Spring (Quarantine) Reading List
April 5, 2020
For many of us in quarantine
life has undoubtedly slowed down. The question becomes, how might we intentionally spend our time under these new circumstances?
One of my personal goals at the beginning of the year was to return to the lost art of reading. As in having a physical book in my hands as I insatiably turned the pages - a feeling I haven’t experienced in years. Not since the days of dial up internet, did I used to read so voraciously.
Then (tell me if you can relate) a decade later my love for fiction took a turn towards a self frenzy as I attempted to optimize all aspects of my life and careers before taking a turn again. From physical bound books to a solely digital experience. On my phone mostly: blog articles, digital newspapers, and micro-blog entries (or over sharing) on social media feeds, and finally, my podcast binges when I find a really good one. While I genuinely enjoy these mediums and genres, a part of me has been longing to return to an early time.
As a result of this personal reflection and our current global circumstance, I decided to indulge by curating a Spring reading list. Books to feed my spirit through this collective quarantine. It’s a short list that kicks off with my first literary love: magical realism.
The Stories of Eva Luna - Isabelle Allende
I first discovered and devoured stories of Eva Luna when I was 18 and have adored Isabelle Allende since. This book of short stories (as told by Eva Luna, a character of the preceding book: Eva Luna), was my gateway into my love affair with words. So, naturally, I thought this book of short stories might be the perfect getaway book as I return to literature.
Book Description: “Isabel Allende. Allende returns to Eva Luna. Eva’s lover asks her to tell him a story that she has never told anyone before, and she gives him 23 tales of love, vengeance, strong women, and compassion.”
Rain of Gold - Victor Villasenor
This will be my first time reading Rain of Gold. It has been on my radar (and on my mother’s bookshelf, which I reviewed and skimmed several times) since it was published in the early 90’s. I picked this multigenerational story because I am in the midst of researching and documenting my own family’s history which parallels the novel’s. Both span the turn of the twentieth century, across the Northern Mexican and Southwest United States.
Book Description:
“Rain of Gold is a true-life saga of love, family and destiny that pulses with bold vitality, sweeping from the war-ravaged Mexican mountains of Pancho Villa’s revolution to the days of Prohibition in California.”
Their eyes were watching God - Zora Neale Hurston
This is a classic that I have had in the back of my mind for a “rainy day” for quite some time. Claimed to be part magical realism and also part of the Harlem renaissance (although it was written it was discovered in the 1970’s it has since been described as a significant player in the classic American literary canon. This will be my first time reading Their eyes were watching God and my first introduction to Zora Neale Hurston. It is creatively tied to the Harlem renaissance of the Zora’s relationship with that era, even though it was written the subsequent decade.
Book description
“Told in the captivating voice of a woman who refuses to live in sorrow, bitterness, fear, or foolish romantic dreams, it is the story of fair-skinned, fiercely independent Janie Crawford, and her evolving selfhood through three marriages and a life marked by poverty, trials, and purpose.“
Braiding SweetGrass - Robin Wall Kimmerer
I first bought braiding sweet grass as a xmas read in December of 2017, but life took a very busy turn soon after and I didn’t get a change to finish it. This Spring. I am making good on my intention by completing what was a very poetic love letter to indigenous and scientific relationships to our natural world. Literally, the sentences are just so beautiful
[Description on Amazon]
“As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these two lenses of knowledge together to take us on “a journey that is every bit as mythic as it is scientific, as sacred as it is historical, as clever as it is wise” (Elizabeth Gilbert).”
PS. These Amazon links are not affiliate links. I hope you enjoy this reading list and it inspires your own reading list. The factor of the matter is, the more nourished we feel, the more we are in a position to support the nourishment of others.
What books are you reading or listening to this Spring?
Thank you for taking this journey with me.
From my heart center to yours,
NOEMI
