Lightwood asks: What are you reading?

We, at Lightwood Magazine, are interested in what you are reading during this time of self-induced solitude. Perhaps this is the perfect time to catch up on those books you always intended to read: classics or contemporary. Send us a note about a book you find noteworthy: a short 1-2 sentence synopsis and a short paragraph of your review. Other Lightwood readers will be interested. And a good time to share. Stay well.

Laurence Carr, Lightwood Publisher: Read those books that you wanted to read but never made the time for. I’m now half way through Proust, both reading and listening to it. I’m listening through a streaming service called Hoopla which I get through our local library for free. When you hear it aloud, all the humor, the human comedy, emerges. I laughed out loud many times, something I haven’t done since reading Catch-22 in my youth. His insight into high society is amazing; much of it feels like it was written yesterday. And also very moving; the death and recollections of Marcel’s grandmother are especially moving. I highly recommend it. Let it wash over you. And just when you think you have no idea what he’s talking about in these page-long sentences, suddenly, you get it. The grand circle of words completes itself.

It’s filled with wonderful (and sometimes dreadful) insight into the human experience, in all of its facets. And perhaps good to keep a guide close by: I’m liking A Reader’s Guide to Marcel Proust by Milton Hindus. But there are many others. And look at the lit. criticism by Roger Shattuck, also helpful. Bon Appetit!

Rachel Rigolino:

I am reading a classic I have always meant to pick up: A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century by Barbara Tuchman. While one might think reading about the plague that decimated Europe during a pandemic would lead to more anxiety, I have found this is not the case. Tuchman is a brilliant writer and storyteller, taking us into an age that suddenly does not seem much removed from our own.

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Mike Jurkovic:

Just finished reading two books: Woody Allen’s Apropos of Nothing and Come and Get These Memories The Story of Holland Dozier Holland & Motown by Brian & Eddie Holland. Oh yes, and also read Guy Reed’s latest book of wonderful poetic observations – Second Innocence. Started reading The Bending Cross, the definitive biography of Eugene Debs.