Sunday, December 26, 2021

Wake to Words and Brew Some Coffee (12/26/21)

Welcome to this week's edition of Wake to Words and Brew Some Coffee, wherein I read good poems by other people while we all drink coffee (or tea).  

Poems read:

  • 15. by Wendell Berry (from the longer poem VIII. A Small Porch in the Woods)
  • Training by Diannely Antigua
  • Space, in Chains by Laura Kasischke
  • Stranger by Night by Edward Hirsch
  • “I Am the Size of What I See” by Paul Hoover
  • Lilies by Mary Oliver
  • Awake at Night by Wendell Berry
๐Ÿ•ฎ

๐Ÿ Š Listen to more poetry sessions here: http://www.erinpringle.com/p/wake-to-words-and-brew-some-coffee.html
๐Ÿ Š Catch the live show on Sunday mornings at some time-ish: https://www.facebook.com/erintpringle

A Still Life by Josie George: Yes, read it (a short recommendation)

Here is the first long book I’ve read in too long. Thank goodness for holiday break and the time it provides to remember how to read again—the steady focus, the pause and return, the belief that each page might bring more than the last and to wait while going.

I bought it after my first publisher, Sharon Blackie, recommended it in her newsletter. And I’m glad that she did (and that she takes time to write updates that are so varied and wise). 

I, too, recommend this book. A Still Life, a memoir by Josie George. She provides a quiet and intense examination of her world in the world, and her body inside her body—a body that has been behaving erratically (pain, blackouts, infections, weakness interrupted by months or more of consistent wellness) since childhood—a body that will not fall into a perfect diagnosis or cure—and, thus, the tired reactions of others and how this affects her way of being. She brings the reader into her interior world deftly and, because of everyone’s exhaustion with not knowing how to “fix” her, she gently welcomes us in and carefully shows her life as she’s known it and how differently others have viewed her life and how she’s known that, too.

It’s a good book. Those with similar experiences will likely find companionship in shared experiences of disability (and ableism), and able-bodied readers will find companionship in her deep commitment to understanding life, behavior, and inner/outer selves as well as her flung-open acceptance (and patient patience with family, strangers, friends, past loves, her son, and herself).

It’s a book to read in more than one sitting, which I appreciated.

๐Ÿ“–

  • Publisher’s website: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/still-life-9781526612014/
  • And if you’d like to subscribe to Sharon Blackie’s newsletter (mentioned above), that’s all here: https://sharonblackie.net


Friday, December 24, 2021

A Visit from St. Nicholas, read aloud by Erin Pringle

In which I read Night Before Christmas for no particular reason except that I enjoy the poem, it's Christmas Eve, and I like to read aloud. 

Happy Christmas!


Thursday, December 23, 2021

Book Your Stocking with Tom Noyes

Book Your Stocking 2021
Book Your Stocking: Day 23

So glad to have you back! We are nearly finished with this year's edition of Book Your Stocking, and hopefully, you're nearly finished with making, buying, and wrapping gifts to your favorite people. Each day avid readers recommend books that you or your favorite person would be delighted to find in their stocking or sock drawer. 

Please welcome Tom Noyes back to the series.



๐Ÿ“–


Why: Wang doesn't write just one kind of story in this collection, and he doesn't create just one kind of character or employ just one perspective or pursue just one theme. His vision is as vast and varied as the settings, time periods, and personalities he brings to life in this buzz-worthy debut. (Winner of the 2021 Pen America Robert W. Bingham Prize)
๐Ÿ“–

About today's reader: Tom Noyes is a writer and professor; his newest book is the novel The Substance of Things Hoped For (Slant Books 2021).

Tom Noyes

Wednesday, December 22, 2021

Book Your Stocking with Jeremy Toungate

Book Your Stocking 2021

Book Your Stocking: Day 22

Welcome to the last Tuesday of Book Your Stocking. As you may or may not know, every day through Christmas Eve, avid readers recommend books that you or your favorite person would be delighted to find in their stocking or sock drawer. 

