I don't know about you but my TBR pile is the size of a telephone pole. I have a towering pile of books I want to read, or re-read, and have only one life in which to do it. I'm pretty selective in my book purchases but when I see something interesting, I add it to my TBR. The list outpaces my reading, and so grows ever larger.
There is no formal mechanism for how I prioritize what to read next. I can only say that some books make their way to the top of this figurative telephone pole faster than others.
Here's two that hit my mailbox in the past week and promptly jumped the queue.
I have read a fair bit of literary criticism and have reached the conclusion that storytelling and voice matter, even in this medium. Dense, academic jargon makes for a lot of work; even if it's got something illuminating to say the juice isn't worth the squeeze if comprehension becomes the equivalent of deconstructing a mental jenga puzzle.
Michael D.C. Drout wrote one of my favorite Tolkien essays for The Silmarillion: Thirty Years On, a personal and revealing piece about the impact that work had on him during a trying time in his life as a young boy at the height of the Blizzard of '78. I found it both illuminating and emotionally powerful, relatable on multiple levels (among them I lived through that blizzard). And so when I heard he had completed The Tower and the Ruin I knew I had to have it.
Right now I'm in the middle of The Two Towers and desire a companion to share in my reading. I'm hoping The Tower and the Ruin and a pint of beer will reaffirm the magic that is uniquely Tolkien's.
To Leave a Warrior Behind is the story of the late Charles Saunders, author of Imaro. Saunders passed away in May 2020 and was buried in an unmarked grave in Halifax, Canada. His life and S&S contributions seemed destined for obscurity, but a group of friends and fans sprang for a gravestone. The project funded in 24 hours.
Now it seems we also have a proper biography. Jon Tattrie worked side-by-side with Saunders at the same newspaper for years. I've been hearing good things and am looking forward to reading this as well.
I'm sure I'll get around to reviewing both.
2 comments:
Thank you for writing about the Saunders biography--I didn't know it was being published. My copy arrived today. I think you will enjoy The Tower and the Ruin, which I read at the start of the year: Drout occasionally indulges in griping about modern literature and academia (despite saying he won't indulge), but his readings of Tolkien are wonderful, and he brings his own biography into the analysis skillfully (and heartbreakingly).
Cool! I am looking forward to the Drout. And you're welcome about the Saunders biography. I too had forgotten it was being published, until someone posted a picture of their copy on the sword and sorcery discord.
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