December 2024 – Page 2

One of my favorite novels of 2024 is Martyr!, by Kaveh Akbar. It is the story of a twentysomething poet and recovering alcoholic named Cyrus (Karoosh in Persian). When he was just an infant, Cyrus immigrated to the U.S. with his father after his mother was killed when the plane she was on was shot down over the Persian Gulf . Cyrus becomes obsessed with martyrs and martyrdom, and travels from his Indiana home to Brooklyn to meet an Iranian-American artist, Orkideh, who has terminal cancer and is living out her last days in an art museum for her final art exhibit.

I want to share one passage from Martyr! that triggered in me some thoughts about the writing process and its mysteries:

There’s something about this time of year that makes me want to spend more time with a book. Maybe it’s the shorter days and lengthening hours of darkness, which translate into less time outdoors and more time inside. Or maybe it’s the chill in the late autumn air, the bare trees, the transition into midwinter, and the weariness that arrives with the end of a long year.

Whatever it is that puts me in the mood to read, I’m thinking I’m not alone and that you, too, might be looking for some worthwhile reads. With that in mind on this winter solstice eve, I offer you five pieces that celebrate the coming day, our shortest of the year in the northern hemisphere. So build a fire, grab a cup of coffee or hot cocoa or mulled cider, crack open that screen, and enjoy these reads.

Month: December 2024

Silence behind me, silence before me

Friday Five: winter solstice reads