Some thoughts on the books I read during 2022
First thought...I didn't read a lot of stellar books. Maybe a disappointing year of reading.
One goal I set out was to read entirely a long anthology of eco-poetry. I did that, and quicker than I expected: February to November. But the poems overall didn't inspire me. Many I just read and was well, okay. A few spoke to me, were enjoyable...anyway see a bit more below, and on my review page linked there.
I mention this book because it has the same type of feeling as my year of reading overall. A few good ones but many just didn't inspire me.
Not all books I read ended up in the blog, no review written. If ever inspired I will go back and add those missed ones in. There weren't too many.
Surprises and favorites:
Bacon and Beans from a Gold Pan - I've got this on a road trip in 2008 and finally read it, and was happy to find how readable, and enjoyable it was. I may be pressed to say this was my favorite read of the year.
Gilded Mountain - What a book. Okay, this may be my favorite for the year.
Lost Memory of Skin - another book by Russell Banks. I read two of them this year, and this one well, I liked a bit better. He's a decent writer, and this one reflects on society as there are people in situations where we consider them as throwaway people. As a society, we can do better.
A Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching: Getting to Know the World's Most Misunderstood Bird - I didn't expect to get so enthralled with pigeons. This was such a cute book, informative and just wonderful.
Bound for Canaan: The Epic Story of the Underground Railroad, America's First Civil Rights Movement - This was much more readable than I expected (a surprise) and I learned much more about the history of the people who did all they could to help enslaved people be free. Definitely one of the top reads of the year.
Oh, and I don't want to forget one of the first reads of the year:
The Contemporary American Essay - a collection of essays curated by Phillip Lopate. I bought the set of three and read this volume first. I expected it to take me a while, but was surprised at how much I was enjoying it and read the book quickly. Should have gone to another volume this year, but maybe next.
Disappointments:
The Ecopoetry Anthology - (as mentioned above) Although I did rate this book at 4 stars, I'm listing it as a disappointment because there so few that really stuck me well. I took almost all year to read this book, and much of it was okay, but I had hoped for much more. Perhaps it was my expectations for something more spectacular in this collection.
Alone on the Wall - A co-written book so it's both an biography and autobiography, but fails at both. It was not written well at all, and there was so much climbing technical language that at times it was hard to understand what they were trying to say.
I could go on these disappointments, but I'd rather not focus on these...
Finally conquered:
This new section is for the book that I owned the longest and finally read this year.
Fall on Your Knees - It's hard to say you enjoy a book that gives you the creeps as well. I didn't write a full review, just leaving it. It was a long book and I have another by the same author, also a long book that perhaps I will get to in 2023.
Final Note:
High Sierra: A Love Story by Kim Stanley Robinson
Wanted to mention another long read, took me nearly two months to get through the book, listening to the audio version. Near the end I managed to get hold of a print copy in order to view all of the photos. It would have worked better to have that earlier.
Looking forward - Goals for 2023:
- Focus on longer books, or non-fiction books that take a few weeks to read.
- This means fiction books over 500 pages (or nearly)
- Or those books with small print
- Keep up with NetGalley books and not add very many throughout the year.
- Focus on owned books instead of library books (hopefully with audio as well).
- Read around my bookshelves - continues
- Reduce own to read - buy/acquire less than I read.
Some of the books on the to read pile I'd like to read:
- 1492: The Year the World Began
- 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created
- Uncommon Carriers (not owned)
- Fire & Blood
- Cloud Cuckoo Land
- Termination Shock
- Gig: Americans Talk about Their Jobs
- Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge
- The Stations of Still Creek
- One of the Essays books edited by Phillip Lopate:
- The Glorious American Essay: One Hundred Essays from Colonial Times to the Present
- The Golden Age of the American Essay: 1945-1970
- The Art of the Personal Essay: An Anthology from the Classical Era to the Present
- Continue the People of the Longhouse series:
- The Dawn Country
- The Broken Land
- People of the Black Sun
- Jamie MacGillivray: The Renegade's Journey
No comments:
Post a Comment