't read too many of the classics recently, I'm afraid, but I plan to start "Lolita" soon.
Do not, under any circumstances, read Laura Bush's autobiography (not that you'd be tempted to, I'm sure. . . you don't share my strange fixation, luckily!). I feel like my brain cells have been deadened and may never return to their previous potency.
Love,
Ashley
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