Alright, friends. I have officially been defeated. What with prioritizing school, work, the occasional freelance job, and my other writings, I have given up on trying to keep this site’s reading list up to date. I’m sorry, dear blog: I love you, but I’m too far behind to catch up with my normal amount of poetic (read: possibly melodramatic) description. So, to get the non-IG folks caught up and to challenge my ability of concision, here is a list of what’s been read between January and August.
Enjoy!
1) The Lady and Her Monsters: A Tale of Dissections, Real-Life Dr. Frankensteins, and the Creation of Mary Shelley’s Masterpiece by Roseanne Montillo (4 out of 5): a wonderfully engaging non-fiction, combining the literature and science of the 19th century. Fans of classics, horror, science fiction, history, and my girl Mary Shelley will love it as much as I did. I couldn’t put it down: I learned much, and was inspired to research more into that world. Utterly fascinating.
2) The Daughter of Sherlock Holmes by Leonard Goldberg (3.5 out of 5): a fiction surrounding the titular character and her adventures with Dr. Watson’s son. As an avid Holmesian (I will read/watch anything and everything having to do with Sherlock Holmes), I wanted to like this more than I did. Still enjoyable, just vaguely disappointing.
3) Without Apology: The Abortion Struggle Now by Jenny Brown (5 out of 5): a non-fiction surrounding the American abortion rights movement. Written both with fact and memoir aspects, this is in my top three non-fiction reads of all time. So very, very good and so very, very touching.
4) Venus in Fur by David Ives (2.5 out of 5): a play based off Leopold von Sacher-Masoch’s 1870 novel about sadomasochism. The characters were interesting, but the plot felt off, and struggled to hold my attention. Perhaps I’d like it better if I saw it onstage.
5) Aliens by Annie Baker (3.5 out of 5): a play set in small-town Vermont, following two thirtysomething men who decide to teach a teenage boy all they know about life, love, and suffering. Engaging and surprisingly heartbreaking, this play packs a punch. I see why many enjoy it. I gave it a solid 3.5, though, simply for the fact that it isn’t quite for me.
6) The Wolves by Sarah DeLappe (4.5 out of 5): a play following the lives of a high school girls’ soccer team. I see why this play has made waves since its premiere. It is phenomenal, equal parts witty, philosophical, ridiculous, and painfully human. I highly recommend.
7) The Girls in the Picture by Melanie Benjamin (4 out of 5): a novel following the intertwined lives of Frances Marion and Mary Pickford, best friends and superstars of the silent film era. I very much enjoyed this book: not only is it a fascinating time in history, but these two women are incredibly complex: badass and maternal, fearless and frightened, hard-working and panicked, heroes and villains. Well-researched and well-written, its pages flew by.
8) Sections of The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer (3.5 out of 5): a classic Middle English collection of stories, following a group of strangers on their pilgrimage across England. Though I read this for class, I’m including it here, as I greatly enjoyed it. I’d like to read the full collection someday. It’s an eye-opening view of a historical people we tend to see as boring, overly pious, and the like: they were human, too, and these show it.
9) The Red Scrolls of Magic by Cassandra Clare (5 out of 5): a companion novel to the Shadowhunters Chronicles, following Alec and Magnus on a European vacation that goes horribly awry. I will forever give Cassandra Clare a 5-star rating. Nearly incomparable character design, a perfect balance of tragedy and comedy, an engaging plot with much continuity, and epic world design: perfection.
10) Heroes of the Fourth Turning by Will Arbery (3.5 out of 5): a play, following several young conservatives upon their reunion in their small Wyoming college town to honor their favorite professor. As this is a point of view not often seen in theatre, I was intrigued from the start. Philosophical, artistic, and humanizing, Arbery offers an empathetic view, shedding light on situations usually left unspoken. I only docked a few points due to a couple monologues that felt rambly. So are humans, though, I suppose.
11) The Poetry of Oscar Wilde by Oscar Wilde (4 out of 5): a collection of Oscar Wilde’s poetry. Oscar is one of my literary bois, so I ate this up. My only complaint—as is fair to say of Wilde—is that he knows he’s smarter than most, and makes sure to flex that muscle and rub it in one’s face as often as he can. I had to Google many a phrase or reference. Still, enjoyable: my favorites were “The Harlot’s House,” “Ravenna,” “Roses and Rue,” “The Ballad of Reading Gaol,” and “The Grave of Shelley.”
12) ½ of Reading the Silver Screen: A Film Lover's Guide to Decoding the Art Form That Moves by Thomas C. Foster (2 out of 5): a non-fiction teaching the analysis of film. This is the first book in several years that I’ve had to stop reading, I was so bored out of my mind. It was very dry, and felt a little elitist. I love non-fiction, but this put me to sleep. Sorry, Thomas.
13) A Feminine Ending by Sarah Treem (5 out of 5): a play following a female composer in her relationship and self-belief trials and tribulations. This is now one of my favorite plays of all-time. Heart-wrenching, human, and hilarious, I read it in only an hour or so, in between classes. Truly brilliant.
