My Year in Books: Darius

The Library’s Social Media Team loves to read, so in this series of blog posts we’re bringing you some of our favorite books we have read in 2022. (You can check out the first installation of this series here.) Several of us (myself included) did a GoodReads challenge—feel free to connect with me there, or join a GoodReads Challenge of your own in 2023!

In 2022 I read 49 books and 9,587 pages. My shortest book was The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman, which was 32 pages. The longest book I read was From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back edited by Elizabeth Schaefer, which was 561 pages. You can see all the books I read on my GoodReads page. My goal for 2022 was 30 books; in 2023 I’m upping it 45!

In no particular order, a few books I read in 2022 that stood out to me include…

Rembrandt is in the Wind by Russ Ramsey: Through a series of art history essays, pastor Russ Ramsey masterfully weaves extraordinarily compelling stories of the human experience, artistic expression, and biblical truth. There’s something for everyone in this book! I had heard a couple of Ramsey’s talks on The Hutchmoot Podcast and they were brilliant, so when I found out he was writing a book I knew I’d have to pick it up. I was not disappointed. Find some more of my thoughts about Rembrandt is in the Wind here.

Cold Skin by Steven Herrick: Cold skin is a verse novel murder mystery set in rural Australia shortly after World War I. The story is told from the perspectives of several characters living in a coal mining town, and each narrator is masterfully characterized. Prior to reading this, the only verse novel I had read was The Crossover by Kwame Alexander, and I think I will have to read more. The medium seems to combine the expressiveness of short poetry with the ability to tell a longer story in a way that can be very moving. I read Cold Skin in only two sittings, if I recall correctly. Find some more of my thoughts about Cold Skin here.

Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund: An extended contemplation on what it means for Jesus Christ to be “gentle and lowly in heart” as He described Himself in Matthew 11. Ortlund pulls from many Puritan writers to present a very helpful and encouraging picture of Christ’s heart for sinners. The book is not long, but even though it could be a pretty quick read I would recommend a slower pace to allow the reader time to contemplate what they’ve read. The short chapters could even be read as daily devotionals.

Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard: I got this book for Christmas 2020 and finally got around to reading it at the beginning of 2022. Dillard’s prose is magnificent, and her contemplations on things she observes are extremely thought-provoking. I am already itching to read it again. Find some more of my thoughts about Pilgrim at Tinker Creek here.

Black Hole Survival Guide by Janna Levin: A very quick—but mind-bending—read, Black Hole Survival Guide is one of the best bits of scientific communication I read this past year. Levin’s writing is witty and clear, and the accompanying artwork by Lia Halloran is both helpful and visually appealing. This book helped me understand some aspects of quantum physics and relativity that had previously caused me quite a bit of confusion. Find some more of my thoughts about Black Hole Survival Guide here.

Happy Reading!

Darius Mullin’s reviews reflect his personal opinions and not necessarily those of the library or university.

Library Staff Book Club: Cold Skin by Steven Herrick

Cold Skin is a murder mystery written in verse which takes place in a small town in Australia after World War I. The novel is presented from the perspective of a variety of characters in the small town. Each chapter is told from a different character’s point of view. The reader must be a detective in order to discern who could be the murderer.

Our library staff book club recently met to discuss the novel. The members answered the questions below. You can find Cold Skin in the Recreational Reading section of our library.

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What were your thoughts and feelings about the book overall?

Amber, Instruction Librarian, answered: I thought the plot was intriguing and highlighted several different societal issues like PTSD, pride, cowardice, love. It was different to read a murder mystery in verse; it made the book a quick read. I think it was also not as sinister as I was expecting.

Darius, Evening Circulation Supervisor, answered: I really enjoyed it! I thought the way that the story was told through the eyes of various characters, rather than one omniscient narrator, forces the reader to pay close attention to the character of each person in the town and reserve judgement. Since everything was skewed at least a little bit by various biases, you must pay attention to ascertain positive and negative attributes of each character. I also found the characters to be very compelling. Herrick writes for a varied cast of complex characters, interweaving their stories and giving fascinating character arcs to each. Cold Skin was hard to put down.

Melissa, Library Director, answered: I am learning to appreciate novels in verse, and this was especially enjoyable, seeing the story from different people’s perspectives. I did not get the mystery figured out ahead of time, either, which made the read fun. 

Sara, Circulation Associate and Administrative Secretary, answered: I found myself enjoying the novel more than I expected to, since mystery is not my favorite genre. The characters were interesting, and I found myself invested in a few of them. I do think I might forget about the book at some point because it did not grab my attention as much as some novels do.

Did the ending surprise you? Why or why not?

Amber answered: Yes, the ending surprised me. I am not good at figuring out the murderer. I was also surprised by how the murderer is caught/discovered as well as the lasting repercussions of the discovery.

Darius answered: The plot culminates in a faceoff between two characters, and the interplay between them is really fascinating. The ending seems like the only sensible outcome, but the way it happens is so explosive. As far as the whodunit aspect of the ending, I found that when certain characters start to come to their own realizations, I couldn’t quite figure out whether they were correct or misguided. I was pretty sure of what I thought, but honestly was still guessing until everything was settled.

Melissa answered: I was surprised by the ending — who committed the crime and how they were brought to justice. I don’t know that anyone could have figured it all out ahead of time.

Sara answered: While I did not entirely figure out who the murderer was ahead of time, I began to have my suspicions about one character who did turn out to be the murderer. I began thinking the character seemed too nice, and usually that is who the murderer turns out to be in mystery novels.

The novel was written in verse. Do you think it helped or hindered the story?

Amber answered: In some ways the verse novel form helped and in others it hindered. I think it was a quick read, so that made it easier to not get bored or forget what was happening while reading the book. However, since it was in verse and told from multiple perspectives there wasn’t as much detail. The characters and scenes or town dynamics weren’t developed as much as they would be in a regular novel. Although, I think the verse novel is a unique way to write a murder mystery.

Darius answered: I think the medium is essential to the work. Not only does it allow for that aspect of short, biased glances into the thought lives of the characters, it also makes for some short phrases that really pack a punch, especially in context. Some that stood out to me are “Men walk through tragedy, quietly, / calm and precise on the outside, / tearing themselves to shreds inside” and “If you don’t look at what’s in front of you, / you get overrun from behind.”

Sara answered: If the novel was written in prose I might have felt more invested in the story, but I preferred the verse format because it made for a quick read.  

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You can find Cold Skin in the Recreational Reading section of our library.