My April reading was a mish-mash of whatever books I had ready to hand, so I couldn't really come up with any connection to riff on in the intro. Instead I thought of the word olio, and figured I should just take the opportunity to recommend Tyehimba Jess' really excellent book: OLIO
Rambling introduction accomplished.
The problem with being on a book publisher's email list is sometimes they send me pictures of their newly published books and then I think, "Ooh, those look cool. I bet I would like reading those..." and now I have more books in my house that I didn't even know existed before that email arrived. I'm weak.
"Attila" is the final work of Aliocha Coll, an experimental Spanish writer. It's described as "untranslatable" and "a stunning labryinth of allegory and metaphor". Should be fun!
"Attila" is a fictionalized version of Coll's attempts to finish "Attila" and a meditation on authors that continue to be dedicated to their vision in the face of failure and dismissal. More fun!
Books Read in April:
"Wizard of the Crow" was big and mythic and interesting and I really wish is had stuck the landing at the end of its 760 pages. It's the story of a fictional modern African nation that must deal with a despot, colonialism, exploitation, and history. Magic and reason are both employed (sometimes) and it ends up quite often feeling like a myth or a parable in a really interesting way.
"Ordinary Wolves" was a really arresting book. It told only its own story. The main character, Cutuk, grows up in an igloo in remote Alaska and then must find his place inside or outside of society. He hunts, he moves to Anchorage, he moves back to the tundra. He has people that he looks up to and those he fears. A good coming-of-age narrative, but with a unique perspective on the world.
"Tongues" was a graphic novel that retells the Promethean myth with a post-apocalyptic bent. It was interesting enough that I'll read volume 2 when it arrives, but I wasn't blown away.
After reading Wizard of the Crow, I've read all but one book that I bought in 2024, and that book is one that was added to my order for free because the publisher messed up my order, so in a way I didn't really buy that book?
Books bought in April = 2
(2025 total = 10)
Books previously bought that I read in April = 3
(2025 total = 16)
April books
Finity (J. Barnes)
The City and its Uncertain Walls (Murakami)
Finity was fun and interesting. A different take on multiverses.
The Murakami was ... not fun. Some interesting ideas, but it was a slog, and the dialogue was padded with a ton of repetition. It seemed as though every time one character asked a second a question, the second character would repeat it, with a "is that what you are asking?" Ugh.
Thinking about reading Don Quixote this summer. Probably not until late June or July, but expect that to come up in future FMBD posts.
I started reading Jeff VanderMeer's City of Saints and Madmen. I don't think I am long for this one (and I almost never give up on fiction books).
The weird foreward from Michael Moorcock should have been a hint.
I finished Paddy Clarke HaHaHa last week. Very Irish.
My only book this last quarter was the digital rental text book (Chapin, 2009) for NRE 5200 Sustainable Natural Resource Mgmt. Just checked in my final exam (open book, imagine that) this morning.
Several firsts: First class since grad school, first on-line/async class, first UConn class, first digital text book. Worked out well though even with travel to MN & Japan. I paid out of pocket for tuition, although I think CT is supposed to cover for the 62+ club.
References
F.S. Chapin, III, et al. (2009). Resilience-based Stewardship: Strategies for Navigating Sustainable Pathways in a Changing World. Pp. 319-337 in F.S. Chapin, III, G.P. Kofinas, and C. Folke, Editors. Principles of Ecosystem Stewardship. Springer, New York. F.S. Chapin, III, G.P. Kofinas, and C. Folke, Editors. Principles of Ecosystem Stewardship. Springer, New York.