Book Recommendations

Let's do some book recommendations by month, shall we? I got this idea some time last year, and am late getting this January one out, but better late than never. Let's not wait till next year to test out our funky ideas. So, if you're wanting a new book to finish out the month with, a little inspiration trickling in as the year goes by... I've got some suggestions!

Some of the books that I have designated by month have a strong setting in a certain time of year. Others just seem to fit the mood, a sort of aesthetic color-scheme by season. As I've chosen for each month, I've included many that I reread yearly, along with others that I hope will introduce you to something new, inspire your imagination, or be just the delightful escapism that you need. If these don't strike your fancy, but you're stuck looking for something new, comment a few of your favorites, and I'll try to come up with a fresh read for you.

 

I've gone with three for each month, and for January I chose...

A Gentleman in Moscow

This gem from Amor Towles is one of my absolutely-every-year reads. I notice new things, savor the prose, and bask in the life-affirming encouragement through humor, intelligence, and pathos. I've waxed about this one before, so I'll keep this brief, but its so much more than a synopsis could say. In Moscow, between the wars, a man gets on the wrong side of the Bolsheviks, and is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol Hotel, for life. Instead of letting this be the end of his story, he brings all his wit and wisdom to bear on his new circumstances, and carves out a life both unexpected and full of life and influence. It is all at once a historical snapshot, a witty commentary, a cozy saga, and a call to action.

 

Innocence

Now, it's been a couple years since I read this one, so the details aren't sharp enough to give you a play-by-play (not that I'm into spoilers anyway). But this book is full of snowy streets, secret retreats, dangerous adventures in libraries, and a deeper story full of intrigue, bravery, anguish, hope, and beauty. I've never actually read any other books by Dean Koontz, and wonder how his others measure up to this one, and its satisfying narrative of suspense and soul.

 

The Reluctant Widow 

This one is pure enjoyment. Hilarious, quick-witted, and well spun, this is one of my favorites from Georgette Heyer. Georgette's best feel like a cross between Jane Austen and P.G. Wodehouse, I'd have to say. And what a conjunction. Regency drama, sharp banter, comical side-characters, and a mysterious plot. It's just what I need during a January slump, and the audible reader is perfect too. Grab a cup of tea and prepare to be diverted!

 

I know the world has gone the way of booktok and bookstagram, and I know I spend more time with my nose stuck in my phone than in my books these days... But here's to picking up the best of novels, to writing poetry in your spare moments throughout the day, to sniffing the aroma of old bindings, to finishing the next short story segment you promised. To reading before bed, on holiday, on public transport, to listening to audiobooks in your earbuds. Here's to hand-written letters, Shakespearean sonnets, the well-thumbed copy of Percy Jackson by your bed. And that obscure fictional character that made you feel brave.

Some things stay the same

Sometimes after the burst of newness at the turn of the year, I like to look around and see what hasn't changed. What stays the same, as the world turns and all its residents step into January looking for a new lease on life? Through all the reversals and new directions of the last year, and even the first weeks of this one, some things carry on. 

I still dance to the music, spiderman is always amazing, friends come in clutch on hard nights, book stacks are exciting. Family is dear, Adele is fire, fried potatoes are worth it; and you can still frequently find me of an evening, turning on jazz, sipping wine or herbal tea in my satin pajamas, writing away at some article or project.

As often happens, difficult circumstances weren't long in coming to my shiny new year. There will always be those, whether or not they come from expected quarters. And this week, to top it off, I've come down with a pernicious cold (rapid tests two days in a row say no covid, but it's nasty either way). I've been home from work, sipping tea and cooking vegetables and soup, watching movies and embroidering.

But if the universe is trying to challenge my resolve to my word-for-2022  flourish,  it needn't bother. Flourishing is all about letting the buffeting wind make you strong, about living with grace and gentleness to yourself and others, about taking as many tries as needed to clear a hurdle. It's about looking around you and seeing what is still beautiful, and about embracing that extra flair in yourself.

I had more thoughts, but my brain has been scrambled by this germ, and so I'll close out for tonight and return another day. But my adventurous, writing, Jo soul is glad to be here. I have plans for book recommendations, and other fun posts. Give yourselves grace to step back, rest, and thrive, my dears. I'll see you soon

2022

Happy New Year!

Cheers to you and yours!

How are you going to cultivate hope this year?

On New Year's Eve I listened to a year-end podcast, wrote my 2021 blogpost, wiped down my yoga mat and did a yoga practice for new beginnings, cleaned up my house a bit, and set up a little charcuterie and champagne for a quiet evening in. I checked my books read for the year, and I'm up to 81! My scrubs are clean for my 6am work-start. And I've chosen a word or two for my year ahead.

It didn't feel much like a resolution year to me. The things dearest to my heart are hard to quantify or predict. Those things that always make it onto my list, like exercise or writing more, tend to wax and wane regardless of what I decide on January 1st. So it looks like this:

I am a non-professional writer. I am excited about some projects I'm working on.

I am an amateur yogi. I choose to make daily yoga a part of my routine.

And on from there, I have some quiet personal lists to work on.

But I liked the idea of having a single word of the year, and I thought I'd try it out in 2022. As with resolutions, it is impossible to predict how a year may look, and so I am fully prepared to find it humorous in twelve months' time, but I hope it inspires me in the meantime.

As I sorted through words, I landed on one that I had not expected; like a nickname that is first used off-hand and then somehow sticks. I said it over a few times (and I liked the way it felt in my mouth) and it scared me a little. Was it too hopeful? To anyone who has battled depression or anything in that universe, there is a genuine aversion to tempting fate. But the more I thought about it, the more I liked it. I want it to be true, no matter what I have to walk through, no matter what life throws at me. Through the ups and downs, the wholeness and the happiness and the gritty day-to-day. 

So let's do this thing!

My word is   Flourish

It means to thrive. To grow or develop in a healthy, lively way.

It means bold and sometimes extravagant gestures, added flair

Art for its own sake

It has this sense of movement with joy 

It even reminds me of prana and sukha in yoga practice, the meeting of energy and ease

I'm thinking...

bloom where you're planted

show up with soul

overdress a little

take up space

dance unconcernedly

fear not the pizzazz

 What do you think?