Reading with Ally

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Tag: 2024

  • March Reading

    It’s basically half way through April, so it’s time to write about what I read in March! Which was…not much. I’m still not finished with A View of the River. So instead of finishing that, I started two new books!

    First, Upon Silver Wings II by CarolAnn Garratt and Carol Foy. They hold the world record for fastest flight around the world in a small plane (8 days!). Carol Foy came and talked to our 99s chapter and brought copies of her book. They are raising money for ALS research. So far, the book is a pretty easy read; it has a conversational feel and is one of those books that makes gigantic tasks, like flying around the world really fast, seem pretty simple. I’m only halfway through it so far, so I guess, metaphorically, I’m stuck in Thailand.

    Second, I started reading Dominion by Tom Holland. This book came recommended by a friend. It’s a narrative history of the impacts of Christianity on Western Culture. And honestly, it’s great. I was a little skeptical…”Christianity” and “Western Culture” are enormous topics. And, I read some about these topics in high school (see, The Sensate Culture, No Place for Truth, and All God’s Children in Blue Suede Shoes) and it was not fun. But this book is different. It’s strikingly narrative, in that, the story flows so smoothly. Holland does a great job of pulling out a thread from each era of church history and tying it into the great rope of ~society today~. I don’t know exactly how to describe it. But it’s really good. It’s probably not “100% historically accurate” or “100% theologically accurate”, but it really gets the job done. I’m not a theologian or a historian, I study narrative and infrastructure, and this book so far is great.

    And finally, I’ve started taking a lot of walks while listening to Dune. I bought the book on Audible several months ago and couldn’t really get into it. But I really enjoyed the movies and the soundtrack is full of bangerz. Now that I know the storyline, the book is much more interesting. Some books are like that and I’m not embarrassed about it.

    Travelling later on in the month and will probably read Radium Girls in the airport. I’ve heard mixed reviews on it…but it looks like an airport read.

    Hurray for….March!

  • February Reading

    After cranking through several books in December and January, I relaxed a little in February. The slower pace wasn’t intentional…really, I just got distracted learning how to knit socks. Now, I have to fit a few rows of knitting into my 45 morning minutes. Really delays the pace of reading. Smh, hobbies be hobbying.

    Anyways, for the month of February, I’ve been reading The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste and A View of the River by Luna B. Leopold. The Shadow King is my novel for Ethiopia. I’m about halfway through, and liking it so far. It takes place during WWII, during the Italian invasion of Ethiopia. I don’t know anything about that section of WWII, having grown up in the US and therefore more familiar with the European theatre and the Pacific theatre (did you know the Japanese used a strategy called Island Hopping?). There are some intense, although not graphic, sexual scenes in this novel, so it is one you want to be prepared to read.

    A View of the River is far slower paced. It’s something like a very short textbook and contains charts and graphs showing various river characteristics, such as bankfull flow vs. drainage area, how floodplain terraces are formed, et cetera. I picked it up because I’ve decided to get [more] serious about my career and you know, spend a little extra time outside of the work day getting the big picture view of things. As is typical with textbooks, some sections are easier to read than other sections. But on the whole, A View of the River is moving along with a good, steady flow.

    Since we’re already six days into March, I’d better get these wrapped up pronto. Easier said than done when you have your regular job, a ceiling to fix, miles to run, dinner to eat, a cat to be fed (and cat vomit to be cleaned up). But it’s the little things in life, bits of progress every day, and there is no rush or schedule to finish these books. Moving forward, I’m finding books for countries along the route of United Airlines’ Island Hopper…I’ve been feeling those end of winter winters and vibing to the Moana soundtrack and thinking about travelling through the warm skies.

  • December & January Reading

    In the last two years, I haven’t read as much as usual because I was studying for my private pilot certificate. Now that goal is accomplished and I can return to my usual volume. I’ve been asked how many hours per day I spend reading. The answer is: “Not that many.” I usually read for 30-45 minutes in the morning and maybe for 10 minutes at night. If I’m on an audiobook kick, I’ll listen to one while I’m jogging (30-40 minutes) or on a long drive (1-2 hours). Usually though, 30-45 minutes a day is all the reading I do. The key is doing that 30-45 minutes every day. And, of course, picking up books that you’re interested in finishing.

    I cranked through a backlog of books in December. Two for the country of India: Samskara: Rite for a Deadman and Coming out as Dalit: A Memoir. My neighbor keeps texting us about energy generation, so I was thinking about nuclear power, so I knocked Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster off the long-time list. And finally, an aviation adventure: North Star over my Shoulder: A Flying Life. Thoughts (not coordinated enough to be reviews) are linked.

    And so begins a new year. In progress already is Determined: A Science of Life without Free Will by Robert Sapolsky. In the mail are The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Deep Water Passage: A Spiritual Journey at Midlife, and The Shadow King: A Novel. I saw the Boys in the Boat movie over Christmas break and it had that sweaty academic aesthetic that makes you want to run a 5k and write something smart after a long walk-about in nature. So I figured I’d keep that energy going. I heard about Deep Water Passage over Instagram. Maddymarq had a particularly insightful post about the beauty of the Midwest and she said this book shaped the direction for her life. The Shadow King will be my book for Ethiopia. I like reading books which are “out of season;” that is, it’s cold and snowy on the Great Plains right now, so it’s time to read about Africa. Finally, I got Magyk by Angie Sage to listen to while I’m running. I first read that series somewhere around 2010-2012 and I’ve never stopped thinking about it. So, it’s time for a revisit.

    There’s always the temptation to order more books, but ordering books isn’t the same as actually reading them. All that ought to be plenty of content for January.