a week-in-review then, because i'd still like to post something on fridays and books are the most comfortable (and obvious) choice!
- i finished reading selfish, shallow, and self-absorbed (picador, 2015) today. favorite essays were those by sigrid nunez, anna holmes, danielle henderson, jeanne safer, and elliott holt.
- i would've loved to see an essay or two by people in their late-twenties/early-thirties because i think (or, at least, i like to think) that you can be in your late-twenties and early-thirties and have decided not to have kids -- some of us have known this about ourselves since we were young.
- someone (i'm pretty sure it was laura kipnis) on the panel of contributors at the event on tuesday said there seemed to be a preponderance of writers defending that they liked kids, and, having finished the collection, i agree that there is. i don't doubt that they genuinely love children; sometimes, though, it did feel very defensive; and i admit it was refreshing to come across the writer who baldly said s/he didn't like kids. (this was mostly personal, though; it's hard in general to come across someone who doesn't like children.)
- this week, i started doing a buddy read of michel faber's the book of strange new things (hogarth, 2014) with a friend on instagram. this is one of the reasons i can't dismiss social media; i've had the pleasure of meeting some incredible people via the internet; and i love the fact that this friend (who lives in japan) and i can actively read a book together.
- speaking of the book of strange new things, faber writes with such ease, and his prose is natural and lovely. his descriptions are vivid and alive, too -- i dreamt i was on oasis because i'd been reading right before going to sleep, and it felt so real, the humidity, the atmosphere, the colors, that i woke up feeling kind of disoriented, wondering, wait, that wasn't real?
- books i've been reading off-and-on the last few weeks (yes, weeks):
- cheryl strayed's tiny beautiful things (vintage, 2012): when i was in LA, the illustrator friend and i went flipped through all the columns, and i haven't felt very inspired to go back and give them all a thorough reading.
- rebecca solnit's men who explain things to me (haymarket books, 2014): i'm thrilled this was reissued in hardback with new essays!
- joan didion's white album (FSG, 2009): i love lingering over my didion, taking little morsels and letting them melt into me. (i'm not quite sure how to credit these publication years ... right now, i'm going with when the edition i own was issued.)
- kazuo ishiguro's an artist of the floating world (penguin, 2013): there's such a lovely tension and unease simmering through this book that i'm afraid to find out what the narrator did during the war. this is my book club's next selection, though, so i'll have to grit my teeth and find out!
- catie disabato's the ghost network (melville house, 2015, forthcoming): this is a cheat; i found this ARC at housing works on tuesday and was so very excited; so i had to share.
march reading recap will be up by the end of the weekend! have a great weekend, all!