January Review

A round-up of great reading, listening, & watching

Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash

“I'm January bringing you
A year of days—all brand, brand new;”

Annette Wynne

It’s time for this month’s review of the best reading, watching, and listening!  This is an extra end-of-the-month post for all subscribers.  If you enjoy this post, please consider signing up for a free or paid subscription to receive weekly literary discussions straight into your inbox.

January is often seen as a long and dark month, but this year it seems to have flown by!  I tend to like the beginning of the new year, as I get that new-term feel, similar to September.  It always fills me with anticipation of what might be possible over the coming twelve months.  We also have two birthdays in our household, which means that no sooner have the Christmas trimmings been put away than the birthday celebrations commence 🙂

“January is the Monday of months.”

F. Scott Fitzgerald

This month, I’ve been trying to focus on reading and writing.  I started a short series on feminism and feminist writers two weeks ago, and many readers reached out to say how much they enjoyed it.  This was sparked, in part, by my reading of Rebecca Solnit’s memoir this month.

I’m also looking forward to February, when I will be attending a couple of in-person and online reading and writing events.  I feel that the past year and a bit was such a positive experience in starting and growing my newsletter, connecting with readers and writers.  Now 2024 is underway and I’m looking forward to researching more in-depth essays into women’s narratives; their stories and lives and the ways in which women’s history impacts our contemporary lives.  

I look forward to sharing my journey with you!  Now, on with the review!

 Books I read this month…

Redhead by the Side of the Road by Anne Tyler, which explores a man who lives a quiet, routined life, which gets upended by the appearance of a young man claiming to be his son.  I enjoyed this short novel, a little like a palate cleanser at the start of my reading year!  Tyler is the queen of the domestic novel, where she explores the quiet lives of ordinary people.  

Recollections of My Non-Existence by Rebecca Solnit, a memoir in essays of her time living in a studio apartment in San Francisco.  I found Solnit’s essays inspiring and affecting, particularly her in-depth considerations on violence against women.  Not an easy read at times, but her writing is elegant and succinct.  

I also received a beautiful new edition of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott from my daughter for my birthday, and have been dipping in and out, enjoying the introduction to the life of Alcott by the brilliant feminist critic Elaine Showalter.  This edition has been published as the original manuscript she intended.  Fascinating stuff on one of my all-time favourite stories! 

Little Women Image

Articles I enjoyed this month…

The author of one of my favourite books, Michael Cunningham of The Hours, is due to release his eighth novel, Day.  In this interview, he discusses why he’s returning to a tripartite structure and how people still want to talk to him about The Hours, twenty-five years on. 

This piece on new bookshops in Europe who are giving voice to female authors was inspiring, and if increasing your reading life was top of your new year’s resolutions list for 2024, this piece exploring the reading plans of some top authors might help to keep you inspired! 

The death of Kathleen Peyton saddened me this month as I hadn’t really known a lot about her but had loved the televised series of her Flambards books as a young child, which I watched avidly with my mother.  This has inspired me to research more about the author, who was still writing into her 90’s. 

I was really interested to hear of a new novel by Alice Hoffman, When We Flew Away, based on the real life of Anne Frank.  The book is based before the family went into hiding in Frank’s father’s office building annexe in Amsterdam.  Hoffman, the prolific and bestselling author of over 30 books, including Practical Magic, is a wonderful storyteller, so I am sure this new book, made using archival material provided by the Anne Frank House, will be an illuminating and affecting addition to the life of Anne Frank.

This piece on the plethora of books being published around mothering and motherhood interested me in regard to some of my own research on women’s narratives, and this interview with Kiley Reid, whose Such a Fun Age was one of the best books I read a couple of years ago and whom I’ve been anticipating a new one from for so long!  It sounds like her latest book, about to be released, is going to be another one for the TBR pile :)  

Finally, my favourite article of the month has to be this one from The Guardian about a new survey showing that Gen Z are using their local libraries in huge numbers.  Gen Z and Millennials came out top users in a recent report on public libraries in the US, where they are used not just for reading and borrowing books, but as a comforting place to meet and socialise, focus, write, journal, and even film online content. 

Having two Gen Z kids, I can vouch for the important place libraries continue to play in their lives, and am so happy to see that they are not alone!  Long live public libraries 😂

Photo by Mira Ohoro on Unsplash

What I’ve been listening to this month…

The only podcast of note I have listened to this month has been my trusty favourite, Cal Newport’s Deep Questions, in particular this episode on ‘Quiet Distractions’, which I highly recommend for anyone wanting to move away from screens and into a more meaningful pace of life.

What I’ve been watching this month…

I can highly recommend the new series of literary dramas on BBC Four/iPlayer.  We have just finished watching a brilliant adaptation of Muriel Spark’s novel, Memento Mori, with one drama showing each week.  

That’s it for the first review of the year!  I hope you’re managing to keep up with any New Year’s Resolutions you may have set for yourself - and being gentle with yourself when you don’t 🙂

Back Sunday with another literary exploration! 

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