The Book Stack

In mid-March, just before the public libraries closed for what would turn out to be a very long time, I stopped by my local branch in hopes that two of my book club holds had arrived. (I’m in three separate book clubs these days.) They had not made it to the shelf in time. So I went to the new books display and the fiction stacks, and loaded up on anything that looked interesting for the duration. This is how I used to do it as a kid—pile up a stack of books between the length of my arms and my chin. Should I have felt guilty for taking so many? Nah, no one else could sign them out for a long time, anyway. Then I supplemented this stack with my Kindle, home library, and bookstore orders.

Here’s my pandemic reading to date:

I have completely devoured these books:
Know My Name by Chanel Miller
Becoming by Michelle Obama
The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates
The Dive From Clausen’s Pier by Ann Packer
The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls (Second read)
The Color of Love by Marra B. Gad
Pretty Things by Janelle Brown (See me In Conversation with Janelle about this book)
The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom
The Overstory by Richard Powers
Normal People by Sally Rooney (Read after obsessively watching the TV series)
Thinking in Pictures by Temple Grandin
On Division by Goldie Goldbloom (Led a temple book club on this one)
The Atlas of Reds and Blues by Devi Laskar (Second read and the fabulous Devi dropped by our virtual book club)
Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

Plus I sampled at least a dozen others. So many riches!

I’m currently reading:
There There by Tommy Orange
Story Genius by Lisa Cron
Forgive for Good by Dr. Fred Luskin (My husband saw this and asked if he did something wrong.)

Up Next
Fight Club by Chuck Palahnjuk (No spoilers—I haven’t seen the movie yet!)
Inland by Tea Obreht (brand new—check out this recent conversation with her at Book Passage.)
Ordinary Light by Tracy K. Smith
Deep Work by Cal Newport
Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney
Watch Me Disappear by Janelle Brown
White Fragility by Robin DeAngelo
Book of V. By Anna Solomon
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

And Lots and Lots of others calling my name!

The San Mateo County Public Libraries are still closed, but have arranged curbside pick-up and drop-off. Thank you, libraries! You make things happen! And…thank you, wonderful authors! And it’s finally time for me to return my stack of library books. At least the ones other people are waiting for. Farewell, sweet books. You have enriched my days and nights.

My next post will dive into the confluence of memory that emerged from my back to back readings of Ta-Nehisi Coates’ The Water Dancer and Ann Packer’s The Dive From Clausen’s Pier. I hardly came up for air!