This year I decided I need to read more, the way I did when I was a kid. My brain used to feel so sharp, but when I’m only absorbing cheap entertainment like Instagram and TV I just feel dull and blah. So starting in January, when I had the urge to pick up my phone or watch TV, I would open a book instead.
This was made a lot easier by having a plethora of reading material available. My grandmother used to take out 5 or 6 books at a time from the library so that she would always have something that interested her. If you don’t like it, there’s a backup book! The urge to finish everything you start reading makes it a chore instead of a joy, so I adopted her method.
So far, mission successful! I’ve read about a book a week this year which feels really good. All my classes this semester require reflective writing as well, and there is no better inspiration for writing than other people’s work. I’ve basically only read informational texts for the last few years, and the news. Makes for a pretty boring attitude towards writing when it is purely educational.
I started with an Irish theme, and found myself reading a book that I’ve picked up and put down at least 5x. Really sweet book, and it felt like an honest look into the time period and people’s daily lives. I’d highly recommend it to anyone looking for a warm, funny book that isn’t complete fluff.
“Sharp, jazzy, hilarious, and often painful . . . you’ll rejoice in this wild song of a book”
-Frank McCourt
This quote by Frank McCourt on 44: A Dublin Memoir led me to his memoir, Angela’s Ashes. This one was a little sadder, a little more desperate, and also hilarious, which might be the Irish way? It is set in Limerick, Ireland, and similarly details Frank’s childhood.
Unfortunately, after a little research I discovered that it wasn’t exactly an accurate portrayal of his childhood. Apparently they weren’t that poor, which just makes it seem like he was capitalizing off of other people’s misery in order to write a bestseller. Meh.
The next one just caught my eye while I was looking for Angela’s Ashes, and there is no deeper reason to pick it than I liked the cover. I also love Ann-Marie MacDonald, and Adult Onset is her latest novel. I didn’t realize how few books she had written, but I have loved all of them. Adult Onset was very similar to her other books, in that it details a family in past and present and revolves around long buried secrets. It was kind of interesting that she chose to look at it from the parenting perspective this time around, because her other books have focused mostly on the child I find.
The next book I read was a little fluffy and was also selected because I liked the cover. Crow Lake by Mary Lawson is another story that goes back and forth in a family’s timeline and that of their town to get to an answer. Really enjoyable, I read it in the span of a day.
And finally, my favourite book of the year and definitely a contender for all time. This was wild, and completely unexpected every step of the way. It took a bit longer to get through because if I was tired or not totally fresh minded, I had a hard time focusing on everything it was trying to say. I feel like this book was written by somebody who’s brain just works in a different way than mine, because half the stuff he came up with and the way that he writes is totally foreign. A real pleasure, I couldn’t recommend it highly enough. It was filthy though, so if you’re not into that than maybe leave it on the shelf.
Now I’m reading On The Road by Jack Kerouac, because he was mentioned in Even Cowgirls Get the Blues and I’ve never read any of his work. Enjoyable so far, but not what I expected. I’m just happy to be reading at all if I’m perfectly honest. I think next on my list is some more Tom Robbins, and a book set in Joshua Tree, because I’m going there in a few weeks and it seems fitting!
The Avery Spectacle 