1/16 -17: Freckles (by Gene Stratton-Porter) This and A Girl of the Limberlost remind me of my childhood and Indiana. I grew up playing outside in our vegetable garden and in Holcombe Gardens on Butler University’s campus, and although my childhood was in a very different era than the setting of these books, I never fail to appreciate the attention paid to the natural characteristics of the land and animal life in that part of the country. These books are a celebration of progress and self-improvement through dedication to the land/nature which is a concept I respect and strive to achieve,  but progress and preservation of nature are and historically have been considered incongruous concepts. I recommend it for young adults and adult readers who are interested in early twentieth century regional fiction, or any mid-level or better reader interested in nature.

1/18: After Milk and Song (by Erin Mullikin) This is another South Carolina Poetry Initiative chapbook winner, but it happens to be authored by one of my classmates at Clemson. It appears to be currently unavailable, but if you get the chance to read a copy of it, Mullikin’s poems delve deeply into the loss of a parent and reflection on how pieces of them and the lessons they taught you live on. They are beautifully done, and I highly recommend watching out for more works to come by her.

1/19: Mothers & Shadows (by Marta Traba) This novel was recommended to me by a dear friend who, I believe, studied it in one of her college classes. I’m sure she has more intelligent things to say on the topic than I do, but I did enjoy the story. I couldn’t help but draw comparisons between this and the (post)colonial/Caribbean/”ethnic” literature I’ve encountered and studied in the past. It isn’t a happy read, but I think it explores a lot of interesting aspects of human nature, human sexuality, and how those two things influence and play into (a country’s) history. It’s definitely more of an academic read, but I do recommend it if any of those topics interest you.

1/20: I made an exception to my rule of “books” each day because I am a dedicated reader of the magazine Bon Appetit (the website, app, and the recipe archive are also incredible, but I stubbornly support print media). I read each issue cover to cover (including all of the food and drink-related ads) the day that it arrives in the mail. So this was February 2013′s issue.

1/21: Mayakovsky’s Revolver: Poems (by Matthew Dickman) What can I say, I really love Matthew Dickman’s work. Also, after meeting him at the Clemson Literary Festival several years back (when I was still a undergrad student director), I must say he is a really nice guy! Mayakovsky’s Revolver, his second book, takes a turn for the dark and emotional topic of his brother’s suicide. I think he handles the topic with great tenderness and tactful sentimentality, but it left me more thankful for my siblings with all the complications of those relationships than sad at the (eventual) loss of them. Although I would recommend his first book, All-American Poem, over this one, I still recommend both.

1/22: The Remains of the Day (by Kazou Ishiguro) I recommend reading all of Ishiguro’s novels. I really respect him as an author, and the wide range of topics he tackles. I am somewhat enamored with literature about the social reorganization of class in England following WWI, and The Remains of the Day falls into this category.

1/23: Steal Like an Artist (by Austin Kleon) I picked up this book on a whim because it reminded me so much of one of my poetry workshop professors in college who encouraged us to carry around notebooks and jot down observations about the people around us and overheard conversations so that we could revisit these scenes for inspiration and details when we sat down to write. This recommends similar practices, but the concepts are pretty straight forward. The only difficult part is establishing the habits required to do this. I’d say this is a borrow-from-the-library kind of book if you read it at all.

1/24: Ghost World (by Daniel Clowes) I first read this novel as part of my Survey of the American Novel course, which explored the evolution of novels which shaped the American novel and then were written by Americans. The class was really great, but when we got to Ghost World, my first experience with a graphic novel mind you, I was pretty disenchanted with what the American novel has become. I really like exploring the differences between and merging of story-telling mediums, but I found this graphic novel to be particularly trying to read. I really feel like nothing happens at all, and the characters are all pretty nasty. I had hoped that re-reading it would help me to appreciate something more about it, but that was not the case. It is blessedly short, but I still wouldn’t encourage any one to read it, especially if they aren’t familiar with the genre of graphic novels.

1/25: The Forgotten Garden (by Kate Morton) This novel was surprisingly interesting. There is mystery, history, and family. I think of it as something that could easily be classified as a good “beach read,” but I’d recommend it for leisurely reading any time of the year. Do be warned, however, that the female characters steal the scenes and the male characters are severely 2-dimensional so my recommendation here is primarily aimed at women.

