January 2021

Another month of quarantine but maybe there's a little light coming--I got my first (of two) jab of the Pfizer  Covid vaccine. So here is the total of my outside contacts. Not impressive. 

Errands  etc.

1/2 Library to pick up holds.

1/8 Library returns; Lyman Orchards for produce & bread. 

1/12 ditto of 1/8

1/21 cvs

1/21-??? phone problem

1/25 covid vaccine dose 1

1/26 land phone repair (a stranger had to enter our house!)

Most of the  reading this month was good. A mixed bunch. Five from my shelves (first group), two Advance review copies (second group), and eleven from public libraries (third group plus the nonfiction). Of the fiction, Polar Vortex was the only one I didn't like at all. The Smiley, Moore, and Osman books were fun light reading. I needed that!

 

In nonfiction, The Dan Rather book was the weakest. I just didn't learn anything from it at all, certainly not what the title suggests.

 

Finally, I spent a lot more of my online time reading stuff other than the news. Still, it was such a pleasure to see competence that I became addicted to White House Press Briefings on CSPN.

 

Fiction
The Regal Lemon Tree by Saer, Juan José
That We May Live by Si'an, Chen and others, various translators (Short Chinese speculative fiction.)
Joseph Walser's Machine by Tavares, Gonçalo M.
Harmada by Noll, João Gilberto
Life Went On Anyway: Stories by Sentsov, Oleg

 

Here Lies a Father by Cassidy, Mckenzie (ARC via LibraryThing. Coming of age--surprised I liked it.)

Polar Vortex by Mootoo, Shani (ARC via LibraryThing. I didn't like it at all.)

Perestroika in Paris by Smiley, Jane
Facing the Bridge by Tawada, Yōko
Igifu by Mukasonga, Scholastique
Missing Person by Modiano, Patrick
The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng
Hamnet by O'Farrell, Maggie
Shakespeare for Squirrels by Moore, Christopher
The Thursday Murder Club by Osman, Richard

Nonfiction

Fifth Sun: A New History of the Aztecs by Townsend, Camilla
City Squares: Eighteen Writers on the Spirit and Significance of Squares Around the World edited by Marron, Catie
What Unites Us: Reflections on Patriotism by Rather, Dan
      

Online

Gamey Meat: Here’s the Deal by Hank Shaw

Shaw's blog -- Hunter-Angler-Gardner-Cook -- is always a good read even if one isn't into game meat, foraging, etc. 

 

The History of Esculent Fish By Roger North. 

Includes descriptions of several edible fish and an essay on the breeding of fish and construction of fishponds. There are notes on what the fish eat, where to find them and how to catch them, but nothing about preparation and cooking. The plates, drawn and engraved by Eleazar Albin are what made me want to keep going back to this. Here is his Haddock:

The Smoky Valley  by Birger Sandzén

 I found this on Gutenberg and it was a nice introduction to an artist I'd never heard of. However the works are all in black and white so it was nice to find a resource that has them in color.

Birger Sandzén Memorial Gallery 

2020 What did I know? When did I know it?

I just checked my posts for December 2019 and January 2020. It seems I didn't do a 2019 wrap, nor did I say anything about plans for 2020. Did I somehow have a hint that 2020 would be crap?

I did set a Goodreads goal of 200. Surprisingly I didn't meet it even though at times it seemed that all I did was read. But a lot of that reading was online stuff that wasn't worth recording here. 

What I miss most during quarantine? My weekly Mahjong games, my several times a week water exercise class, the day trips to explore Connecticut with stops for lunch & ice cream, and browsing the library shelves. (I did a lot of online browsing and curbside pick up, but I miss going inside.)

Are there any positives from the quarantine process? Perhaps. We did discover some new places to shop for food. A farm market in Durham (CT), a couple of wholesale/restaurant supply places in Hartford that sell vegetable and fruit boxes to the public (one also partners with restaurants for weekly dinner boxes), and some new (to us) small markets.

We also discovered a few new (again, to us) outdoor spaces.

As far as reading goes the quarantine hasn't changed my habits much. I think I may have read more biography and nonfiction then in the recent past. And, contrary to what I expected when this all began, I read fewer short stories.  Because my daughter actually braved going inside a couple of libraries she picked some things she thought might interest me. Many of them did and I think she and I spent a little more time than usual discussing books.

So what about 2021? 

Goodreads Challenge: I read 156 (out of a goal of 200) in 2020. I think I won't make 200 this year because if the quarantine thing begins to ease I'll be spending more time "doing other things" so I'll aim for 150 and, as usual, I won't fret if I fall behind. 

As far as what I read, I'll just let that develop. Some of that will depend on which library holds get filled. I probably won't join any reading challenges but might listen & watch to more bookish (and other) media stuff (podcasts & video).

First up: Finish library books that are due next week*, then there are the holds waiting to be picked up**, the books I received as birthday & Christmas gifts***, four or five Goodreads, LibraryThing, & other review copies****, etc, etc, etc. That pretty much takes care of January & February. For the rest of the year? Whatever.

*What unites us : reflections on patriotism; Rather, Dan   

(Plus the ones checked out on my daughter's card)

 **A thousand moons on a thousand rivers; Xiao, Lihong
City squares : eighteen writers on the spirit and significance of squares around the world
Perestroika In Paris: a novel; Smiley, Jane,
Igifu; Mukasonga, Scholastique,
The end of a family story : a novel; Nádas, Péter

*** Leapfrog and Other Stories; Rosales

Illogic of Kassel; Vila-Matos

The Tragedy of the Street of Flowers; Eca de Queiroz

Facing the Bridge; Tawada

Joseph Walser's Machine; Tavares

Reading is Walking; Taveres (currently reading)  

**** Too many to list! Where did I even put them?