The Sewing Room by Rev. Barbara Cawthorne Crafton (3/5)
The Oregon Trail by Rinker Buck (2/5)
Dog Songs by Mary Oliver (2/5)
Blue Horses by Mary Oliver (4/5)
Felicity by Mary Oliver (4/5)
A Thousand Mornings by Mary Oliver (4/5)
Gift From the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh (second reading 2/5; first reading 4/5)
The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff (1/5)
I read quite a bit of poetry this year, focusing on Mary Oliver's collections in April during National Poetry Month. I found some gems in her works, but my favorite nonfiction read of the year is On Island Time by Hilary Stewart.
This year's reading goal is to focus on the books I own, but have gone ignored for many years. My list for Nonfiction November is comprised of about 50% old and 50% new-ish titles. Of course, I'm beginning with one of the more recent releases rather than the oldest. ;)
I haven't read any of these and don't officially participate in NF November (I do read quite a bit of NF throughout the year.) If you are looking for something light in NF, I recommend Shirley Jackson's Life Among Savages...audio is awesome. I have part 2 of that autobio: Raising Demons, as well - hope to read it soon.
ReplyDeleteDiane, I really want to read/listen the Shirley Jackson book and have it on my wish list for a future purchase (thanks to your review!). :)
DeleteYeah I didn't read much nonfiction this year. But I have a ton of it to read. I'm curious about On Island Time and think I will get to it. Quite a life: Hilary Stewart being on an island for 35 years and that far North! I have Not been up there ... Only as far as Lund. according to google: Quadra has a population of 2,472 hmm ... i think a few indigenous bands
ReplyDeleteSusan, if it weren't for the poetry, my nonfiction numbers would be pretty low! I think you'd enjoy Hilary Stewart's book. It sure makes me want to take another trip to the San Juan Islands... we're hoping to take the RV to Vancouver Island in a couple of years. It's such a beautiful part of this world.
DeleteI'm a fan of Mary Oliver. She could be one of my favorite poets. On Island Time sounds really good. I will look for it.
ReplyDeleteDeb, she's my favorite poet. She really had a way of writing about nature and everyday life. I hope you can find a copy of On Island Time. It's your sort of nature book!
DeleteI really enjoy Mary Oliver's work... she's a favorite. I read Oregon Trail several years ago, but enjoyed it more than you. Learned a lot about mules, too! ;-)
ReplyDeleteJoAnn, she's my favorite poet, too. Yep, there was a lot about mules in The Oregon Trail. And wagon wheels. Just wasn't my cuppa, but my husband thought it was great!
DeleteI also read (and enjoyed) Blue Horses this year. "If I Wanted a Boat" was my favorite in that collection.
ReplyDeleteMary, I had to pull my copy of Blue Horses off the shelf and reread "If I Wanted a Boat." What a wonderful poem. I have several marked as favorites in that book. Time to start sharing them on my blog. You can find some of my favorites from other collections by Oliver here.
DeleteIt's always a great goal to try to read books we've already got on our shelves. But, I just have a tough time sticking to that!
ReplyDeleteHelen, that's been my goal for the past couple of years. I don't get that many review copies anymore, so it's a little bit easier. Plus, I haven't been to the library in almost a year and a half!
DeleteThese are all new to me, thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteThanks, Shelleyrae.
DeleteLovely post. I went back and read your review of Island Time and it sounds like a peaceful and thoughtful read. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jaymi. On Island Time is a quiet book that was perfect to read over the course of a year. It has some wonderful line drawings, as well.
DeleteI really liked Anne Morrow Lindbergh's Gift from the Sea years ago. Wonder how it would hold up to a second reading decades later. Charles Lindbergh's life is tarnished by so many things.
ReplyDeleteJenclair, this was my second reading of Gift from the Sea and sadly it wasn't nearly as enjoyable as when I listened to it several years ago. Perhaps it's a case of the audio being better than the print edition and not that it didn't stand the test of time. I would recommend The Aviator's Wife (reviewed here) over Gift from the Sea.
DeleteYou know how I love Mary Oliver...but I tend to just dip in here and there and read a poem. A Thousand Mornings is one of my favorites. Perhaps it's time to read her books cover to cover! And I want to find On Island Time.
