BB Book Club: Leah’s New Year Picks
Happy New Year!!! I think everyone let out a giant sigh of relief that 2020 is over – I know it’s all in our minds, and the actual year isn’t what’s wrong with our country, but blaming every issue on 2020 was the perfect coping mechanism. We’re so happy you’re here, <3 2021 <3, and we’re leaving the past behind.
A personal note (read: brag), I read twenty-nine books last year! Obviously, reading is my hobby--but as you may remember from previous book club posts, I struggled with some reading lulls. I even felt like I wasn’t reading as much towards the end of the year, mainly because work picked up in September. But when I look back at my list of twenty-nine books, I feel so proud of what I’ve read. I’m hooked again, baby! And I will be severely disappointed in myself if I don’t read at least thirty books this year! ;)
Alright! Let’s dive right into 2021 with a book I did NOT like!
The Shipping News by Annie Proulx
This one is kind of hard to write about because - honestly - I found it pretty boring. I had to get through it, because I can’t leave a book unfinished, but I low key dreaded picking it up every time. The last thirty pages took me like three days. Yikes.
I will say it’s a great story about a man who is terribly sad, told all his life he can’t do anything right, and because of that he believes he does not deserve happiness. Well, that doesn’t sound “great” - LEAH! Just wait, the GREAT part is that he eventually does find happiness, his idea of success, and ways to grow from his sorrow. This novel delivers a very important lesson for all of us, as we grow to better understand ourselves mentally and emotionally. Oh also, this man’s growth is thanks to all the influential women around him, so that’s cool. Anyway, I’m not not going to recommend this book just because I didn’t particularly enjoy it - my mother recommended it to me because it’s actually one of her favorites. So read it! We can either briefly discuss how meh it was, or you can have an extensive conversation with my mother about how much you loved it!
The light hitting my boring copy The Shipping News perfectly…
Just Kids by Patti Smith
Patti Smith writes a beautiful memoir about her youth and eccentric relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. The book begins with a beautiful description of her love for reading that is so romantic - I felt a connection to her instantly! Then, when I read on about all her personal struggles and how artistically talented she is, that’s where my privileged, left-brained self stopped being able to identify alongside her.
Patti and Robert’s story proves that if you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere. Peep Patti and Robert’s previous apartment in Clinton Hill, where they lived when they were broke and just coming onto the scene. They struggled to pay the $80 monthly rent. The two went through terrible lows together, and at such young ages. In Just Kids, Patti unpacks struggle after struggle, hardship after hardship, and then casually throws in that it’s her 22nd birthday. Not a life I would be strong enough to endure at any age, let alone during those fundamental years of our early twenties – and yet their passion for creating art got them through it.
I enjoyed reading from an artist’s perspective because my brain just doesn’t tick the same way. I also enjoyed observing the evolution of Patti and Robert’s friendship. They had their ups and downs, and times of distance, but were ultimately friends until the very end. One of my close friends in high school once told me that she believes you are always friends with people for a reason - even if it’s only for a short time. Ironically, I felt that was significant to our own friendship. That sentiment helped me put other friendships I mourned in perspective. Obvi some friendships end messily, or will never be as strong as you want them to be, but most relationships naturally drift apart with an amicable separation – no hard feelings. Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe have a very unique friendship that I think anyone would connect with.
(P.S. Thank you for the rec, Clare!)
CHECKLIST:
Set a 2021 reading goal!
Read books your mom suggests, even if you might not like them!!
Make peace with an old friendship you’ve mourned!!!
