Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. I loved this book so much I read it twice this month--once to experience it, and again immediately afterward to pull some of my favorite lines for a longer post. Then, unfortunately, I had to return that copy to its owner--but I think I will buy my own. The hardcover is… Continue reading Reading Roundup: December 2020
Category: Fiction
Notes on Piranesi
In which I either lose or find myself in a book Entry on the day of our fourth virtual watch party for the His Dark Materials television series, season 2 I read Susanna Clark's Piranesi in two days. It might have been one, but I keep busy. It was the beginning of the week, and… Continue reading Notes on Piranesi
Books I loved in 2020
What an inherently troubling phrase! Books I loved in 2020. That is: books I managed to finish in 2020. Books that seemed oddly relevant in 2020 despite being written and edited before the pandemic year. Books that either provided escape from or insight into ten months of social isolation and near constant anxiety in 2020.… Continue reading Books I loved in 2020
Reading Roundup: October/November 2020
I don't know about y'all, but I could barely read this fall. Fortunately, I was loaned some short books and gifted some others--because when I did make time to settle down with a book, it felt great. Hard to make time for reading when your city is out on the streets dancing, marching, and making… Continue reading Reading Roundup: October/November 2020
Reading Roundup: September 2020
Short roundup this month. I started a couple of new learning ventures (yes, ventures) in September: another online writing class through the university where I work, and virtual training to become a volunteer Tree Tender in my neighborhood. Both have weekly readings and assignments, so I sometimes find myself completing quizzes on sick tree symptoms… Continue reading Reading Roundup: September 2020
Reading Roundup: August 2020
Trust Exercise by Susan Choi. The first half is a heady, florid coming of age story set in the pressure cooker of a high school for performing arts. I am not sure it is correct to say that I enjoyed it--the suffocating teenaged desperation for any kind of validation is rendered both sympathetic and insufferable,… Continue reading Reading Roundup: August 2020
