February 2022 Reads

February can be the cruelest month. It’s so short, it’s the dredges of winter and don’t get me started on the long hard relationship I’ve had with Valentine’s day over the years. It also makes it a hard month to read a lot, but read I still did. So here’s February’s Reads.

The Library Book by Susan Orlean

This book had been on my to-read list since it was published in October of 2018 and I finally picked it up while doing some Christmas shopping at The Book Table. (Ed. Note: while shopping for books for others for gifts you are required to buy a book for yourself). Part deep dive into the mystery of who set the Los Angeles Central Library fire in 1986, part history of the Los Angeles Library system, part exploration of the current Los Angeles Central Library and part ode to all libraries, this book winds it’s way through all of these subjects. If you like libraries, you will like this book and you will want to go visit your local library (and for sure you will want to visit the Los Angeles Central Library which I plan on doing on my next trip to Los Angeles) . I will say, I was hoping for a clear resolution about the fire, but, well, as Susan Orlean found out, there really wasn’t one.

 

The Best American Short Stories 2021, editor Jesmyn Ward

The first Best American Short Stories collection I read was the 1991 edition, which was assigned to my
Independent Study Creative Writing Class in high school by the wonderful Kate Glass, and I’ve read every edition since. B.A.S.S. collects twenty stories chosen by a rotating guest editor as the best, which obviously is very subjective. Most years, I’ve read a handful of the stories in their original publication (this year I had already read five). Stories in this collection that stuck with me include “Clementine, Carmelita, Dog” by David Means, which is the best story every written from a dog’s point of view; “Playing Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain” by Jamil Jan Kochai; “The Last Days of Rodney” by Tracey Rose Peyton (who is from Chicago); and “In This Sort of World, the Asshole Wins” by Christina Romanosky. If you read one collection of short stories a year, it should be this one. But then you should go out an buy another or subscribe to some of the literary journals where these stories first appear.

 

Smithsonian, January/February 2022 Issue

There is so much in the issue. It starts with the history of potato chips, then the bug that saved the California citrus groves, the origins of snowboarding (or snurfing as it was originally called), and wraps up with The Wonder Bird, the Hudsonian godwit, which flies thousands of miles without stopping to eat, drink, sleep or rest. This is one of the best magazines out there.

The New Yorker, January 17^th, 2022 Issue

If you ever wanted to learn everything about permafrost, The Great Siberian Thaw will teach you more than you wanted to know. And on the Russian theme, check out Graham Swifts short story “Fireworks,” which is set during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

 

Outside Magazine, Jan/Feb 2022

Covid-19 made me subscribe to Outside magazine. Well, hiking Yosemite for a week during Covid-19 did. The Magazine is focused on the outdoors, includes travel tips, gear reviews, profiles, and amazing photography (even the photos in the ads are amazing). Any magazine is better when you know one the writers, and what a pleasure it was to read about “The Mexico You Don’t Know,” with contributions from long time family friend Kristin Gill.

For the kids

My curious youngest boy brought home "Bog Mummies, Where Did they come from?" sparking days worth of discussions about mummies in our house. Also, he just got his library card and brought home two "Who was" books: Benjamin Franklin (he tells us he wants to change his last name to Franklin) and Babe Ruth.

My middle-school daughter is currently reading two book: "The Sun is Also a Star" by Nicola Yoon (which is also on my to-read list) and "Becoming" by Michelle Obama (adapted for younger readers).