Today's reader is the most avid reader I have ever met in my entire life. At one point, I opened our car door and removed no less than seventy-five books. He'd read them all. In a few months. 

Please welcome my best friend, Jeremy Toungate.

๐Ÿ“–




Why: Everything around me seems more distinct and visually stunning after I read Toppi's work. 

๐Ÿ“–

About today's reader: Jeremy Toungate lives and writes in Spokane.

Jeremy Toungate



Tuesday, December 21, 2021

Book Your Stocking with Neal Hallgarth

Book Your Stocking 2021
Book Your Stocking: Day 21

Book Your Stocking continues with a new book to slip into your stocking or your favorite person's stocking. 

Please welcome today's avid reader, Neal Hallgarth.







๐Ÿ“–
Recommendation: What It Is by Lynda Barry




Why: By doing the exercises, I was able to recall memories I hadn't accessed in decades. 

๐Ÿ“–

About today's reader: Neal Hallgarth writes, draws, and DJs in Spokane.
Neal Hallgarth

Monday, December 20, 2021

Book Your Stocking with Owen Egerton

Book Your Stocking 2021

Book Your Stocking: Day 20

Book Your Stocking is your book-advent series in which avid readers recommend books for your stocking every day until Christmas Eve.

And no year of books can be fully full until Owen Egerton tells me the ones to read. So, I asked him.





๐Ÿ“–

Owen: So many great books. I love Stacey Swann’s beautiful debut Olympus, Texas. The ancient gods in small town Texas - so rich! I also adore A.C. Wise’s story collection The Ghost Sequences - haunting, horrific, wildly weird, and exquisitely crafted. It lives up to its kickass cover!



๐Ÿ“–

About today's reader: Owen Egerton writes books and makes movies.

Owen Egerton

Sunday, December 19, 2021

Wake to Words and Brew Some Coffee (December 19, 2021)

Welcome to this week's edition of Wake to Words and Brew Some Coffee. Today, special guest Henry Valentine joins us to share some favorite poems by Shel Silverstein.

 

Poems read:
  • Snowball by Shel Silverstein 
  • Little Jack Horner
  • Foot Repair by Shel Silverstein 
  • Snow on the fields by Christine Rossetti
  • Like Snow by Wendell Berry
๐Ÿ•ฎ
๐Ÿ Š Listen to more poetry sessions here: http://www.erinpringle.com/p/wake-to-words-and-brew-some-coffee.html
๐Ÿ Š Catch the live show on Sunday mornings at some time-ish: https://www.facebook.com/erintpringle

Book Your Stocking with Mandy Chapman Orozco

Book Your Stocking 2021

Book Your Stocking: Day 19

Here we are, nineteen days into this year's edition of Book Your Stocking. If you haven't stuffed all your stockings, then this is the perfect place to be. If friends give you gift-cards to bookstores, this is an even better place to be. Every day avid readers recommend the book for your stocking (or your favorite reader's stocking).

Please welcome Many Chapman Orozco who is today taking care of socks, stockings, and your booklist.


๐Ÿ“–



Why: I'd love to get this book in my stocking because there's a lot of noise right now, and this book poetry is the opposite of all that--it is thoughtful, powerful, and lovely.

๐Ÿ“–

About today's reader: Mandy Chapman Orozco reads and writes in Spokane.

Mandy Chapman Orozco

Saturday, December 18, 2021

Book Your Stocking with Polly Buckingham

Book Your Stocking 2021
Book Your Stocking: Day 18

Another day, another Book Your Stocking, the somewhat-annual series in which avid readers recommend books for your stocking or the stockings of people you most love. Thanks for returning or discovering us.

Today, Polly Buckingham has the book for you.





