I’m not a subscriber of the Oprah Magazine but on occasion I’ll check it out when I’m at the bookstore. In particular, I’m a fan of the Reading Room section. I like to see what others have on their reading lists. Anyway, I’m really glad I picked up this latest issue because there’s an article on Sandra Cisneros and I’ve found out she has a new book in the works. Yay.

Have you read her novels? My favorite is Caramelo. I’m also quite a fan of her poetry and so I thought I’d share one of the poems I like quite a bit. This is from her book Loose Woman.

Champagne Poem for La Rosie

The first glass will make you laugh.
The second will have you making others laugh.
The third is for singing operettas.
The fourth to give you wings.
The fifth will have you forget
the things you chose to remember
and remember things you chose to forget.
The sixth is for courage when dialing Him.
The seventh to bring down cuss and concupiscence.
Congratulations. The eighth will drive you to bed or brawl.
Or to brawl in bed. Same difference.

Her poems are sexy, filled with attitude and manage to be bold and tender all at once. So hope you’ll check some of her poetry out if you haven’t yet.

So, what magazine have you read lately and has it led you to some new authors or books?

January was a great reading month for me and I finished nine books but February was definitely a slower month. I only finished four books (one of those a graphic novel). But, what’s really important for me is that I feel like my reading has been a bit more inclusive.

So far, I’ve been reading more short stories and poetry. I try to read one short story and/or one poem a week. And, along with the usual fiction reads, I’ve also read a couple of graphic novels, a memoir, two books in translation, some mysteries and even a science fiction book. I hope this trend continues.

Regarding challenges, I did finish the Japanese Reading Challenge and I’ve made a small dent into the 9 for 09 Reading Challenge. I’m still reading the first book in the Latin American Reading Challenge, but all the others are just waiting for me to dive in. Well, there’s still plenty of time so we’ll see what happens.

Right now I’m still finishing some books I started in February and after that so many books from my shelves look tempting who knows what March will bring.

How about you? How’s your reading going so far this year?