By Maria Popova (themarginalian.org)

Because I read for the same reason I write — to fathom my life and deepen my living — looking back on a year of life has always been looking back on a year of reading. This year was different — a time of such profound pain and profound transformation that it fused reading and writing into a single, surprising act of the unconscious: I began making bird divinations to clarify the confusion of living and refill my reservoir of trust in the cohesion of the world. This daily practice left a great deal less time for other reading, especially anything new: The written word today seems more and more resigned to commodified virtue signaling and hollow self-help, so I found myself returning more and more to trusted treasures that have stood the test of time and changing moral fashions. Of the few new books I did read, these are the ones I will keep returning to for substance and succor in the years ahead.

MARIE HOWE: NEW AND SELECTED POEMS

Here is my favorite poem from it (which is also one of my favorite poems of all time), and here is another.

SOMETHING IN THE WOODS LOVES YOU

Here is a taste.

THANK YOU, EVERYTHING

Here is a taste.

OLIVER SACKS: LETTERS

Here is a taste.

WEATHERING

Here is a taste.

JUNG VS. BORG

Here is a taste.

THE OTHER SIGNIFICANT OTHERS

Here is a taste.

CONSOLATIONS II

Here is a taste.

THE WORK OF ART

Here is a taste.

WE ARE FREE TO CHANGE THE WORLD

Here is a taste.

SOMETHING ABOUT THE SKY

Here is a taste.

FLOWERS FOR THINGS I DON’T KNOW HOW TO SAY

Here is a taste.

ON GIVING UP

Here is a taste.

THE LIGHT EATERS

Here is a taste.

KAMAU & ZUZU FIND A WAY

Here is a taste.

LIFE AS NO ONE KNOWS IT

Here is a taste.

THERE’S A GHOST IN THE GARDEN

Here is a taste.

CLOUDSPOTTING FOR BEGINNERS

Here is a taste.

WE GO TO THE PARK

Here is a taste.

THE MIRACULOUS FROM THE MATERIAL

Here is a taste.

THE MESSAGE

THE ART OF CRYING

Here is a taste.

THE DICTIONARY STORY

Here is a taste.

(AND ONE I MADE)

Peek inside here.

(AND ONE COMING NEXT YEAR)

Peek inside here.