Hi reader,
A few thoughts on books I won't include in full reading reviews.
Blue Nights by Joan Didion (August 2021)
I generally wait a couple more months before I post my thoughts on a recently finished book, but I had my conclusions regarding Blue Nights ready to go just a couple of days after completion - Joan Didion's daughter died, then she wrote this book about it, and I think that's about the most appropriate thing I can say in a review. There is always the temptation to talk about this kind of book like any other, and maybe at some point in the past my immaturity would indulge this urge, but every time I came across a part of the work that I couldn't quite fit into the broader frame of the book I would remind myself of the immense courage required to pick up the pen in the face of such a personal tragedy. I think a reader who can keep this in mind will find something worthwhile in Blue Nights that may prove elusive for those who will regard this like any of the others on the shelf.
Glimpses of Grace by Madeleine L'Engle (July 2021)
This collection arranges selected passages from L'Engle's five decades into three hundred sixty-six daily readings. In addition to its demonstration of the proper respect for leap years, I was generally impressed with the concept of the work and I ended up pulling quite a few interesting observations into my book notes. The fact that sticks out about my notes is how the collection covered more than L'Engle's meditations on scripture, which I think worked better for me. As the author herself notes, what someone says about God reveals more about the speaker than about God, and from my point of view (as well as those of my former readers, I'm sure) it's hard to read writers who are constantly speaking about themselves.
Ultimately, my thought on whether I can recommend this book follows the same type of logic I'll employ when suggesting whether one should attend the first of what will surely be many U2 farewell tours - do you like what you already know about the artist? (That is, do you count to fourteen on one hand?) If you've never read her work, it's probably not advisable to pick up Glimpses of Grace, but I suppose the counter is that there might not be another chance for an introduction.
Intimations by Zadie Smith (May 2021)
This tiny collection of six essays, all of them written in the first few weeks of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, proved for me to be an enjoyable but mostly forgettable reading experience. I think reviewing my book notes strengthened my conviction - there are some important ideas, but for me commentary on universal healthcare, privilege, or America's unspoken terror of facing death are mostly review exercises. Her essay that mused on the importance of finding things to do just to pass the sheer amount of time felt like something between a wink and a dig at TOA, but it doesn't matter - I'm happy with either interpretation.
