February Reads

2024

Cwen by Alice Albinia

This was a recommendation from someone. It’s set on the coast of the UK and involves islands, women, and the Divine Feminine.

I closed it and set it down for good around page 100. I wanted so much to like it!

I didn’t like it.

The writing is powerful and lovely. The first two pages absolutely captured me. It certainly wasn’t that I thought it was poorly written.

I realized I wanted to leave it out of my February Reads post altogether, and asked myself why. Answer: Because I don’t want to wrangle about politics and ideology. I hate labels and am wary of ideology (mine included).

I couldn’t get past the sense of division and hostility in this book between men and women. I wanted a story, but it seemed like a political treatise.

It's the fashion now to frame everyone as victims and oppressors. There always have been and always will be people who victimize and oppress others; it’s not new. But it’s certainly not all there is. A lifetime of observation and experience has taught me we’re complex individuals, which means social connection and structure is exponentially complex. Shoving all people into an us-against-them framework is, I think, ultimately self-destructive. It does not build connection, share power, or solve problems. It is not effective. It’s a dead end, a cul-de-sac for our species. None of us can redress the injustices and abominations of the past. All we can do is refuse to participate in such miserable practices now and treat each other and ourselves with respect, kindness and dignity. Social justice warriors and proponents of DEI pay lip service to that, but take the cause too far; now we’re all victims and we’re all oppressors, the justice warriors among the most oppressive. And that’s ridiculous. I refuse both labels, both stances, and don’t live in the world waiting for someone to victimize me or looking for someone to oppress. I don’t believe most people believe in that construct; though social censure has become frighteningly powerful.

The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen

I don’t normally read romance, at least not unadulterated romance, but this author seduced me years ago with Garden Spells. Her books are light, frothy, entertaining, and romantic with a liberal garnish of magic. I love her characters. Everything I want in good chic lit. She’s a great bedtime read because she’s entertaining without requiring any great mental or emotional effort. I think I’ve slowly collected everything she’s written now. This was the last one. I bought it used. It’s a keeper.

The Leviathan by Rosie Andrews

This was a recommendation from someone. I bought a used copy. It’s a gothic mystery, shades of supernatural with biblical underpinnings. I like this kind of writing and found it entertaining. I wanted to know what happened and read it all the way to the end. When I closed it, however, I felt vaguely unsatisfied. The book is harsh and bleak, but I don’t think that was a problem. Perhaps the delineation between “good” and “evil” was too stark. The older I get, the more attuned I am to complexity, and this felt quite black and white and left me unsatisfied. The virtuous woman sacrifices herself to evil so that others may be spared. Except they’re not. Anyway, I’ll pass this one along. I won’t read it again.

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

Another recommendation, and this is a find. It’s the first book in the Winternight Trilogy, set in mediaeval Russia. It’s full of Russian folklore and centers around the character of Vasilisa, who is one of my own characters. It’s Arden’s debut and I’ll be watching eagerly for where she goes from this trilogy. Absolutely wonderful. I’ve ordered the two remaining books in the trilogy; definite keepers.

Drinking the Rain by Alix Kates Shulman

I picked up this memoir for bedtime reading. It was handed to me some time ago, probably because it’s set off the coast of Maine, and has been waiting patiently in my to-read pile. It’s about a woman of approximately my age who spends a summer alone in a primitive house by the sea. It’s a gentle book about self-exploration and inquiry and the richness and abundance of simplicity. I passed it on when I finished, but I enjoyed it. A perfect bedtime read.

Of Sorrow and Such by Angela Slatter

Slatter is a new discovery. Dr. Sharon Blackie recommended one of her books, All the Murmuring Bones, which I bought and loved. Now all her work is on my wishlist. This is a short novel, part of a set of related tales about witches. It’s lovely. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I’m going to need to make room on my shelves to accommodate the rest of this author’s work.

The Long Field by Pamela Petro

A memoir about Wales, a place I’ve long been fascinated with, not only for its rich cultural storytelling, but its language, history and land. This is my current bedtime read. Petro and I walk the Welsh hills, watch the sheep, learn about the mining tradition that’s shaped so much of the land and ebb and flow of population. She explores the language, weaving it with the people and their history. Informative, lyrical, and filled with love, it’s an ideal bedtime read.

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

I’ve saved the best for last. This is the first book in the All Souls trilogy. It’s been made into a TV series which I have not seen but hear is pretty good. Harkness is obviously a talented scholar. The book is fascinating, intelligent, full of history, alchemy, and art. I’m a little tired of vampires and demons, but I haven’t read anything this exciting for some time. I could not put it down. I’m hooked. I’m reading my partner’s copies, but I may need to buy my own!

Substack:

Macey Phillips at

Theories of Haunting by Macey Phillips

is writing a serial I’m enjoying.

Bill Adler at

Fiction by Bill Adler

writes wonderful short stories. I haven’t read a bad one yet. Each one is different and quirky. At the end of each story, he invites readers to try another. It’s a rabbit hole I frequently fall down! Good marketing.

The incomparable

David Whyte

creates beautiful videos, posts poetry, workshop information, and essays exploring what it is to be human and our connection to the land.

Shaina Read at

Kindling

explores dark fiction. I enjoyed her serial, The Tube.

Gina Hogan Edwards at

Gina’s Quill

is writing an excellent serial called Dancing at the Orange Peel.

Questions? Comments? Recommendations? Did you have a different experience with any of these than I did? Talk to me about books!