๐Ÿ“–



Why: This book is a surreal adventure centering around three generations of women and their gingerbread recipes (what's in that gingerbread, you may ask); it includes talking dolls, unmapped countries, and houses that disappear and reappear elsewhere.
๐Ÿ“–

About today's reader: Polly Buckingham reads, writes, and teaches in Eastern Washington and has recently become the series editor for the Katherine Anne Porter Award.

Polly Buckingham

Friday, December 17, 2021

Book Your Stocking with Tina ลฝigon

Book Your Stocking 2021
Book Your Stocking: Day 17

Book Your Stocking continues, and I'm glad that you continue with it. If this is your first visit, welcome! Each day of December, leading up to Christmas, avid readers recommend books that you or your favorite person would be delighted to find in their stocking or sock drawer. 

Today, Tina ลฝigon is the avid reader with the book for your list (and stocking).



๐Ÿ“–



Why: Because it's been on my to-read forever, and I finally read it this year, and it felt it was just the right time to do so, and it blew my mind.
๐Ÿ“–

About today's reader: Tina ลฝigon grew up in Slovenia, has lived and taught English on three different continents, and currently resides in the Midwest with her husband and son.

Tina ลฝigon

Wednesday, December 15, 2021

Book Your Stocking with Hannah Rigney

Book Your Stocking: Day 15

Thanks for returning to, or finding, this year's edition of Book Your Stocking. Each day avid readers recommend books that you or your favorite person would be delighted to find in their stocking or sock drawer.

Please welcome today's avid reader, Hannah Rigney.






๐Ÿ“–


Why: I was laughing and crying the whole time I was reading it, and I thought it was eye-opening into the life of a child with a learning disability. 

(Book is written toward middle-school readers.)
๐Ÿ“–

About today's reader: Hannah Rigney is an eary-childhood Montessori educator.

Hannah Rigney


Tuesday, December 14, 2021

Book Your Stocking with Donna Miscolta

Book Your Stocking 2021

 Book Your Stocking: Day 14

Thanks for returning to Book Your Stocking, the somewhat-annual advent of books wherein avid readers recommend books for your stocking or sock drawer.

I'm not only happy to welcome Donna Miscolta to today's session, but also grateful that she continues to accept my invitations to share her thoughts on here. 

If you missed a session or would like to see more of Donna's past recommendations, visit http://www.erinpringle.com/p/book-your-stocking.html

๐Ÿ•ฎ

Recommendation: Inter State by Josรฉ Vadi

Why: In these wry, intelligent essays, Vadi chronicles the changes in his beloved home state from the time his grandfather followed the crops as a California migrant worker, through the tech boom, high-speed rail development, wildfires, and the pandemic and the resulting gentrification, ghost towns, homelessness, and his own sense of displacement.

๐Ÿ•ฎ

About today’s reader: Donna Miscolta is the author of three books of fiction, the most recent of which, Living Color: Angie Rubio Stories, won the International Latino Book Award Gold Medal for Best Collection of Stories and was a finalist for the Washington State Book Award. www.donnamiscolta.com

Donna Miscolta, photo by Meryl Schenker


Monday, December 13, 2021

Book Your Stocking with Regi Claire

Book Your Stocking 2021
Book Your Stocking: Day 13

Thank goodness that a virtual way of travel is possible, for today we are welcoming back Regi Claire, all the way from Scotland, by way of her Swiss upbringing. 

Please welcome Regi Claire to this year's Book Your Stocking where avid readers recommend books every day until Christmas. (Past sessions here: http://www.erinpringle.com/p/book-your-stocking.html)


๐Ÿ•ฎ

RecommendationThe Man in the Wooden Hat by Jane Gardam 

Why: Written with panache and admirable craft, this compulsively readable, witty, intelligent and moving novel set in the legal circles of Hong Kong and England tells the story of a wife’s secret longings and betrayals.

(Note: part of a trilogy but standalone.)

