By Geo Ong
I like to read. I’m one of those people who keep track of what they’ve read, what they’re reading, and what they want to read. 2011 was a wonderful reading year for me personally, filled with great books by authors I haven’t read before, along with great books by writers I love, and even some great books by writers I’ve forgotten about. There are always a few surprises in anyone’s year of reading. Here are the highlights.
The Best Book I’ve Read All Year
Travels with Charley in Search of America by John Steinbeck
I don’t even think I need to say much, because this book has been featured quite prominently on the Urchin Movement already. I’ve read The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men when I was in high school. Even then, I knew Steinbeck was a great writer, but it was until I read this that I realised how truly great John Steinbeck is. All three Urchins have read this book, and all three Urchins are in love with it.
What This Means for Next Year: My new love for John Steinbeck means that I’m set to tackle some of his other great work, namely East of Eden and Cannery Row, which happen to be two of my younger brother’s favourite books. Perhaps I should listen to him more often.
The New York Reader
My move to Brooklyn last July certainly influenced the types of books I read this year. New York City in general is undoubtedly the most literary city in America and perhaps has been for several decades. In preparation, I went straight to the sources, nonfiction books on New York City by New York writers.
Metropolitan Life and Social Studies by Fran Lebowitz
Here Is New York by E. B. White
Brooklyn Is: Southeast of the Island: Travel Notes by James Agee
A House on the Heights by Truman Capote
Kafka Was the Rage: A Greenwich Village Memoir by Anatole Broyard
Letters, Friendships, and Encounters
Awesome People Hanging Out Together in print form. The Urchins share a fascination in the different relationships between writers and artists. Whether it was reading the personal correspondence between two writers or reading short anecdotes and chance meetings between famous people, I’ll never be satiated.
Letters: Summer 1926 – letters between Boris Pasternak,
Marina Tsvetayeva, and Rainer Maria Rilke
The Way It Wasn’t: From the Files of James Laughlin – anecdotes from the life of New Directions founder James Laughlin, including encounters with Tennessee Williams, Ezra Pound, and Gertrude Stein
Share with us your favourite books from the last year! We always want recommendations for next year! Happy reading!