ReplyDeleteI rarely read nonfiction, not sure why. Maybe I need to join some challenges! :-)
Laurel, that's how I like to read poetry, but it was fun to read a bunch of Mary Oliver's during a single month.
DeleteOn Island Time is such a lovely book. I hope you can find a copy and come back and let me know how you like it. It seems to be your sort of book. Lots of nature and beautiful line drawings. Plus, you lived on Orcas Island, right? Can't be that much different than Quadra Island!
Les, we spent eight summers on Lopez Island teaching interpretive programs for the state park. And we spent time every summer on Orcas and San Juan Island. We went to Quadra Island several years ago when we spent five weeks on Vancouver Island. We absolutely love those islands! They are magical.
DeleteI'm trying to get hold of On Island Time. BTW, I'm reading The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley and it's great! I'm on his 10th life...will be interesting to see how this turns out.
Ah. I meant Lopez, not Orcas. But that whole area is, as you say, magical. Our two week cruise on my dad and stepmom's boat was simply the best. I hope you can find a copy of On Island Time and that you enjoy it as well as I did.
DeleteOn Island Time is definitely going on my list! It sounds fantastic.
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy it, Erin! It was published in 1998 and although the author has since passed away, I'm happy to see that there's still an interest in her book. I hope you can find a copy!
DeleteI remember your review of On Island Time. I really want to read it. I've been enjoying Devotions by Mary Oliver this year. Taking my time with it but it's so wonderful. Really excited for Nonfiction November as I usually need a bit of a prompt to read some nonfiction.
ReplyDeleteIliana, it is a quiet gem of a book. I need to get a copy of Devotions to add to my Mary Oliver collection. I don't think any other poet's words speak to me as do Oliver's.
DeleteA Thousand Mornings is so good! And OMG, thanks to you, I realize I forgot to include poetry to my list!!
ReplyDeleteMy post is here https://wordsandpeace.com/2021/11/05/nonfiction-november-my-year-2021-in-nonfiction/. I'm going to edit it right away to include an awesome collection of haiku I just read
Emma, poetry is one of those genres that I'm never quite sure whether it's fiction or nonfiction or it's own category.
DeleteThanks for stopping by. I'll visit your blog shortly!
I am intrigued by your rating of Gift From the Sea, which seemed to change quite a lot from your first to your second read. What was different the second time? On Island Time sounds wonderful!
ReplyDeleteStargazer, I wrote the following on my blog post, which explains the difference:
DeleteI listened to the audio edition of Gift From the Sea in 2007, but somehow never wrote about it on this blog. I remember that I enjoyed it immensely and had planned to re-read the print edition in order to quote some of my favorite passages in my review, but that never happened. Now, 14 years later, I have re-read the book and am sad that it didn't resonate with me the way in which it did when I read it all those years ago. In 2007, I was in my mid-40s (rather than approaching 60), so maybe Lindbergh's essays spoke more to me at that particular time in my life. Or, it could be a case of audio versus print. I loved the narration of the audiobook, which is read by Claudette Colbert. She does a superb job and it didn't take long for me to believe that I was actually listening to Anne Morrow Lindbergh rather than Colbert.
On Island Time is wonderful! I hope more readers track it down and give it a read, especially those who enjoy natures themes in their nonfiction.
Thanks for stopping by!
Yes, our perception of a specific book will probably always depend on where we are in our lives and what occupies our mind at that time. Personally, I love audiobooks and I actually think it does to some extent affect my rating whether I read or listen to a book. Thanks for your answer!
DeleteI agree! I love audiobooks and often think I enjoy them better than I would had I read the print edition of the same book. So much of my enjoyment is in the narrator's voice and the way in which they bring emotion to the production.
DeleteSometimes I'm afraid to reread favorite books for fear that they won't live up to my memory of them. It sounds like this happened somewhat with your rereading of Gift from the Sea? I've heard a lot about that one.
ReplyDeleteI read through the big Mary Oliver collection last year, some of hers are just sublime!
Rennie, I feel the same about rereads. Since I originally listened to Gift from the Sea, I wanted to read the print edition that I owned and see if I could glean any quotable material. It was such a let-down, but I attribute that to the fact that I loved the reader of audio production, which brought the memoir to life.
DeleteI still want to read more by Mary Oliver. She speaks to my heart!