Dansite Reading Journal

Book cover depicting a young Pat Metheny playing an electric guitar against a blurred, grassy background. Text reads "Beneath Missouri Skies: Pat Metheny in Kansas City 1964-1972."

Book, read April 13, 2026

Beneath Missouri Skies: Pat Metheny in Kansas City 1964-1972 (2021)

by Carolyn Glenn Brewer

Biography Music

"Book cover for 'In a Lonely Place' by Dorothy B. Hughes. A dramatic black-and-white image shows a face in shadow, with a window casting light. The mood is tense and mysterious."

Book, read April 8, 2026

In a Lonely Place (1947)

by Dorothy B. Hughes

Crime Fiction

Black and white image of a large white whale surfacing amid dark ocean waves, surrounded by flying seagulls. Text reads “Application for Release from the Dream, Tony Hoagland.”

Book, read April 5, 2026

Application for Release from the Dream (2015)

by Tony Hoagland

Poetry Top Pick

Book, read February 7, 2026

North Woods (2023)

by Daniel Mason

Literary Fiction Nature Writing Pulitzer Prize Finalist Top Pick

Book, read January 17, 2026

Five Decembers (2022)

by James Kestrel

Crime Fiction Top Pick

Article, read January 10, 2026

All the Sad Unliterary Men

The New York Review, January 15, 2026

by Kevin Power

Book Review

An illustration of a crowd at a stadium, with a long row of men in the foreground who appear almost identical, all sporting beards and casual clothing. They are all looking toward a woman sitting at the end of the row, who appears to be sweating and looki

Article, read January 10, 2026

To Understand JD Vance, You Need to Meet the “TheoBros”

Mother Jones, December 1, 2024

by Kiera Butler

Essay Politics

Book, read January 6, 2026

I Deliver Parcels in Beijing (2022)

by Hu Anyan • translated by Jack Hargreaves

Memoir

Article, read January 2, 2026

Fire Season: Returning to a Charred Neighborhood

The New Yorker, September 29, 2025

by Dana Goodyear

Essay

Article, read January 2, 2026

On the Impersonal Essay: Thinking in Six Parts

The New Yorker, September 29, 2025

by Zadie Smith

Essay

The cover depicts a single blue feather on a darker blue background.

Book, read November 27, 2025

Ceremony (1977)

by Leslie Marmon Silko

American Literature Literary Fiction

Book, In Progress

The Dying Grass: A Novel of the Nez Perce War (2016)

by William T. Vollmann

American Literature Literary Fiction

Image show a line drawing of a spiderweb with arrows dispersed and pointing in different dirrections.

Article, read November 17, 2025

How the Web Was Lost

The New York Review, December 4, 2025

by James Gleick

Journalism Technology

Book, In Progress

How to Read a Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading (1940)

by Mortimer J. Adler , Charles Van Doren

Non-Fiction

Book, read November 7, 2025

No Longer Human (1958)

by Osamu Dazai , Donald Keene

Literary Fiction Translation

Note November 6, 2025

Very excited to have received this beautiful edition of The Complete Works of Michel De Montaigne today.
This will be my first foray into his work. I'm hoping to learn a lot about writing essays as I understand he is said to have invented the format and that his are some of the finest.

The Complete Works of Michel de Montaigne