February: Books Read
I am "ahead" of my goal to read 52 books in a year this year. This might be because I read a number of poetry books in a short period of time during February, but this might come in handy when I try to tackle, oh, some lengthy Dickens or maybe Gravity's Rainbow (finally) this summer.
Mission: to read 52 books in 2012
Status: 13/52
Books Read, February: 7
Notes on Books Read:
7) 20 Something Essays by 20 Something Writers edited by J. Kellogg & M. Quint
I picked this up because it had essays in it by Kyle Minor and Kathleen Rooney, but I enjoyed the collection beyond solely enjoying their pieces in it, though I looked forward to them. I even used a few of the essays in a class I taught on Business Literature at the University of Phoenix the week we did non-fiction. Some of my favorites were a piece on finding a drummer in NYC, a piece on getting fired from a teaching job for budgeting reasons, and a piece on social networking.
8) Compendium by Kristina Marie Darling
I admit, I have read this more than once since first finishing it, as it is not only well written and intriguing, but a bit like a puzzle. I am reviewing it for Gigantic Sequins 3.2, so please read my full-length review there!
9) Meet the Lavenders by Carrie Murphy
I bought this poetry chapbook because we published the lovely Carrie Murphy in Gigantic Sequins 3.1. I never expected the theme of it, but I was more pleased that I read the whole thing at a general pace, finding bits in each of the poems that meant something to me, even though I wouldn't normally say I am someone who could easily relate to a 60s girl group. Carrie has a full-length poetry book, Pretty Tilt, coming out soon.
10) Transformations by Anne Sexton
Within my poetry reading streak, I went over to my shelves and pulled this from it. When I worked at Strand in the poetry section, I think I bought too many collections of poetry rather than many books of poems. It's like buying the greatest hits but never really appreciating the album that they're from when you only have selected. Even collected, which contain whole books within them, are hefty, overwhelming tomes. Though I have the collected Anne Sexton, I'm glad I bought this and even more glad that I read it. It's a book of fairy tale inspired poems that transform (aha! the title!) the characters, bending and shaping them into more human versions of themselves. It's a volume I see myself returning to periodically.
11) The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht
This was our book club book for the month, and I loved it. The prose was incredible, and the story leapt between myth and reality in an unnerving blend that compelled me to read the second half of it practically all in one sitting.
12) Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
This was a Christmas present from Ian Carlos Crawford because I was the only one in our book club who hadn't read the trilogy. I think I cried more during this book than I cried during the Blind Side, if that's even possible. It's pretty good for post-apocalyptic YA. I'll definitely see the movie, and I'm reading the rest of the trilogy for March.
13) Morocco by Matthew Savoca & Kendra Grant Malone
Never have two poets side by side said such harshly sweet and true things to each other through verse while smiling in a way that made me squirm like Kendra & Matthew did when I saw them read at the Tire Fire Reading series. Reading their book was very similar, and I loved every honest moment of it.
Mission: to read 52 books in 2012
Status: 13/52
Books Read, February: 7
Notes on Books Read:
7) 20 Something Essays by 20 Something Writers edited by J. Kellogg & M. Quint
I picked this up because it had essays in it by Kyle Minor and Kathleen Rooney, but I enjoyed the collection beyond solely enjoying their pieces in it, though I looked forward to them. I even used a few of the essays in a class I taught on Business Literature at the University of Phoenix the week we did non-fiction. Some of my favorites were a piece on finding a drummer in NYC, a piece on getting fired from a teaching job for budgeting reasons, and a piece on social networking.
8) Compendium by Kristina Marie Darling
I admit, I have read this more than once since first finishing it, as it is not only well written and intriguing, but a bit like a puzzle. I am reviewing it for Gigantic Sequins 3.2, so please read my full-length review there!
9) Meet the Lavenders by Carrie Murphy
I bought this poetry chapbook because we published the lovely Carrie Murphy in Gigantic Sequins 3.1. I never expected the theme of it, but I was more pleased that I read the whole thing at a general pace, finding bits in each of the poems that meant something to me, even though I wouldn't normally say I am someone who could easily relate to a 60s girl group. Carrie has a full-length poetry book, Pretty Tilt, coming out soon.
10) Transformations by Anne Sexton
Within my poetry reading streak, I went over to my shelves and pulled this from it. When I worked at Strand in the poetry section, I think I bought too many collections of poetry rather than many books of poems. It's like buying the greatest hits but never really appreciating the album that they're from when you only have selected. Even collected, which contain whole books within them, are hefty, overwhelming tomes. Though I have the collected Anne Sexton, I'm glad I bought this and even more glad that I read it. It's a book of fairy tale inspired poems that transform (aha! the title!) the characters, bending and shaping them into more human versions of themselves. It's a volume I see myself returning to periodically.
11) The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht
This was our book club book for the month, and I loved it. The prose was incredible, and the story leapt between myth and reality in an unnerving blend that compelled me to read the second half of it practically all in one sitting.
12) Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
This was a Christmas present from Ian Carlos Crawford because I was the only one in our book club who hadn't read the trilogy. I think I cried more during this book than I cried during the Blind Side, if that's even possible. It's pretty good for post-apocalyptic YA. I'll definitely see the movie, and I'm reading the rest of the trilogy for March.
13) Morocco by Matthew Savoca & Kendra Grant Malone
Never have two poets side by side said such harshly sweet and true things to each other through verse while smiling in a way that made me squirm like Kendra & Matthew did when I saw them read at the Tire Fire Reading series. Reading their book was very similar, and I loved every honest moment of it.
Comments
Post a Comment