JAN // BOOK LIST

A strong start for the reading year with a couple books I really enjoyed ~ A Tale for the Time Being & Books for Living, followed by a couple mediocre reads ~ the Snow Child, & A Man Called Ove, as well as Selma Blair’s memoir Mean Baby. Followed by a frustrating lull waiting for books I was waiting on & not having anything I was very interested in the meantime. 

I realized this month how much I enjoy a good memoir.

// JANUARY READS //

 A Tale for the Time Being / Ruth Ozeki

Fiction, audio (narrated by the author), 5 stars

This had some pretty dark content, but I really love her writing style & the characters were very memorable. Ruth does a wonderful job of the audio. She has a way of encompassing so much in her work ~ it has this expansive feel about it. I also found it a refreshing change of place/tone/perspective as she is Japanese & the book is partly set in Japan.

"There are other words & other worlds, dear mother. You have taught me that." (Haruki #1)

"If you understand time as only passing, then you do not understand the time being."

//

Anna Karenina / Leo Tolstoy

fiction, (first 200 pages)

I was surprisingly engaged & enjoying so far.

Working on my mental characters/imagery.

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Books for Living / Will Schwalbe

non-fiction, 4 stars

Really enjoyed this one. He talks about different books he's read throughout his life & what he's learned from them. It is also serves as a book list of sorts as he touches on a lot of different books.

"Reading is a respite from the relentlessness of technology, but it's not only that. It's how I reset & recharge. It's how I escape, but it's also how I engage. & reading should further our engagement."

"The man who has not the habit of reading is imprisoned in his immediate world, in respect to time & space." (Lin Yutang)

//

Everything Sad is Untrue / Daniel Nayeri

memoir, audio, a re-listen (narrated by the author) 5 stars

Written from his boyhood perspective. Heartbreaking & hilarious.

"Let's agree to have a complicated conversation. If we can just rise to the challenge of communication here in the parlour of your mind, we can maybe reach across time & space & every ordinary thing to see so deep into the heart of each other that you might agree I am like you."

//

The Snow Child / Eowyn Ivey

fiction, 3 stars

Chose this for a winter read - magical realism set in early 1900's Alaska.  Felt like it could have been really good, but the writing didn't quite meet the premise/expectation.

"the world seemed just cracked open & everything sparkled & shone with the inexplicable wonder of snow crystals & an eternity of births & deaths."

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A Man Called Ove / Frederick Backman

fiction, audio, 2 stars

I had been looking forward to this one - it seemed fairly popular but it wasn't for me. The main character drove me nuts & there were so many similes. Similes for everything.

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Help, Thanks, Wow / Anne Lamott

non-fiction, audio (Anne) 4 stars

Classic Anne. A good one on life & prayer.

"Life is motion, change, stagnation, bloom. Nothing ever seems to happen, or awful stuff happens, or beautiful stuff happens. & we say, Amen."

"Just when we think we have things all lined up nicely, a rogue wave washes it all away."

"Prayer brings me back to my heart, from the treacherous swamp of my mind. It brings me back to the now, to the holy moment."

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Mean Baby / Selma Blair

memoir / audio (by author) 3 stars

Not necessarily a recommend. She had a number of challenges growing up with quite a dysfunctional family. Tho of course interesting to hear her experience as well as diagnosis with MS.

"Words were a discovery. Threads of humanity connecting us across time & place. Words were my saving grace."

"Grief is love we can no longer express."

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