What I Read: January

January was an excellent reading month! Technically, I think I finished the two Fourth Wing books at the very beginning of the month but they’ve already been covered so moving on!

Breath by James Nestor Pro: He writes well with an engaging style. Con: There is so much pseudoscience. The epilogue is redeeming because it covers a lot of the previous content with more interpretation on the validity of the claims and practices. I strongly believe in the power of breathwork and meditation, but the idea of overbreathing your chemoreceptors to breathe more optimally seems ridiculous for the everyday, healthy person. Now, if someone is hyperventilating, breath-holding, or has some other acquired abnormal pattern sure, train your way out of it. Also, yes, nasal breathing is very important and nasal obstruction at any age should be treated. For sure, says this ENT.

You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith: I always think of the actress and it’s definitely not her. Instead, poet Maggie Smith goes through her life and processing of her marriage and divorce. Although it’s more focused on her internal path, I can definitely see why her husband was pissed at the level of exposure. Not to say that he’s right, but I can definitely understand while being put on such public blast may not be a person’s idea of a good time. But neither is being a shithead in your marriage, so…karma’s gonna get you? Anyway, it’s a little dark and heavy- lots of sadness. And since I sometimes get sadness as a book contagion, I had to read in small doses.

Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward: She is such a good writer. She’s good with plot, characterizations, feelings, and landscape descriptions. Sometimes things are really descriptive, other times things are alluded too. This is also a very heavy book with a fair portion of the book occurring during a forced march from the Carolinas to New Orleans of slaves being sent to the slave market. It’s pretty hideous and the extent of human endurance seems reached and surpassed so many times. I have really liked Ward’s other books and this one is solid. The NYT has a great interview with her.

North Woods by Daniel Mason: Oh.my.gosh. This book is amazing. For sure, a top book of 2024 for me. And yeah, yeah, it was a top book of 2023 for many people. It is an incredible story that is set in the same place over roughly 400 years. It’s amazing how vivid things are when they happen, but then time wipes memory and remembrance away. And yet, things intertwine and have impact far beyond what was intended or even what was thought possible. I strongly, strongly recommend this book. So much so that last night on a flight, I saw the guy next to me was reading it (because I creepily looked at his Kindle) and I was so excited, we ended up talking for the rest of the flight. He is a retired botanist so we talked about the trees. Also, as an interesting note, I am really not a fan of magical realism but it worked in this book. And that’s all I’ll say!! Oh, wait! One more thing: Daniel Mason is a practicing psychiatrist at Stanford. #doctorauthor inspo! It’s not just Abraham Verghese.