My September reading list
The books I may or may not get around to reading while distracted by leaves
Fall’s coming in early this year. You might think that it’s a perfect time to curl up with a book and get cozy, but you’d be wrong.
It’s time to harvest veggies, start preparing for winter, and most importantly, go out leaf-peeping. I mean, c’mon, when you’ve got stuff like this all around you, how can you sit around the house?
It’s time to take impromptu breaks from work, drive out to the hills with a picnic lunch, and just let nature take your breath away.
And then there’s the mushrooms! No, I don’t eat them. I don’t know nearly enough about what’s safe to eat, and I’m not stupid. But the variety is stunning, and I love walking through the woods and seeing what’s out there. Every day is different.
Fall’s also an opportunity to be creative in a slightly different way. I find it deeply satisfying to make little arrangements of autumn leaves and things on rocks in the woods. Maybe someone else will see them, maybe not. (Or maybe the deer will eat them. Or a little critter will make a home in them.) And I always end up bringing home a load of vegetation so I can decorate the fireplace with reds and yellows, interspersed with assorted squashes and gourds.
If I could, I’d take the whole month off and just spend it outdoors. But unfortunately, work still has to get done, so I usually end up working later into the evening or during the weekend, which leaves little time for reading. And especially this year, where I have two major projects due to go live in the first week of October, so, no, I won’t be doing much reading in September.
Anyway, here’s what’s on the shelf this month. Renaissance art, early science fiction, more Eastern European fantasy, and maybe some French and Italian comics.
The Agony and the Ecstasy, by Henry Irving. I vaguely remember the 1965 movie, with Charlton Heston as Michelangelo and Rex Harrison as one of the Borgia Popes who commissions him to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. That’s just one chapter of the book, though: Irving’s massive biographical novel covers the whole of Michelangelo’s life. I’m about a third of the way through and loving it, but it’s slow going. I keep stopping to look up who all these people are, find pictures of the artworks and buildings Irving’s talking about, and trying to figure out how much he made up and how much is fact. (Incidentally, I was amused by the bit about how you can’t be a real sculptor unless you make your own chisels, because that’s just cheating and it’s not proper art. And did you know there are even artists who buy their paints and brushes instead of making them? It’s just lazy and shows a total lack of commitment to their craft. Disgraceful!)
Illusions, by Richard Bach. My favorite and most-read book of all time. I’m re-reading it for about the fiftieth time.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, by Jules Verne. Didn’t get to this last month, but it’s been sitting by my bed nagging me. I’ll probably also read Master Zacharius, his first published work. I’m astonished to realize how much Verne I haven’t read, or have only read in abridged versions when I was a kid.
Sword of Destiny, by Andrzej Sapkowski. I’m very much looking forward to the second book in the Witcher series. I re-read The Last Wish in August, and enjoyed it even more this time through.
Stretch goal: Martin Eden and/or A Son of the Sun, by Jack London. I’m pretty much getting to the end of my Jack London marathon. I’ve read almost all the fiction he wrote now, other than a few dog and boxing stories which I’m not particularly bothered about. After these last two novels, I’ll finish off with his non-fiction People of the Abyss, and I reckon that’ll be that.
Stretch goal 2: Barbarella, by Jean-Claude Forest and the Druuna series, by Serpieri. Since the recent relaunch of Heavy Metal, I’ve been getting a hankering to revisit some of those old-school European science fantasy comics. I really want to re-read The Incal and Le Garage Hermétique but I don’t have copies of those, so I’ll go with what I’ve got for now.
Stretch goal 3: Rhythm of War, by Brandon Sanderson (Book 4 of The Stormlight Archive). I’m not expecting to make any significant progress on this in September, but it would be satisfying to make a start. Then again, I may leave this until winter in the hopes that by the time I finish it the paperback of Wind and Truth will be available. (There should probably be a “Winter is coming” gag in there somewhere, but I can’t think of one.)
Stretch goal 4: Five Tuesdays in Winter, by Lily King. This month’s book club selection is a collection of short stories that I’m only vaguely interested in. It’s unlikely I’ll get to it, given everything else on my list, but you never know.
What’s on your bookshelf this month?
Looking at that glorious countryside, I think the perfect reading matter to take on a hike would be one of Verlyn Klinkenborg's books. Maybe The Rural Life?