A Reading Report
I was traveling for the first half (and more) of this month, and so I fell a bit behind on my reading notes. But I’ve now posted notes on books that I finished reading in April and added notes for the first few books I’ve completed this month as well.
It’s quite a diverse list, and the authors and themes are broader than what I proposed in my most recent revision (or re-revision) of my reading plan. One reason for the breadth is that I was committed to completing books I was reading before that revision; and another is that I simply can’t resist picking up a book that I find particularly interesting. Visiting bookstores while traveling means exploring other collections and presentations of new books.
April books worth highlighting are Lindsey Stonebridge’s fascinating and insightful book about Hannah Arendt and Robert Zaretsky’s book about Simone Weil. Both Arendt and Weil are regaining currency in today’s political and cultural climate. If you’re interested in these women, whether you’ve pursued that interest or not, I think these two books are well worth reading. Laura Beer’s book on Orwell is also a good read, bringing the Brave New World and other themes into today’s troubled times. Jack Fairweather’s account of the life and work of the German judge and prosecutor Fritz Bauer helped me to understand how Bauer pushed Germans to face their responsibility for the Holocaust is crucial.
A comment about the May list. I wrote last month about my favorite independent bookstores; In my travels this month I discovered a few more of those stores and revisited some on the list, and found a few books that I couldn’t resist even though they’re outside the boundaries of my current reading plan. One of those is Dust and Light, by Andrea Barrett. Her account of how her research informs her fiction is both entertaining and perceptive. Lauren Markham’s account of her endeavor to find a way to grieve the world we’re losing in the climate crisis is poignant. And Griffin Dunne’s account of his life in the fast and famous lane is … well, I think I’ll leave that one off stage.
I’ve no idea whether others find these reading notes helpful. If you’re inclined, please leave a note, whether that’s to challenge my interpretation of a text or to celebrate with me the value of a book well written. Whether they’re helpful to others or not, the discipline of writing them and the accountability enforced by posting them publicly, is good for me. I hope I can maintain the discipline.