Space Station Mir

For the first time in many years, it looks like I will not hit my annual reading goal (52)--and that's okay. It has been a rough year at times, and I've turned more to television shows and movies than to books. That's okay. Maybe next year I will turn more to books or maybe I can start writing more about the TV I've been watching (Netflix's Wednesday was everything I could have hoped for). I have still read some truly excellent books this year, which I will post about soon, and I've spent some time reading and savoring books of poetry, nonfiction, or literary magazines over longer periods of time. I'll update this list if I do manage to finish anything else before the new year. Books Read This Month Sailing Alone Around the Room by Billy Collins--I enjoy Collins' poetry, which tends to be accessible and also center on a lot of wordplay, although a few of these did not age well. Collins is an older poet whose gender essentialism makes it to the forefront ...

So, it's not National Poetry Month anymore , but I read poetry anyway! I liked individual poems I'd read by Billy Collins, specifically "Introduction to Poetry," so awhile ago, I picked up Sailing Alone Around the Room . Probably when I was in that phase a few years ago when I thought I should read poetry, but I didn't really want to. I picked up The Romantic Dogs by Roberto Bolaño around the same time. I remember buying the latter at Kramerbooks . So, earlier last month, I put both books in my purse and walked around with them for a while, like I did Leigh Stein's Dispatch from the Future and Liliana Ursu's Lightwall . I guess I must read books of poetry in twos, one in English and one in translation? No, I have no idea what the reason is for this completely random trend. I also bought both of those books way before I read them. But I think the trick with poetry (for me) has been both forcing myself into the opportunity of reading poetry AND...