Books With Impact

I read a lot of books in 2019. A LOT. So many that I didn’t post a number publicly, because I am not wasting time with people who will insist that I “couldn’t” possibly read that much in a year.

I could.

I did.

I enjoyed many, many of the books I read, including those by Arlene Kay, Alyssa Maxwell, Barbara Ross, Lauren Dane, Kate Carlisle, Juliet Blackwell, Ed Ifkovic, Mark Pryor, and more.

When it came to books I didn’t enjoy, if I wasn’t paid to read them (such as a contest entry, or for review), I put them down when they lost me. I don’t consider them books “read.”

But there were a handful of books that blew me away. Books I read for the first time in 2019 (whenever they may have been published) and to which I will return often. I want to share those titles with you here, in hopes some of you might seek them out and enjoy them, too.

UNMARRIAGEABLE by Soniah Kamal. Tagged as PRIDE AND PREJUDICE in Pakistan, this lively, funny, beautiful novel made me laugh and cry and want to read and re-read. It has pride of place amongst the old set of Jane Austen novels I inherited from my grandmother. I just loved this book. The writing, the energy, everything about it is wonderful.

EUROPEAN TRAVEL FOR THE MONSTEROUS GENTLEWOMAN by Theodora Goss. Great characters, situations, and actions. I love the way Goss turns tropes, myths, and expectations inside out. I love the characters, their interaction, their growth.

TWO SKIES BEFORE NIGHT by Robert Gryn. One of the best books I’ve read in the past few years, and one of the best world-building I’ve ever seen anywhere. This book mixes detective and fantasy in a beautiful, fascinating blend. I could not put it down.

THRESHOLD DELIVERY by Patty Seyburn. Every single poem resonated, and it’s a book I’ve re-read a couple of times since my first reading last year.

All four of these books stayed in both memory and heart. If you haven’t read, them I encourage you to add them to your TBR pile — and then, actually read them! You’ll be glad you did.

Tues. July 16, 2019: SAY UNCLE by Kay Ryan — #ReaderExpansionChallenge

 

Say Uncle. Kay Ryan. NY:Grove Press. 1991.

This month’s challenge was for poetry. I can’t write poetry worth a damn, but I love reading it.

Early in the month, I was blown away by Patty Seyburn’s THRESHOLD DELIVERY. However, I was paid to read it for a review site, so I couldn’t talk about it here. But seriously, it’s a brilliant book, go read it.

I thought about re-reading Sharon Olds or Jackie Kay. I’ve found all their work transformational. But part of the point of this month’s challenge was to read work by someone new-to-me.

I found Kay Ryan’s SAY UNCLE in the library. Ms. Ryan was a Library of Congress Poet Laureate.

I’m so glad I picked it up. The poems are energetic and delightful and funny and painful and powerful, all at once.

“The Museum of False Starts” could represent any creative project. “Crash” has so many things going on at so many levels in a short poem that it needs to be re-read multiple times, each one revealing another layer. “Say Uncle” is funny in a ha-ha-ow! kind of way.

Every poem has something dynamic and delightful about it.

I may have found it at the library, but I’m ordering my own copy to re-read often. And I’m searching for her other work now, too.

What did you read this month, and what was your response? Post in the comments, and we can share what we read.

Next month’s challenge is to re-read a favorite childhood book from your current perspective. We will reconvene here to discuss them on August 20th.