One of the challenges of moving is what to do with the books! Before moving to Amsterdam in 2019, I donated and sold most of my collection. However, there are still several heavy boxes stored with family in California. Each time I visit, I spend time revisiting my collection, wishing I could have them all together in one place. I end the trip by packing and weighing my bags and repacking, figuring out what can fly with me this time.

Some of the books in this pile go back to my days as an MFA student: the small catalog from the Ann Hamilton show at the Aldrich Museum and Liza May Post from her exhibition at the 2001 Venice Biennial. Textile books now dominate, documenting artists’ residencies in Iceland and Mexico and research trips to Ukraine and Portugal. More recent acquisitions like The Modern Natural Dyer connect me with the Bay Area landscape, which will always be home.

One of my intentions for 2022 is to read more and finish the books I’ve started, including Interwoven Globe above. I enjoy listening to audiobooks, so I can stitch or draw at the same time. That’s the way I get more reading done now.

What have you been reading, and what’s on the pile patiently waiting for your attention? Do you prefer reading a physical book or listening to the audio version? Do you have any favorite books from the past year?