Book It

An end-of-the-year review of all the books I've read in 2022, and a reminder to take time both to read and to smell the flowers.

Little me smelling the flowers.

My parents always reminded me to take time to smell the flowers. I’ve always cherished this above photograph of myself, at age two-years-old, that my mother captured and framed as a reminder to all of us to pause for a moment to appreciate nature. After all our international moves, this small picture always ends up on my desk and near my books. Every time I begin to sink into the hibernation of writing, I glance at this photo as a reminder that I should get up from my chair to stretch, to walk my dog, and to breathe some fresh air outside. It always helps. And, I like to look at this photograph as the hustle and bustle of life starts winding down at year’s end. It’s the quietest week in December, a dead week between Christmas and New Year’s, when we should take time to smell the flowers.

And to read. Or reflect on what we’ve read this year. Reading is my therapy, and keeps me sane. Several years ago, I started keeping track of the books that I have read throughout the year, and posting the list on Instagram. This year I read 38 books, exactly the same number as last year. Although I may be a voracious reader, I don’t always challenge myself to read. Reading to me is almost always for pleasure — I don’t like feeling I should hold a highlighter in hand to underline important passages (my days of being an English major are over). I end up reading mostly fiction and memoir, the two genres I enjoy writing.

I read in bed every morning for 20 minutes, usually the time it takes me to get through my first cup of coffee. The house is still quiet, and my family is still asleep. It’s my absolute favorite time of day. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night, and I’ll often read to fall back asleep. But, usually, my dedicated reading time is almost always in the morning.

I prefer reading a physical book to an e-book. However, I read more e-books than physical books because they are easier for me to obtain in English, especially while living overseas. The San Francisco Library continues to be my pusher of books. Browsing the shelves and borrowing books online from my old neighborhood haunt is like shopping for free on Amazon. I always max out my borrowing privileges, and salivate over a full bookshelf.

Of all of the books I read this year, these below are the only ones I could find to photograph. All of the other books were either lent to me or borrowed from the library electronically. I also lent some of my own books to friends, and await their return. I’ve learned that a lent book in Italy is called “Pietro,” as it is implied that it should “tornare indietro,” or be returned to its owner. I actually don’t mind if books aren’t returned to me because we already carry around too many with our international moves every four years. I’m happy to lighten the load and share something I love with someone else.

A fourth of the books I read this year: the only ones that weren’t electronic reads!

So, here’s the full list below, written in my handwriting:

Five of them were memoirs and the rest were novels.

Of the memoirs, my favorite was Frank Bruni’s The Beauty of Dusk. It’s a beautiful tale about this New York Times’ journalist’s failing eyesight, a condition that came on suddenly after he had a stroke in his eye while asleep. However, it’s more than a lament about his struggles and hardships. It’s an inspiring tale about the resilience of humans. Much of what he writes about is similar to what my father is experiencing as he ages. For those of you who may not have seen it, I attach here a piece I wrote about my father and his eyesight during a recent trip of his to Rome:

Touring Rome with my 80-year-old Father

Of the novels, my favorite discovery was Elizabeth Strout, an American writer who writes about a variety of eclectic characters in Maine. Her writing is gorgeous. She writes simply about the profound. Any of her books is fantastic. I read her Lucy Barton series in a somewhat reversed order but it didn’t matter.

I started off the year on a Vendela Vida kick. I like her work — even more so than that of her husband, Dave Eggers — because it transports me to California, which I miss. Of all the books of hers I read, I most enjoyed We Run the Tides, as it completely transplanted me to San Francisco for a couple of weeks.

For anyone dreaming about a trip to Italy, and specifically to Napoli, read my friend Katherine Wilson’s Only in Naples. By the end of it, you’ll want her to be your best friend.

In terms of sleepers, namely books that I didn’t expect to stay with me or capture me from the start, there are two, in particular, which I highly recommend. One is by French author Tanguy Viel, titled Article 353. It’s the story of a man accused of murder, and the conversation he has with the judge on trial. Short and beautiful, it is a clever portrayal of humanity, oversights, morals, and forgiveness. Also, the only collection of short stories I read this year was superb: Hilma Wolitzer’s Today A Woman Went Mad in the Supermarket. Insomma, the title says it all.

I also loved Lee Cole’s Groundskeeping. It’s the story of an inspiring writer who works on the maintenance crew of a college campus and struggles with both of his professions. Also not to be overlooked is Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus, a book that I can’t place in one particular category: it’s a love story in the fifties about a single-mother feminist who dreams of being a chemist and settles for being a TV host on a cooking show.

This year I read only one book in Italian, Donatella di Pietroantonio’s L’Arminuta, which I devoured and loved. It’s the story of two young sisters, raised in different households, and the survival of their devotion to and friendship with each other despite their diverse upbringings. One of my New Year’s resolutions is to read one book a month in Italian. I’ve made this resolution before…so I guess one of my resolutions is really to be less lazy this year when it comes to reading in Italian.

Lastly, my mantra for life over the past two years has been “Book It.” This reminds me that I am to keep following my dream of writing a book and to do it fast (at least while we’re still living in Rome where I have more time than when I am stationed overseas overseas).

And, it also reminds me to keep on reading and smelling those flowers.