November was a non-fiction heavy reading month, as 9 of 13 books I read fell into the nonfiction category, while two more (Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar (1963), marvelously read by the actress Maggie Gyllenhaal; and Percival Everett’s The Book of Training (2019)) were based heavily in fact. 

It was my second reading of The Bell Jar, and it landed differently (better) than my first reading when, like its protagonist Esther Greenwood, I was still an undergraduate. I was an undergrad too when I first read To the Lighthouse and this, second reading, was helped along by author and Virginia Woolf scholar, Katharine Smyth, through an excellent course with the 92nd Street Y Roundtable program. I don’t typically re-read books, but doing so this month has reminded how much time can impact the understanding and experience.

Head to your local library or favorite indie to grab these books! You can also find them at my Bookshop.org storefront here.