2023
What I Read in May 2023
I made it a good way through the Joy Harjo collection I mentioned last month, but it isn’t quite done yet. The onset of spring (Summer? Does summer in Duluth really start until July?) and a wonderful trip to Montreal meant that I wound up focusing on other books. I’ll have it done soon, though. Montreal meant a slower pace overall, with a few big sci-fi novels taking over much of my reading time. I’m not sure if Adrian Tchaikovsky’s work is my all-time favorite, but it makes for good summer reading. Children of Time’s spiders are delicious fun.
What I Read in April 2023
It’s early May in Duluth, which means that though our days are cold, they are very long, they light is beautiful, and the lake looks inviting. I have tried to get outside a little more, but the books keep coming anyway. I’m not sure what’s up next — I need to finish a collection of poetry by Joy Harjo before I can pick something else out — but I’m looking forward to whatever it is. In the meantime, I wish everyone pleasant weather, fresh air, and happy reading.
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Learning About Classical Music
What I’ve Tried In The Past
Going into this, I’ll own that I haven’t made a great go of learning about classical music in the past. I’ve tried, but in large part that process has consisted of searching for articles with titles like “How To Get Into Classical Music” or “9 Pieces To Make You Fall In Love With Classical Music.” Maybe those articles work for someone? They’re romantic, right? The idea that a single piece of music could somehow instantaneously hook someone into music that is, in many ways, divorced from the music at the center of our popular culture is cool. It’s also wild! I think classical music needs a little more unpacking than those articles provide, not because the music is completely inaccessible, but because a little bit of context goes a long way in the learning process.
What I Read in March 2023
March is a struggle anywhere, but Duluth, Minnesota does its best to make the month feel eternal. The advent of April has given us what will, I hope, be our final snow for the year, but March was still horrid. The inches of ice just past my front steps attest to that.
Reading-wise, I’ve picked things up again after February. I read the books below in a jumble, some of them on top of others, and in odd ways I thought they had a lot to say to each other. R.F. Kuang’s Babel, which depicts a colonialist Britain powered by the magic of translation, is an interesting read alongside the biting sarcasm and privilege of Mary Rodgers’s Shy and the shifting meanings of Anne Washburn’s post-apocalyptic fantasy Mr. Burns. An odd combo, maybe, but they clicked for me.
A Playlist of Latter-Day David Bowie Songs
Below is a playlist of my favorite Bowie songs from the ‘90s on. We’re starting with 1993’s Black Tie White Noise and ending with Blackstar (his final album) in 2016. After that, I’ve highlighted three songs I think should get some particular notice. Each track should, really, but you’re not here to read a whole book on Bowie. Three highlights it is. Listen, though, to all of them. They deserve your time.