1/26: Scrumptious Pies & Tarts (by Linda Collister) This is a cookbook I’ve had for a long time and rely on for go-to tart recipes, but I found myself re-reading the entire book when I pulled it down to look up a mango tarts recipe for a friend. If you are interested in baking, this is a great way to master pie and tart crusts. They are not the easiest of recipes, but once you master the basics here, you can handle anything pie and tart-related!

1/27: The Last Unicorn (by Peter S. Beagle) This is a really quaint and beautiful book. I recommend reading Patrick Rothfuss’ review of this novel, because his suggestion along was enough to convince me to buy the novel. I love the heroism, the value and delicacy of life, and the resolution of the story. It really is a great novel, and one that I think can be read repeatedly with more learned each time. I definitely recommend checking it out.

1/28: The Swerve: How the World Became Modern (by Stephen Greenblatt) Non-fiction really isn’t my preferred reading material, but I am making a concerted effort to branch out. I thought The Swerve, with its Pulitzer Prize, would be a good possibility. I won’t go so far as to say that I was wrong, but it was definitely too dry to read while sleep-deprived. It was slow going, but informative and interesting enough. I’m on the fence about recommending it, so I guess I’ll say this: check it out is you’re into historical essay non-fiction.

1/29: How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe (by Charles Yu) This is one of the more interesting and highly-meta novels that I’ve read in a long time. It is written with a tone of complete sincerity, formatted (at the level of chapters anyway) as appendices to a larger (not included) document on surviving in said universe. There are a few charts, and the narrator treats time travel and other science fictional topics as real, scientific topics. It is quirky and amusing, but also tells a really touching story about a family trying to survive (or more specifically, live safely perhaps?) in the science fictional universe. I recommend it for any science and technology-minded and/or geeky and/or nerdy readers.

1/30: The Book of Three (by Lloyd Alexander) This is the first in the Pyridian Chronicles series, which was recommended to me by a dear friend. It definitely falls into the category of young adult fiction, and reads like a very simplified version of Tolkein’s Middle Earth and cast of characters. This is a quick read, but really fun.

1/31: The Black Cauldron (by Lloyd Alexander) This is the second novel in the Pyridian Chronicles series, and it is more unique in it’s story line than the first but remains rather simplistic but clearly influenced by Tolkein.

Stay tuned for February’s list in about a month!

1/1: Vietnamerica: A Family’s Journey (by GB Tran) This is not my typical speed when it comes to books, but as far as graphic novels go, it was great! The art was really expressive, the use of blank space thought-provoking and tasteful, and the storyline itself is informative. It explores diaspora and cultural identity within America, the reasons for relocation, and challenges the idealistic opinion of America as a “melting pot” or “salad bowl” of multiculturalism. In short, I think it’s a good read.

1/2: Bellwether (by Connie Willis) I love Connie Willis for her time-traveling historian novels, so it was with great confidence that I picked up this novel. I must say that it fell far short of the time-traveling historians, but I did not previously know about “bellweathers,” and it is truly an interesting and very real concept. Furthermore, she did offer a valuable social-critique that could be loosely (and as a pun) summarized in the term sheeple. I’d recommend it if you’re looking for a simple but still interesting read.

1/3: White Dragon (by Anne McCaffrey) I don’t think there is much that hasn’t already been said about McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern series. I was raised on these novels, so I enjoy them as much for sentimentality as for the genre-shaping world and story arc. Please note, this is the third book in the original trilogy, but the whole series has great world building and easy-to-love characters.

1/4: The Jolly Postman (by Janet and Allen Ahlberg) This is, hands down, one of my favorite children’s books. I used this when working with Elementary school students to teach the format of letters as much as for reading. The incorporation of allusions to commonly-known fairy tale characters, actual page-envelopes with removable letters, and a rhyming frame story make this book is entertaining for all ages.

1/5: The School of Essential Ingredients (by Erica Bauermeister) I loved this one so much that I did a full review of it as soon as I finished reading it, which can be found here.

