Category: Musings

Winter Harvest is the story of Demeter, from her birth and entrapment in her father’s stomach to the loss of her daughter, Kore (Persephone), and her attempts to find her. Papadopoulou’s writing is compelling and I was immediately drawn into the story, mostly due to Demeter’s first person narration. The characterization of Demeter and how she navigates relationships, especially with Zeus and Hera captures the petty nature of the Greek Gods so well. Papadopoulou deftly navigates the distinction between god and human, and simultaneously had me rooting for Demeter and wondering why she doesn’t see that she’s being her own worst enemy. She’s so desperate to prove that she’s not like her brothers or their sons, and yet she often mirrors their behaviors.

What I focused on most while reading, was wondering why Demeter never considers what Kore (Persephone) wants. She treats Kore like an extension of herself, always referring to her as “my girl.” In a way, Demeter is like her father by keeping her child completely under her control. I found myself wondering if the story would have turned out differently had Demeter given Kore more autonomy. The way Papadopoulou treats this part of the story brings up so many interesting things to consider regarding parent/child relationships. Not to mention the treatment of women in general. 

My only criticism is due to some of the writing and/or editing at the beginning. Some of the word choices seemed a bit too 21st Century, and I had to reread some passages for clarity. This didn’t take too much away from my enjoyment of the book.

Overall, I enjoyed this book very much and would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of retellings of Greek myths! It will be published on November 21, 2023.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing a copy to review!

The Education of a British-Protected Child: Essays by Chinua Achebe was a good choice. It was riveting, and I didn’t want to put it down. What I learned from reading it will be so valuable when I teach literary theory and Achebe’s writing this year. I’m really starting to question why we often compartmentalize authors regionally (especially where I teach), because Achebe had some fascinating essays that referenced time he spent with James Baldwin and his thoughts on some of Baldwin’s ideas. I’d love to explore themes and issues in a more global context.

Now on to the next shelf!

Once again, my choices are limited since I’ve read most of these books. My options are Something to Declare by Julia Alvarez, Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, The Anaya Reader, and Deep Rivers by José María Arguedas. I’m going to play it safe and read Something to Declare because it’s a collection of essays. I haven’t had a lot of time for reading, and reading a few pages here and there of a novel is never a good idea for me. I forget so much when I can’t read large chunks. It’s unfortunate because I’ve read many of Julia Alvarez’s books, but I’ve never read Anaya, and Something to Declare looks fascinating. I’m reading about José María Arguedas as I’m writing this and trying not to talk myself out of my decision. I’ll come back to it as soon as I have time!  

Books I’ve read:

• Julia Alvarez In the Time of the Butterflies
• Laurie Halse Anderson Speak
• Maya Angelou I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
• Margaret Atwood The Edible Woman
• Margaret Atwood Dancing Girls
• Margaret Atwood Surfacing
• Margaret Atwood Life Before Man
• Margaret Atwood Bluebeard’s Egg
• Margaret Atwood The Handmaid’s Tale
• Margaret Atwood The Testaments

I’m ready to tackle my first shelf, which poses a bit of a problem. The only books I haven’t read are ones I’m not exactly in the mood for, because they are all very serious and/or depressing. I thought about going out of order, but that would probably be too difficult to keep track of. I’m going to read The Education of a British-Protected Child: Essays by Chinua Achebe, because it will be valuable, and I know I’ll learn from it. I teach Things Fall Apart and some of his short stories, so I’ll be able to use parts of it in my lessons. I’m not even sure this book belongs on this shelf. It’s a collection of essays, but it’s kind of a memoir, and I included memoir with fiction for some reason. I’ll probably rearrange at some point.

Books on this shelf I’ve read:
Douglas Adams The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah Chain-Gang All Stars
Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah Friday Black
Dante Alighieri Inferno
Alaa Al Aswany The Yacoubian Building
Isabel Allende The House of the Spirits
Isabel Allende Portrait in Sepia
Isabel Allende Zorro
Julia Alvarez How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents

For the past few years, I’ve been joining book clubs and participating in Twitter bookchats to help me diversify my reading. The upside is that I’ve discovered new authors, kept up with new releases, and developed friendships with other readers. The downside is that the unread books on my bookshelves have been largely ignored. For a number of reasons, I’m down to one active book club, and instead of finding more to join, I’m going to focus on reading the books I already have. 

As you can see, my library is quite large. I have 1,825 books in my house, but I’ve only read 797 of them. This does not include ebooks or the books in my classroom library, which may turn into separate reading projects. My plan, which I’m sharing for accountability purposes, is to go shelf by shelf, selecting one unread book to read in place of what I’d be reading for book clubs. I’d love to be able to be at 50% by the end of the school year! 

Another goal I have is to write more, so I’ll be chronicling this process and sharing more reviews of what I read. 

Stay tuned for the ridiculousness that is my library!