Shannan, I work in a Title 1 school so I am so glad you brought Learning In Public to my attention. I had not heard of it. The best books I read this past year were: Excellent Women by Barbara Pym (if you like English novels with clergy, parish doings and spinsters), The Overstory by Richard Powers (if you love trees), and Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry (if you grow sad when you hear one of the Old Ones from your town has passed away). Also in non-fiction, The Warmth of Other Suns -- but I bet you've already read that.
Always love hearing what you're reading/thinking & I love that you value the wide, glorious spectrum of authors. As I think I commented on your recent IG post about Abdurraqib's book, make sure to read his poetry also. In your year of increased fiction reading, I heartily recommend Danielle Evans's The Office of Historical Corrections. I also recommend anything by Tracy K. Smith. Her poetry is brilliant and her memoir Ordinary Light remains at the top of my "Best Ever Books" list (I think you would greatly appreciate her lyricism). She was also the creator and host of The Slowdown, a perfect pearl of a podcast (oops...that alliteration was unintended but I'll leave it because now I kind of like it), which is one of the best parts of my weekdays (sometimes THE best part). After Smith left to pursue other projects, the podcast eventually resumed with Ada Limòn at the helm, which was a thrill to me since she was already one of my favorite poets. All that to say: read Limòn and listen to The Slowdown.
Jan 8, 2022·edited Jan 8, 2022Liked by Shannan Martin
Hi Shannan thanks so much for your list of favorite books. I had worked two jobs for the past 7 years and sadly didn’t have time to finish one single book until last fall when I left one of my jobs to get my home ready to sell to downsize and move closer to where my grown daughters live. But I read two wonderful books. The first was Enter Wild by Carlos Whittaker and the second was The Ministry of Ordinary Places. They were both a joy to read and I can’t tell you how good it felt to finish two books! I have falling free somewhere in the mix of my belongings that I’m planning to move to my new apartment next week. So it will be the first book I read for 2022. But I definitely have a couple from your 2021 list that I’m planning to read after that! God bless you and I am thankful for your words (and your salsa recipe! 💃🏻)
Shannan, I work in a Title 1 school so I am so glad you brought Learning In Public to my attention. I had not heard of it. The best books I read this past year were: Excellent Women by Barbara Pym (if you like English novels with clergy, parish doings and spinsters), The Overstory by Richard Powers (if you love trees), and Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry (if you grow sad when you hear one of the Old Ones from your town has passed away). Also in non-fiction, The Warmth of Other Suns -- but I bet you've already read that.
Always love hearing what you're reading/thinking & I love that you value the wide, glorious spectrum of authors. As I think I commented on your recent IG post about Abdurraqib's book, make sure to read his poetry also. In your year of increased fiction reading, I heartily recommend Danielle Evans's The Office of Historical Corrections. I also recommend anything by Tracy K. Smith. Her poetry is brilliant and her memoir Ordinary Light remains at the top of my "Best Ever Books" list (I think you would greatly appreciate her lyricism). She was also the creator and host of The Slowdown, a perfect pearl of a podcast (oops...that alliteration was unintended but I'll leave it because now I kind of like it), which is one of the best parts of my weekdays (sometimes THE best part). After Smith left to pursue other projects, the podcast eventually resumed with Ada Limòn at the helm, which was a thrill to me since she was already one of my favorite poets. All that to say: read Limòn and listen to The Slowdown.
Hi Shannan thanks so much for your list of favorite books. I had worked two jobs for the past 7 years and sadly didn’t have time to finish one single book until last fall when I left one of my jobs to get my home ready to sell to downsize and move closer to where my grown daughters live. But I read two wonderful books. The first was Enter Wild by Carlos Whittaker and the second was The Ministry of Ordinary Places. They were both a joy to read and I can’t tell you how good it felt to finish two books! I have falling free somewhere in the mix of my belongings that I’m planning to move to my new apartment next week. So it will be the first book I read for 2022. But I definitely have a couple from your 2021 list that I’m planning to read after that! God bless you and I am thankful for your words (and your salsa recipe! 💃🏻)