1/6: Joseph Anton: A Memoir (by Salman Rushdie) I must admit that memoirs are not my favored genre, and I won’t even get into the “should memoirs be classified as fiction or non-fiction” debate, but I really enjoyed this book…to a point. I have studied Rushdie’s novels in classes, and I have sought them out independently; it would be safe to say that I am a fan of his work. In that regard, it was really fascinating to read the opening chapters of this memoir and hear what he had to say about/in defense of his work, his identity, and the impact the fatwa had on his life and his writing. It was a chore to finish it though: his impatience with the British government and world at large  came through in his writing towards the end which I don’t think is fair to fault him for, but at the same time, I didn’t really want to read the sustained frustration for hundreds of pages. Overall, it was a good and informative read. It made me laugh and it made me despair over the world’s politics and humanity in turns.

1/7: A New Turn in the South (by Hugh Acheson) This is a cookbook that I bought in hopeful preparation for moving north. Southern cuisine is still somewhat of an astonishing mystery to me since I do not particularly seek out fried food, sea food, or know much about their region-specific vegetables. Most okra I’ve had has been slimy, and being dairy-free, most homemade fried foods are off-limits to me. That aside, I’m hopeful that Acheson’s cookbook will help me explore this cuisine and learn to appreciate it more. If nothing else, it is very interesting and I look forward to trying the recipes (and maybe even going to one of his restaurants!) soon.

1/8: Lettered Bones (by Susan Finch Stevens) I am a big fan of poetry and book/literary festivals. A few years ago I was fortunate enough to hear Stevens do a reading at the South Carolina Book Festival and I enjoyed it so much that I picked up a copy of her chapbook, Lettered Bones. The poems are smart and delightful. I highly recommend picking up a copy and supporting the SC Poetry Initiative and a really talented poet.

1/9: Blackout (by Connie Willis) Time-traveling historians! Absolutely amazing, and I cannot get enough. See a full review here.

1/10: All Clear (by Connie Willis) This is the sequal to Blackout, and it is equally amazing. Again, see the full review here.

1/11: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (by William Joyce) This book was the inspiration for this Youtube video version of the story. Both the book and the video are amazing! I really love the art and the concept of the story. I highly recommend this book (and the video) to anyone who loves books.

1/12: Earthling (by Steve Healey) This is a book of poems by an author who attended the Clemson Literary Festival in 2012. I enjoyed his reading, and skimmed the book of poems before purchasing it and expected to like it well enough, and to be fair, I did just that. You have to like poetry to enjoy this book though; I wouldn’t classify his work as leisure-reading poetry.

1/13: Under Wildwood (by Colin Meloy) The Wildwood Chronicles, which began with Wildwood, has continued with a strong second book. I really believe (and hope!) that these books will become the newest generation’s Narnia equivalent. They contain all the charm and morality of coming-of-age stories, with the magic of talking animals and the beautiful, optimistic outlook of  children. I have been truly impressed by the skill of Meloy’s story crafting, and Carson Ellis’s illustrations are perfectly matched to the tone of the story. I highly recommend these for adults who loved the Narnia series, and allyoung-adult readers.

1/14: The End of the West (by Michael Dickman) Without wanting to diminish my appreciation and respect for Michael Dickman as a poet, I must say I picked up his book of poems because I was such a huge fan of his brother, Matthew Dickman. These are two seriously talented brothers. The End of the West is smart and emotive. I think a review in The Believer summed it up very well: “Elizabeth Bishop said that the three qualities she admired most in poetry were accuracy, spontaneity, and mystery. Michael Dickman’s first full-length collection of poems demonstrates each brilliantly.”

1/15: Glaciers (by Alexis M. Smith) This is a novel that I found utterly charming. The main character is so relatable, and the story offering such a brief window that it reads much like the vintage postcards she collects. A quote on the back of a postcard she finds read “You are all I see when I open or close a book” and has stuck in my mind. I think it is a beautiful idea that books could be so filled with a(n assumed) lover, and makes me wonder whether that is because of her picture being tucked inside and used as a bookmark, or perhaps it is something more abstract and related to the innumerable and unknown possibilities offered by a book and paralleled in their relationship. Regardless, I highly recommend the book and fully expect you to read it front to back in a single sitting! It is that good (and short).

I try to keep my obsession with historical fiction under wraps because, honestly, most of it isn’t that good…but I am consoled by telling myself that having a degree in English literature just gives me a more critical sense of high and low literature. Either way, now that the cats out of the bag, I am prepared to gush about these two books. They are phenomenal. It has been quite a while since I found myself so absorbed with a book that I forget to cook dinner and forego sleep just so I can keep reading. I read just about everything I can get my hands on, but this was quite a treat.

