The Quarterly Report
Plus poetry month, bookshelf wealth, and recent reads.
2024 Reading Goals
This month I am revisiting my reading goals for this year to help me see where I am succeeding and where I need to put a bit more effort in. My three goals are:
Focus on classic children’s books with my sister. UPDATE: So far we have read three classic books - The Lion, The Witch and Wardrobe, The Giver and Are You There God it’s Me Margaret? The first two were standouts for me and reminded me how a brief book can create a robust world within just a couple hundred pages. Next up: Emily of New Moon.
Read at least one book from my shelves each month (maybe more). UPDATE: I am doing a terrible job here! I have only read a couple of books that have been on my shelves prior to the start of the year. I even have a stack of books next to my bed and still I am turning to the latest new release or advance copy. I am going to work on this; I own some great books that I really do want to read.
Use the StoryGraph App to track reading. UPDATE: I am updating it monthly with the books I finish but I am not doing reviews on the App. That is just too time consuming. So far I am reading 27% non-fiction/ 73% fiction (that’s a good ratio for me). One thing I don’t like is that there are 26 genre categories and books appear in multiple sections, so this is not very useful. I have more thoughts on Storygraph but will revisit when I have spent more time using the App. So far it is not a game changer for me.
Poetry Month
April is National Poetry Month. I recently discovered The Favorite Poems Project. This project is wonderful: each of these well crafted videos profile regular people sharing about their lives and their favorite poems. Here a school custodian reads his favorite poem. And here a young Cambodian woman identifies with a Langston Hughs poem. There is not a bad one in the collection!
Bookish Links and News
April 27th is Independent Bookstore Day! Many stores have lots of fun giveaways, special merchandise available only that day, and it’s an overall great way to say thanks to your favorite bookstore! You can plug your zip code into this map to find all the indie bookstores near you.
Love this map of 35 literary stops for book lovers in the UK. I have only been to a few, so I guess I need to start planning another trip .
This beautiful video from the V&A museum about book binding is worth the watch. It is only three minutes and it will have you seeing old books in a new light!
Bookish Wealth
Even if you haven’t heard the name, you have probably seen this new trend on social media. “Bookshelf Wealth” is big in 2024. Already there have been profiles in Martha Stewart, House Beautiful, Real Simple, the New York Times, and Elle Decor.. According to Elle “True bookshelf wealth is the rejection of the perfectly manicured, clean-cut homes that have reigned supreme in recent years in favor of coziness, layering, and character.”
I am currently trying to figure out how to get Steve to make my dining room a library like this:
Recent Reads
Clear is a beautifully written story (just over 200 pages) set in a remote part of Scotland in the 1840s. John, a protestant minister who, because he is desperate for money, takes a job to clear a remote Scottish isle. He’s dropped off by boat and given two weeks to inform Ivan, the last non-English-speaking inhabitant, that he must leave the island. Shortly after arriving, John takes a fall and wakes to find himself being taken care of by Ivan. As a result, the men develop an unlikely connection. Davies does an excellent job pacing the story because you, as the reader, know this can’t last. John must let Ivan know he is why he’s on the island. The author is able to cultivate a sense of tension and pace even when little is happening. This novel reminds me a lot of Claire Keegan’s Small Things Like These, with beautiful prose coupled with a lot of internal things going on with the characters. I will say, towards the end a couple events happen that I wasn’t expecting that definitely provide some opportunity for discussion. I don’t want to say too much else but think this would be an excellent book club selection because there is a lot to discuss.
Note: The next two books are what I call “premise” books - they have a magical conceit which the plot rests on. In both, the protagonists are continually meeting/dating or married to various men over and over again till they “get it right”. You have to conceed to the premise and accept that there will be no explanation - it's just part of the plot.
Expiration Dates is a new release by Rebecca Serle. (She wrote One Italian Summer, which was popular last summer, and is an excellent choice if you are planning to visit the Amalfi Coast.)
The premise here is that Daphne Bell gets a note every time she begins dating someone that tells her the exact length of time that they will be together. The book tells the story, moving forward from when she receives a note with just a name and no expiration date, and this changes everything for her. The book goes back and forth between past relationships and her present one. There are a couple plot points I saw coming and a couple surprises. The setting is very LA and it’s very contemporary. Serle names all the restaurants, all the brands of clothing, all the food, and so on. You feel rooted to the present. Since I am from the Los Angeles area, this all resonated with me. There is also another more serious aspect to Daphne’s life that is introduced later in the novel that helps the reader better understand her character. I will add one caveat - Daphne dates a lot of men and they are all very hot, and most make a lot of money, so you definitely have to suspend reality in this area as well. I enjoyed this book and I think it’s a fun read. Even though it tries to get serious at times, overall it’s a quick read and fun.
The Husbands is a witty novel set in London. It is also a new release and being heavily promoted by its publisher. Here we meet Laura. She is not married but returns to her flat one morning to find a strange man living there, but he is her husband. At first she’s taken aback. We follow as she figures out that whenever one husband goes into the attic, a different husband comes down. The husbands mostly have names, but she also frequently just refers to them as “the husband”. Laura’s life changes a bit each time a new one arrives: sometimes it’s her job, sometimes it’s relationships with friends or neighbors. These things anchor you as a reader, but also it’s very repetitive. Gramazio tries to differentiate husbands; some are interesting and kind, and some a little scary. She creates an element of excitement in a few of the situations where Laura wants to return a husband, but can’t make it happen that easily. I am mixed on this book- it would make a fun light summer read, but it is also the same thing over and over. In both cases (Expiration Dates) these women seem to need magical realism to find their true selves (and a soul mate).
[Note: In my January newsletter, I reviewed The Good Part - another contemporary book where magical realism is employed in a similar way. Of the three, I like The Good Part the most - it has the most well developed characters and is the most thoughtful about life and the choices we make. I also identified two more new books with a similar premise at the bookshop recently. I have no idea why all these books are being published at the same time.]
I am struggling with mysteries this year: I am either mildly disappointed, or don’t even finish them. This makes me so sad - I LOVE mysteries, they are my ‘go-to” genre. One bright spot was Dead of Night by Simon Scarrow. This is the second in the series from an author who is known more for a 20+ book adventure series about the exploits of the Roman army. What I most enjoyed about Dead of Night is the setting: this police procedural takes place in Berlin during early WW2. Inspector Horst Schenke is tasked with tracking down a counterfeit food stamp gang but is more drawn to a suspicious initially considered a suicide. In the series, Horst has to work around the gestapo and other government officials with much more nefarious intentions. Scarrow addresses the horrific aspects of the Third Reich, but doesn’t make it central to the book. The reader is immersed in daily life in Berlin during this period. Scarrow is a great writer, and does an excellent job with the setting and plot. I really enjoyed this book and plan to go back and read the first one. His third is due out next year.