January & February Book Reviews: Howl, Mythology, & Harry Potter

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Hello, friends! Welcome back!

So, we are starting this year with more book reviews! I received some great responses to the few I did last year, so I am making them a regular thing on the blog. Just as a preface, everyone does book reviews differently. Personally, I choose to give my initial but broad thoughts on the works. I do not, and probably will not, go into great detail. I don’t want to create any spoilers for anyone who hasn’t read the book! If you have read it and want to discuss in detail, we can do that outside of the comments whether through email, social media, whatever!  With that out of the way, let’s get started.

January: Edith Hamilton’s Mythology & Allen Ginsberg’s Howl

January was a very interesting month for me. I was sick and then traveled and was sick some more and then I had to prepare to move and it was a lot going on( I cover it all here), to say the least. So, to start the year, I chose a shorter poetry book and a book that I’d read before as my January reads. I chose Howl, by Allen Ginsberg which is a long poetry piece and a select few of his other works. I also chose Edith Hamilton’s Mythology which I initially read in a Literature class in High school as a textbook.

So, thoughts…

Edith Hamilton’s Mythology

Was there ever a time you were sitting in a class and learning a new method or topic and it just felt different, somehow more interesting, almost fun, that is this book. It feels like a lesson that you want to show up for. The book is written with an academic tone.  But, there is an undertone ( or maybe it’s just the historian in me) of something similar to listening to a bedtime story or what I imagine listening to a traveling bard was like.

It is very thorough. Published in 1942, it remains one of the most extensive compositions on mythology. It covers Greek, Roman and Norse mythology. It also includes the significance of classical poets and their influence on mythology and mythology’s influence on cultures throughout history. If anything, you can pick and choose what parts you want to read, because, in its base form, it’s an academic book. This is not written like a fiction. I would not recommend it to anyone who doesn’t have a genuine interest in mythology and the historical and cultural significance of mythology. However, if you do, this is a must-read.

Allen Ginsberg’s Howl

I wrote poetry constantly, for years, and I still write, but not as frequently as I used to. However, I still enjoy reading poetry. Reading poetry isn’t like reading a story, it’s much more subjective and interpretive. The reader creates more of the picture as opposed to prose where in-depth details are often provided. Because of this, I find poetry to be so refreshing. I can’t go into it knowing whether the topic of every poem will interest me, if I can relate, or if I will like the style of the poem. Sometimes I like the formal styles and sometimes I love the informal styles that allow so much expression. It really is all a, ‘let’s just see.”

Howl, in my opinion, falls awkwardly into a freestyle form. While Allen Ginsberg and his counterparts were the pioneers of the Beat Generation and the culture and subcultures that developed from that, broadly speaking, this style is still informal in the sense that it isn’t in any of the traditional styles such as a sonnet, Limerick,  or haiku, etc. It does have a style and rhythm to it that has a story all its own if you want to do independent research( I suggest you do).

Overall, if I would have to describe the poem I would say it was raw and visceral. Both in its subject matter and its delivery, Howl forces you into a tumbling, cascading almost snowball like mindset where you get caught up in someone one else’s hallucination. And if you can relate to any of it, all of it, it is jarring. It’s almost too real but so worth it. If you can’t relate to the events and emotions Ginsberg is discussing it’s like watching a foreign film with really good cinematography, you still come away with a moving experience.

I will say this, however, Howl is not for everyone, like all art and writing. But, I say that here because it does address some issues that for some are too far out of their comfort zone, or can be triggering. The visuals and the topics are not light of heart or feel good, so just be prepared.  Overall, I would suggest that if you like to see raw human emotion being molded into something recognizable and relatable read it, dissect it and read it again.

February

I had gallbladder surgery at the beginning of February and when I finally came out of my anesthesia-induced stupor, I saw that my husband ( who is so freaking awesome) had gotten me “Harry Potter : A Journey Through A History of Magic” and the Hogwarts Library Books which includes “The Tales of Beedle the Bard”, Scamander’s “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” and Whisp’s “Quidditch Through the Ages”

If you’re an HP fan, I think these books are such a treat. It’s like the behind the scenes look at a movie or TV show almost. They are an extra look into a world that so many of us fell in love with years ago and it’s refreshing to have something new come from that world. There isn’t a whole lot to say about these books other than I enjoyed them very much. They aren’t particularly thought-provoking or moving but they are so very interesting and again, allow you to expand this world that we’ve all collectively created in our heads, which is always welcomed. I will say that the amount of detail in the library books is very commendable, but are we surprised? No.

Overall, I feel as though I started the year slowly, but I’m picking up the pace. Hopefully, March brings some good reads, stay tuned for that those book reviews!

Have you read any of these? Leave me comments below so that we can discuss! Or drop me some book suggestions!