These books are well researched (though still very much fiction and sci-fi) and quite compelling despite the unusual mixing of time travel and historical fiction. I cannot, for the life of me, figure out why it took so long to find a genre like this. My bigger concern, however, is where can I find more? I finished these novels and instead of picking up the next book on top of the pile like usual, I actually held off on starting a new novel for a couple days just to savor the series a bit longer.

The characters are endearing, and having voluntarily put themselves in to the midst of the Blitz only to find themselves stuck and trying to survive the characters bring the terror of the Blitz to life like nothing else I have encountered. More than just bringing history of an almost unfathomable war to life, these novels challenge the idea that “hindsight is 20/20″ because history can only be documented in so many ways. The reality of that being documented often falls quite short of the true experience. Additionally, adding time-travel to the mix allows for not just the challenge to the truth of history, but also creates a discourse on how espionage techniques can drastically alter the historic record of events. The concept of these novels and the characters that populate this version of the future and the past are entirely captivating. These books read like Connie Willis loved writing them as much as I loved reading them. I have since found myself searching for some indication that she plans to write more books in this vein, but much to my chagrin, it doesn’t appear to be true; she seems to be sticking to it being a two-novel series.

As I told my mom the other day, I’m happy to lend these books, but I am pretty sure I’ll be itching to reread them within two or three months so she’ll have to mail them back to me as soon as she has finished them. You will definitely want to buy these books, but if you don’t want to spend the money now, run out and rent these from the library. Do be warned, though, you’ll not put these down easily so warn your family and friends not do interrupt you too much while you become absorbed in these incredible novels.

If you want to buy these for your Kindle, click here: Blackout (Oxford Time Travel) and All Clear (Oxford Time Travel). Enjoy!

Suzanne Collins has said repeatedly in interviews that the concept for these novels was born out of flipping channels between reality shows and news reports of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Add in a dash of mythology (Theseus) and viola, we have a spark that rekindled my ability to and love of getting completely absorbed in a series. I think the idea of merging and/or juxtaposing reality tv and war reports, two very socially complicated things, would create an interesting and challenging discussion in and of itself, but Collins takes it to a new level. She has created this dystopian future in which there are, essentially, twelve towns (districts) completely isolated from each other and one all-powerful capitol that create the country of Panem. Once a year, during the harvest festivals, the capitol unites the country by collecting two “tributes” from each town to compete in the Hunger Games which are televised and required viewing for every citizen. I will not explain the many questions that the above sentence probably raises, because to say more is to detract from the phenomenal, moving experience of reading the novels.

That said, however, be prepared for a far-from-perfect, old-for-her-age yet still growing up teenage, female narrator/lead character that is frustrating and indecisive, but compassionate and inspiring at the same time. I know, it sounds like an impossible accomplishment of writing, especially in such short novels, but I take my hat off to Suzanne Collins for having such tremendous talent as to accomplish this feat and more. I have recently had some down time at work, and I started reading the first book and had such a hard time putting it down when I had to go to work, that I purchased the entire collection as audiobooks. I wanted to stay late at work just to keep listening to them and found it impossible to pick up other books to read in the evenings because they simply couldn’t compare to the compelling story of Katniss Everdeen and her struggle to become a morally sound surviver in the midst of corruption and misinformation.

The true beauty of the series lies in Collins complete dedication to following through with the implications of the plot even when they result in unhappy and occasionally unsatisfying ends. In the Hunger Games’ world of competition, greed, destruction, and retribution, as in reality television and war, there is rarely a satisfying and/or happy ending. Do not let this deter you from picking up the books though; believe me, they end in the way that they needed to end. As one of my friends recently said, “it was strangely satisfying that there wasn’t the happy ending [she had] predicted.” I had more faith in Collins though, that she would end it in a way that was provocative, thoughtful, and balanced with the rest of the plot, and she definitely did this.

All in all, I recommend that you move these books to the very top of your “must read” and “must buy asap” list if you have not already had the delight of reading them. Also, seriously consider them as excellent holiday/birthday gifts!

Even days after I’ve finished the series, my head is still swimming with the characters and the plot twists. I truly applaud Suzanne Collins and I hope that beyond enjoying these books you will find yourself thinking about the story as well as the things that inspired the story.