๐Ÿ•ฎ

About today's reader: Swiss-born Regi Claire is a prizewinning poet and fiction writer based in Scotland.  www.regiclaire.com

Regi Claire



Sunday, December 12, 2021

Wake to Words and Brew Some Coffee (December 12, 2021)

Please enjoy this week's edition of Wake to Words and Brew Some Coffee, wherein I read good poems by other people while we all drink coffee.

 

Poems read:

  • Winter by Billy Collins
  • Winter by Marie Ponsot
  • Acquainted with the Night by Robert Frost
  • Foxes in Winter by Mary Oliver
  • The Peace of Wild Things by Wendell Berry
๐Ÿ•ฎ
๐Ÿ Š Listen to more poetry sessions here: http://www.erinpringle.com/p/wake-to-words-and-brew-some-coffee.html

๐Ÿ Š Catch the live show on Sunday mornings at some time-ish: https://www.facebook.com/erintpringle


Book Your Stocking with Erin Pringle


Book Your Stocking 2021

Book Your Stocking: Day 12

Welcome back to Book Your Stocking, where every day until Christmas, avid readers recommend the book, story, song, or word-something that you and your friends would love to find in your stocking or sock drawer.

Today, I'm recommending a book because I missed a day in the series and it would seem odd to have nothing happen for Day 12, even though it's Day 13 when I'm writing this (technicality, tho it may be).

๐Ÿ•ฎ

Recommendation: Known by Salt by Tina Mozelle Braziel

Why: Her poetry doesn't give a f*ck that it grew up in a trailer park and understands lakes, lipstick, and low-income living. I feel recognized when I read her work. Real, raw, and what poetry looks like when it's by the people for the people--impossibly gorgeous. 

๐Ÿ•ฎ

About today's reader: I write stories in all sizes and prefer to read poetry.

Saturday, December 11, 2021

Book Your Stocking with Ann Tweedy

Book Your Stocking 2021

Book Your Stocking: Day 11

One of my favorite poets whose work often appears in Wake to Words and Brew Some Coffee is here to share today's book recommendation. Take note. Take many notes. Then find the book.

Please welcome back Ann Tweedy to this year's Book Your Stocking.



๐Ÿ•ฎ

Recommendation: This Wound Is a World by Billy-Ray Belcourt

Why: These poems' exploration of colonialism and its effects on the speaker, viscerally in his body, are shattering, and yet the poems are filled with tenderness for his kookum (grandmother), his lovers, and himself.

๐Ÿ•ฎ

About today's reader: Ann Tweedy is the author of the award-winning poetry book, The Body's Alphabet (Headmistress), and three chapbooks: A Registry of Survival (Last Word), White Out (Green Fuse Poetic Arts), and Beleaguered Oases (Seven Kitchens). www.anntweedy.com

Ann Tweedy
photo by Karen Wolf


Friday, December 10, 2021

Book Your Stocking with Heather Keast (my partner)

Book Your Stocking 2021

  Book Your Stocking: Day 10

We have arrived at Friday here on Book Your Stocking, where each day (and mostly each year), avid readers suggest good ideas for gifting readers and word-lovers. 

Today is also a good day to write down all the recommendations so far (click here) for your weekend book-browsing jaunts.
 

๐Ÿ•ฎ

Recommendation: The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America by Thomas King

Why: I learned a lot. And it was a hard tone to strike to tell these horrific stories of genocide with just a touch of humor so that you could get through the book. It was just well done. 

๐Ÿ•ฎ

About today's reader: Heather Keast reads books and teaches books. 




Thursday, December 9, 2021

Hezada! I Miss You Named Notable in Shelf Unbound's 2021 Best Indie Books

Good news! 

Hezada! I Miss You has received accolades from shelf unbound's annual selection of "Best Indie Books"

View all the winners, finalists, and notables here: https://issuu.com/shelfunbound/docs/2021_awards-issue-2021-december-january



๐Ÿ•ฎ

Purchase Hezada! I Miss You from the awesome Awst Press: https://awst-press.com/shop/hezada

(Feel free to note this on the gift tag when you set the book under your Christmas Tree. Ha!)



