As I'm writing this, it's New Year's Day; I find myself looking back on the things I read, and it has occurred to me that they reflect some notable phases. In the first part of the year, we have the books I read for my Spring Semester courses. I remember feeling hopeful for the year ahead, and I began setting myself up for bookish success. I was in my last block of classes before my first semester of student teaching, and I was looking forward to what I would be learning.
If you are unfamiliar with the books from that first part of the year, all I have to say is that some of them weighed very heavily on my mind and my soul. Some of them made me question humanity and think deeply about a woman's place in this world -- I was taking a course on women's perspectives after all. I was also taking a course on literacy in early elementary which was inspirational, but still a little bit sad at times.
The next phase of my reading journey came at the end of the semester. Most were much lighter reads as I tried to decompress from school. I also spent the summer working at the university, reading and writing academic research, so reading heavier books was [sort of] out of the question. I was also determined to read A Little Life, and that was...rough. If you've read it, I'm almost positive you could relate. I had to switch gears and get back into the fantasy genre to recover from that one and take a break from the real-ness of life.
As I began my first semester of student teaching, I was still reading more or less in the fantasy genre. But as November came around, I began lead-teaching and 40% of my brain power was funneled into reading curriculum and making lesson plans. The other 60% went to pure survival and trying to be a good mom and wife. It was a very challenging time, and I often felt that I was not doing a very good job at either; more on that later. Anything I read was mostly happy and lighthearted. I got sucked into the Dream Harbor series, and then pivoted to witchy fantasy books.
When the semester ended after Thanksgiving, I leaned back into darker themes and began opening myself up to nonfiction. My reading list seemed to come fill circle, ending with very thought-provoking reads. I finished my year with Babel by R.F. Kuang and Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica. Given the social and political state of the United States in this last quarter of the year, I found both very apropos.
All in all, I'm looking forward to my year of reading through 2025. I've given myself the goal of reading 50 books this year. What can I say? I'm optimistic.
Until next time, stay bookish,
Kim
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