14) The Case for Jamie by Brittany Cavallaro (4.5 out of 5): the third installment in the Charlotte Holmes series, exploring the fallout between Charlotte and Jamie from The Last of August. This YA series is one of my favorites: Holmesian, clever, nerdy, and fun, with phenomenal characters and a way of addressing serious worldly issues that hits just right. For Holmes newbies and veterans alike, I highly recommend this saga.
15) The Devil in the Shape of a Woman: Witchcraft in Colonial New England by Carol F. Karlsen (3.5 out of 5): a non-fiction exploring the history and happening of witchcraft in the early American colonies. While a little dry, this book was fascinating and eye-opening: analyzing the witchcraft phenomenon from places religious, economic, social, and cultural, I learned quite a bit. It even inspired a new angle for the play I’ve recently written. :) If read, you’ll have to fight through a few of the more number-heavy chapters (unless you’re a math lover, in which case power to you!), but it is well worth it.
16) Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare (5 out of 5): the first in Clare’s new Edwardian-era trilogy, this time centered on Cordelia Carstairs and James Herondale. As I covered earlier, perfection. Perhaps I’m a little biased—and I will own up to that—but perfection. I can’t wait for Chain of Iron next year.
17) The Antiracism Starter Kit by L. Glenise Pike (4.5 out of 5): a PDF non-fiction acting as a starting point for antiracism education. I found this piece to be a definitive call-to-action. I’m in the continual process, now, of working through the list Pike gives about beginning topics to research: that, for me, was the most helpful. If you’d like the PDF, drop me a line – I’d be happy to send it to you. :)
18) Scout’s Honor: Sexual Abuse in America’s Most Trusted Institution by Patrick Boyle (4.75 out of 5): a non-fiction covering the pervasiveness of sexual abuse with the Boy Scouts of America, part historical analysis, part biography. This topic has been something close to my heart since early high school, and Boyle’s book made my heart ache and my mind scream. Though a hard read, it is a necessary one. Along with Without Apology, this is in my top three non-fiction reads of all-time. The only reason I took .25 off is because editors missed a couple grammar things that pulled my eye away. Sorry, Patrick!
19) Alice By Heart by Steven Sater (4.5 out of 5): a novel, based on Sater and Sheik’s musical, following two worlds: Alice, in a tube station during the Blitz of World War II, and Alice, in Wonderland. I found this book to be both intellectually stimulating and a bittersweet pull to the heart. Discussing grief, growing up, and escapism, Sater has crafted a beautiful, touching world. The only warning I would give? Have a dictionary nearby.
20) The Shortest History of Germany: From Julius Caesar to Angela Merkel—A Retelling for Our Times by James Hawes (4 out of 5): as the title says, a non-fiction giving its reader a concise viewing of Germany’s complicated history. I loved this book. My grandpa gave it to me, saying he thought I would enjoy it, and he was right. The way Hawes writes is both factual and witty. I was never bored, or really even confused (a feat for how many names and nations and peoples are stated). In addition, it is eerily apropos for the times we’re in now. You should read it.
21) Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler (4.5 out of 5): a novel following a year in the life of a New York City waitress, newly arrived from the Midwest. This book is written in one of the coolest ways I’ve ever seen. Chronological, but not necessarily linear, Danler uses every way of writing possible, I swear. The plot itself is simple, but the way in which it’s presented, the way in which the characters are built, is addictive. Read it before you watch the show, please. :)
22) The Mistresses of Cliveden: Three Centuries of Scandal, Power and Intrigue in an English Stately Home by Natalie Livingstone (3.5 out of 5): a non-fiction detailing the lives of Cliveden’s five mistresses over three centuries, rightly described with “scandal.” I grabbed this book off a Barnes & Noble sale rack when I was perusing the mall with Jay one day, loving the way it looked. It was quite good, though dragged on at times (I now know more about the politics of gardening than I ever thought I would). Its ladies inspired me, though, in a variety of ways: isn’t that all that matters?
Then, finally, if you’re interested, the purely academic reads:
· The Imaginary Invalid by Moliere
· The School for Scandal by Richard Sheridan
· The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde (a re-read for classwork)
· A hefty textbook for History of the English Language
· Parts of Paradise Lost by John Milton
· A veritable ream of Old English poetry
Outside of this list, there has been an amplitude of creative blogs, archives and articles (what up, nerdy dramaturgical work that I love), and staged new works. There’s been quite a bit of capital B brainthought happening in these past eight months, most of which I have brutally sucked at updating this little corner of the internet on. For that, I’m sorry – and now that school is back in session, I’m sure my presence will be even more limited.
Regardless, I hope you enjoyed this rambling jaunt down literary lane. If you want to talk about any of these (or want book recs, because I am the queen of those), I’m always here. Come nerd out with me!
I love you all, and I hope you are having a wondrous day!
~Rhiannon~