Book Your Stocking with Michael Noll

Book Your Stocking 2021

Book Your Stocking: Day 9

Welcome to Thursday and to the day Michael Noll joins us to give his reading recommendation for the year. One of the most avid readers I know, Michael has found the book that, at least by the title, suggests that he has nothing left to read. 

Thanks to Michael for taking part. And to you, fellow reader, come back again for more ideas for your stocking (and the stockings of your friends). Miss a day? Check here: http://www.erinpringle.com/p/book-your-stocking.html 

๐Ÿ•ฎ

Recommendation: The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity by David Graeber and David Wengrow

Why: This book is worth the hype: it re-examines the foundations of so-called Western thought to show that the way our government and society is set up is not the only option and probably not even the best option.

๐Ÿ•ฎ

About today's reader: Michael Noll writes fiction and is the Community Schools Coordinator in Peรฑasco, NM.

Michael Noll


Wednesday, December 8, 2021

Book Your Stocking with Ben Cartwright

Book Your Stocking 2021

 Book Your Stocking: Day 8

This year, avid readers were asked to recommend a book, story, poem, OR song. Ben Cartwright is both today's word-consultant and the first to rise up and say, Listen to this song, friends.

And so we shall. 

Let's.


๐Ÿ•ฎ

Recommendation: [song] "God Lifts Up the Lowly" by Ezra Furman

Why: Hope requires toughness and resolve for individuals and folks trying to organize, and this song conveys the type of hope that won't lay down or quit.

๐Ÿ•ฎ

About today's reader: Ben Cartwright is a poet and a teacher.

Ben Cartwright


Tuesday, December 7, 2021

Book Your Stocking with Henry Valentine

Book Your Stocking 2021

 Book Your Stocking: Day 7

A week of recommendations have passed, and I hope you've passed the time writing down the titles for your next trip to the bookstore or library. Check back every day until Christmas for more ideas by avid readers.

I'm pleased to welcome my child Henry Valentine back to the series. A second grader, he's recently become a hands-down, laugh-out-loud, let-me-read-this-part-to-you fan of the Catwad series by Jim Benton. But here, I'll let him tell you about it.

๐Ÿ•ฎ


Why: Because it has camping. It's one of the funniest books because it has one of my favorite comics in it. I like Catwad because it has very funny little stories in it.
Catwad: Four Me? (cover)


๐Ÿ•ฎ

About today's reader: Henry Valentine divvies up his time among reading, ballet, guitar, and getting as close to our dog's and cats' faces as humanly possible without, somehow, losing an eye.

Henry Valentine and hot chocolate

Need more book ideas? See past recommendations at http://www.erinpringle.com/p/book-your-stocking.html

Monday, December 6, 2021

Book Your Stocking with Savannah Johnston

Book Your Stocking: Day 6

Book Your Stocking 2021

Somehow, we've nearly reached a full week of book recommendations. If you're new to the series, Book Your Stocking is a somewhat-annual advent-of-sorts in which avid readers, who are often writers as well, recommend the book that they think you'd love to find in your stocking this year. Or your sock drawer. Or that your favorite reader would like to find on the side of the road like those lone socks you see sometimes. If you've missed a day or two, or a year or two, you can find past recommendations here: 

Today, we're welcoming Savannah Johnston to the series. She herself has a new book out this year, so check for that link in her bio. :)

๐Ÿ•ฎ

Recommendation: LaRose by Louise Erdrich


Why: LaRose is a beautiful story of two families, one Ojibwe, one white, enduring the loss of their sons in two very different ways, and it simply begs to be read again and again.

๐Ÿ•ฎ

About today's reader: Savannah Johnston is a citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, and her debut story collection Rites was recently published by Jaded Ibis Press. 

Savannah Johnston