I re-read Fahrenheit 451 and was surprised at how relevant it still is after 70+ years. Killers of the Flower Moon came in second. The last 25% of the book was not included in the film version - and what happened after the conviction was more criminal than the first three deaths!!
I have three books from January, I couldn't choose between those. And they are:
Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout (it made me long for a lockdown, but then without a horrible disease)
Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson (she amazes me every time, I don't know how she does it, but there never are loose threads in her stories and the characters are just perfectly crafted)
Went to London, Took the Dog by Nina Stibbe (the humor, the observations, the daily life stuff, it's like reading messages from a good friend)
I would say it was “Shakespeare, the Man Who Pays the Rent” by Judi Dench, based on a series of interviews she did with Brendan O’Hea. Discusses almost every significant part she played in Shakespeare plays, in a very warm, entertaining fashion. I really enjoyed it. The next best was also a non-fiction work, “Exactly” by Simon Winchester, about the development of precision engineering from pre-steam-engine times to today.
Had a few I’m afraid the first 3 Iin Brandon Sanderson Storm light Archive series. The Way of Kings, Words of Radiance and Edge Dancer. Honourable mention to Chimera’s Star, book 14 of Glynn Stewart Starships mage series.
Both of my favorites from this month are rereads. First, Fairy Tale by Stephen King. It was our book club read last month and I was gifted it and read it when it first came out. I liked it even better the second time. Second, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I reread an Austen every January, it’s one of my favorite reading habits.
This is the only Stephen King I’ve read, I don’t care for horror. But, he is my son’s favorite author. He is the one that gave me the book and I was doubtful. He assured me that I would love it and Idid.
Travels with Charley by Steinbeck was so good! I haven’t cried like that reading a book in quite a while. Ken Follett’s The Armor of Light was really good too.
January was a great month of reading! While I read 7 books, the 2 that I’ll continue to think about constantly are The Covenant of Water and The Frozen River.
I tend to read two, sometimes three types of books at any given time:
My "traveling book" this is a book I bought myself with my own money so if I lose it I'm the only one who's out.
My "home book" which tends to be a library book and only travels from the library to my home & back again.
And the eReader book. In my case that eReader is libby, though I recently downloaded the Kindle app for my phone.
My books for January were mostly library books relating to cultivating irises & their symbolic meanings. A regional community interest magazine here in Tennessee sponsored a poetry contest where the entries had to be about something relating to the state. I chose to focus on the state flower, the iris.
My traveling book was me finishing Humphrey Carpenter's "A Great Silly Grin," which inspired further reading goals of P.G. Wodehouse, the script for "Beyond the Fringe" if I can find it, & my copy of Spike Milligan's "Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall." And Lenny Bruce's "How to Talk Dirty & Influence People."
My library selections last month both had ties to my local library's DVD selection, as I read Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" on libby & Roald Dahl's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" as a physical library book checkout to prepare to check out the Tim Burton films based on each one weekend.
This month's main reads will be the Christian leadership book "Power in the Pulpit" & miscellaneous books on leading small group discussions as I have been tapped to lead a Bible study at my church one Wednesday night this month.
My husband and daughter laugh at me because I do the same thing, but I also have a different book in each room in the house, as well as one in each car, etc.
My favorite January read was actually a reread—The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway. But if I had to pick a “new to me” favorite, I think I have to say The Book of the Dun Cow, by Walter Wangerin, Jr., though three weeks later, I’m still not sure I completely understand all of it. (I’m going to have to let this one marinate a while and then pick it back up and read it again.) If pressed for a still living author, I suppose I would have to say Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin.
I really enjoyed ‘The Upside-Down World: Meetings with the Dutch Maters’ by Benjamin Moser, who I wasn’t familiar with, but he won a Pulitzer Prize for the biography Sontag: Her Life and Work.
The book was a pleasure to read partly due to the physical beauty of the book itself. Moser writes beautifully; his connection with the Netherlands brings a personal element to his experience of the paintings.
I re-read Fahrenheit 451 and was surprised at how relevant it still is after 70+ years. Killers of the Flower Moon came in second. The last 25% of the book was not included in the film version - and what happened after the conviction was more criminal than the first three deaths!!
Flower Moon is great isn't it? Everything he writes is pure gold.
‘The Postcard’ by Anne Berest
I have three books from January, I couldn't choose between those. And they are:
Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout (it made me long for a lockdown, but then without a horrible disease)
Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson (she amazes me every time, I don't know how she does it, but there never are loose threads in her stories and the characters are just perfectly crafted)
Went to London, Took the Dog by Nina Stibbe (the humor, the observations, the daily life stuff, it's like reading messages from a good friend)
I've heard good things about Shrines — glad it's good!
