Reading Wrap-Up: February 10-23, 2025

Note to self: put alarm on phone reminding me to actually update this each Sunday!

It's been a pretty good reading groove for me lately. Some real winners, one re-read, one out out obligation in my quest to read more translated works, and here we are.

Currently Reading:

• Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal - I've read one of Stradal's other novels and when I found this at a used bookstore last summer I literally squealed because I hadn't been able to find it in print around me anywhere! This book follows the life of Eva, but interestingly each chapter except for one is about someone whose orbit somehow crosses with Eva's (there's one chapter early on that's "hers.") I am so into this!

• I'm Waiting for You and Other Stories by Bo-young Kim - I came across this collection of 4 short stories at a different used bookstore last summer. Translated from Korean, I'm only on the second story so far which really is more like a novella. They are all science fiction and don't remind me of anything I've read before (and I mean that in the best way!)

• 10% Happier by Dan Harris - This is my current audiobook, and now that I'm finally about 3.5 hours into the 8 hour book, it's started to get to the heart of the story. I understand why Harris spent so much time building the context as to why life led him on this journey of how to make sense (or to quiet down) the voices in his head especially when they led him to not the best decisions, but at least I'm finally to the point where he's starting to learn about himself and strategies. I'm borrowing this from my public library via Libby.

Finished Reading:

• Secrets of the Sprakkar: Iceland's Extraordinary Women and How They Are Changing the World by Eliza Reid - At the time of this book's writing and publication, Reid was the First Lady of Iceland. Born and raised in Canada, she met her husband at grad school in the UK, and she's called Iceland home ever since. Her insights into her adopted homeland are outstanding and it was refreshing to hear about a country that doesn't openly hate women and try to restrict their right rights back to the stone age but has instead united in a quest for gender equality because that way everyone wins.

• Starfish by Lisa Fipps - A heart-wrenching and honest novel in verse about an overweight pre-teen wanting to feel love in and for her body, which is a challenge considering her mother's open hostility towards it.

• Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert - How is this book already ten years old this year?? I adored this audiobook as I've been running both due to its topic and that it's read by the author. Liz Gilbert is like my internet aunt. Whereas I'm not sure how much my own family gets me half the time, she and I are cut from a similar cloth in that a creative life is not a choice, but a necessity. However, that's not to say it doesn't also take skill, perseverance, curiosity, and a willingness to surrender to something bigger. And even doing all that won't lead to success - no, no. Luck has A LOT to do with it too, but creative pursuits must be for each of us and what they do internally. If you're searching for external validation, keep searching. I don't think it's a coincidence that since listening to this, I've jumped back into painting and writing and knitting and drawing and on and on and on...

• Everybody Dies in This Novel by Beka Adamshvili - I can officially now cross Georgia off my list of countries in my journey to read translated works from around the world. This book was postmodern and doing a lot of playing with form, so unfortunately it didn't really do anything for me. The blurb on the back led me to believe it would be more plot driven than it actually was. Still, the author does have another book that's been translated into English and I'd be willing to read it down the road.

• When You See My Mother, Ask Her to Dance: Poems by Joan Baez - A writer, artist, and activist since the mid 20th century, this collection of Baez's poems are written largely about her coming of age years, both from her point of view and by the multiple personalities that would occupy her as she endured mental health challenges.

• The Cafe with No Name by Robert Seethaler - Another one for my reading quest around the world, this book comes from Austria and tells the story of a small cafe in Vienna over the course of several decades. The focus is on the owner, but readers also get plenty of time with the regulars who come in and out of the cafe's doors over time.

• Back After This by Linda Holmes - Fact: I listen to Linda Holmes many days each week as a subscriber to the NPR podcast Pop Culture Happy Hour. I've read each of her previous two novels, and this one just left me with a smile. As a single woman in my 30s who is bad at dating but good at her career and trying her best to take care of people around her (even when they haven't asked for it necessarily), this one hit home with me. Now if only I could also have a series of meet-cutes with a Hot Waiter or have a dating coach arrive and offer to set me up on 20 first dates...