Greetings! It’s good to be back, after a bit of a break. I’ve come up with some new post graphics, and a new format for this review — I hope you enjoy it!
What I read this month
- Airs Above the Ground by Mary Stewart
- The Beginning Place by Ursula K. Le Guin
- Bird Summons by Leila Aboulela
- Doppelganger by Naomi Klein
- Encounters by Ruth Ewertowski
- Because I Come from a Crazy Family by Edward Halloran
- The Secret Language of the Body by Karden Rabin and Jennifer Mann
Two books I especially recommend…
In Doppelganger, Naomi Klein explores a variety of themes touched off by the existence of her own “doppelganger” (the writer Naomi Wolf, with whom she’s frequently been confused). I found it a disturbing but essential read for these times, which are challenging our sense of what is real.
As an antidote to the mirror world, The Secret Language of the Body gave me some major “Aha” moments as I put together its clear explanation of polyvagal theory and accompanying practical exercises with my own history of nervous system dysregulation. For me, it also shed light on the puzzling and infuriating behavior of so many humans, and helped me to see them with more compassion. I’m going to be working on learning this language, and see where it leads.
A disappointment
I was looking forward to Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Beginning Place, one of the few book of hers that I’ve never read, and it started off with a promising premise of two young people meeting in a strange twilight land, but the ending … ugh. I do not like the “sex as redemption” trope at the best of times, and this was a particularly disgusting and insensitive example. Back to the Earthsea books to take that bad taste away.
Currently reading
With my husband, I’ve been reading a book in German — Glennkill by Leonie Swann, published in English translation as Three Bags Full. I read aloud, which is good practice for my fluency, plus if he does the reading, I tend to drift off or get lost. If I don’t understand something, I can stop and ask him rather than looking it up in the dictionary — although I find I tend to let quite a lot of vocabulary slide because I want to move on with the story.
This is a murder mystery seen from the point of view of a flock of sheep, and the author had some fun with trying to get into the sheepish way of thinking (for example, the flock has mixed feelings about their former shepherd, the murder victim, because he didn’t dress himself completely in their wool). The characterization of individual sheep is also charming, and I look forward to seeing how their talents all come together to solve the mystery.
It’s a good choice for learners because the sheep version of German is quite simple, and it’s organized in short sections with plenty of suspense and cliffhangers. It might take us a few months to get through it, but we are enjoying our bedtime installments.
On the blog
What’s on your shelf this month?
Linked at The Sunday Post at Caffeinated Book Reviewer, the Sunday Salon at Readerbuzz, and the Monthly Wrap-up Round-up at Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Doppleganger sounds interesting and funnily, I thought it was Naomi Woolf until you wrote that bit about them being confused. Ha! #MonthlyWrapUp
I like your new graphic format for your reviews. It helps me see what to focus on and what I might like to take off my list to read.
I also like how you and your husband are reading a book together in German. Now I just need to find someone who would like to do that in one of the languages I’m trying to learn!
Great goals, congratulations on your publications! That German book with the husband sounds a perfect idea!