I would say it was “Shakespeare, the Man Who Pays the Rent” by Judi Dench, based on a series of interviews she did with Brendan O’Hea. Discusses almost every significant part she played in Shakespeare plays, in a very warm, entertaining fashion. I really enjoyed it. The next best was also a non-fiction work, “Exactly” by Simon Winchester, about the development of precision engineering from pre-steam-engine times to today.
I love Winchester and hadn't heard of that one! Cool. :)
Had a few I’m afraid the first 3 Iin Brandon Sanderson Storm light Archive series. The Way of Kings, Words of Radiance and Edge Dancer. Honourable mention to Chimera’s Star, book 14 of Glynn Stewart Starships mage series.
Nice!
Both of my favorites from this month are rereads. First, Fairy Tale by Stephen King. It was our book club read last month and I was gifted it and read it when it first came out. I liked it even better the second time. Second, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I reread an Austen every January, it’s one of my favorite reading habits.
I'm still going through Stephen King in chronological order. :) Pet Sematary is up next for me.
This is the only Stephen King I’ve read, I don’t care for horror. But, he is my son’s favorite author. He is the one that gave me the book and I was doubtful. He assured me that I would love it and Idid.
Travels with Charley by Steinbeck was so good! I haven’t cried like that reading a book in quite a while. Ken Follett’s The Armor of Light was really good too.
Ah, I love Travels With Charley! And Follett is on my list for sure — that whole series is great.
I somehow missed the prequel, The Evening and the Morning, so that’s on my TBR list now.
That was actually one of my faves!
these precious days by ann patchett!!
I haven't read any of her non-fiction — I'll have to soon.
I had to choose two: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte and Shakespeare's Julius Caesar
I have Bronte waiting for me on my shelf. Glad to hear it's a good one!
Her book Agnes Gray is also really good, but Wildfell Hall is better in my opinion.
January was a great month of reading! While I read 7 books, the 2 that I’ll continue to think about constantly are The Covenant of Water and The Frozen River.
Love love loved Covenant. And I've heard great things about Frozen River — I believe I have it on hold with the library. :)
I’ll be thinking about The Covenant of Water for a long time! And The Frozen River - it’s a must read!!!
Joan Didion’s Where I Was From. I read several of her books in January. They were all great, but that one stands out for me.
Oh nice, she's high on my list for this year.
I tend to read two, sometimes three types of books at any given time:
My "traveling book" this is a book I bought myself with my own money so if I lose it I'm the only one who's out.
My "home book" which tends to be a library book and only travels from the library to my home & back again.
And the eReader book. In my case that eReader is libby, though I recently downloaded the Kindle app for my phone.
My books for January were mostly library books relating to cultivating irises & their symbolic meanings. A regional community interest magazine here in Tennessee sponsored a poetry contest where the entries had to be about something relating to the state. I chose to focus on the state flower, the iris.
My traveling book was me finishing Humphrey Carpenter's "A Great Silly Grin," which inspired further reading goals of P.G. Wodehouse, the script for "Beyond the Fringe" if I can find it, & my copy of Spike Milligan's "Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall." And Lenny Bruce's "How to Talk Dirty & Influence People."
My library selections last month both had ties to my local library's DVD selection, as I read Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" on libby & Roald Dahl's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" as a physical library book checkout to prepare to check out the Tim Burton films based on each one weekend.
This month's main reads will be the Christian leadership book "Power in the Pulpit" & miscellaneous books on leading small group discussions as I have been tapped to lead a Bible study at my church one Wednesday night this month.
I read Humphrey Carpenter's bio of Tolkien and *loved* it. Worth checking out!
I'll check libby for it.
My husband and daughter laugh at me because I do the same thing, but I also have a different book in each room in the house, as well as one in each car, etc.
Now that is dedication to the written word.
My favorite January read was actually a reread—The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway. But if I had to pick a “new to me” favorite, I think I have to say The Book of the Dun Cow, by Walter Wangerin, Jr., though three weeks later, I’m still not sure I completely understand all of it. (I’m going to have to let this one marinate a while and then pick it back up and read it again.) If pressed for a still living author, I suppose I would have to say Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin.
Hemingway is always great. :)
I really enjoyed ‘The Upside-Down World: Meetings with the Dutch Maters’ by Benjamin Moser, who I wasn’t familiar with, but he won a Pulitzer Prize for the biography Sontag: Her Life and Work.
The book was a pleasure to read partly due to the physical beauty of the book itself. Moser writes beautifully; his connection with the Netherlands brings a personal element to his experience of the paintings.
I haven't heard of that one, but his Sontag bio has been on my list. Thx for the rec.
A Fever In The Heartland
Such a great book.
Covenant of Water.
That one is gonna stay with me a long time.