More January Books

The Gospel According to Jesus Christ by Jose Saramago
So, you know how I’m always like “omg Saramago rules!”? Well, this is his VERY BEST BOOK ever. It’s truly amazing. It begins with Mary and Joseph and follows through Jesus’ life. It follows the Biblical gospels pretty closely, but Saramago has imagined really fascinating motivations and reactions for the things the characters do. There’s a conversation Jesus has with God at the end that is full of complexity and ideas. This is the sort of book I wish everyone would read so we could all discuss it. Endlessly awesome!

Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
It’s just as brilliantly written as her Pulitzer book, Gilead, but this one is about women rather than men. It’s the story of two girls who are orphaned by a suicide and taken in by their wanderer aunt. The aunt’s influence affects each of the girls differently. There’s not as much historical grounding in this book as in Gilead, but the setting is just as enchanting. It reminded me a little of Shirley Jackson’s We Have Always Lived in the Castle, which I also loved. I definitely recommend this book. Robinson’s writing is luscious and rich and the characters are beautifully flawed.

Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow
This is a fun book! Doctorow’s got some cool sci fi ideas (people extending their lives through memory downloads into clones and people receiving food/shelter/material things based on popularity and accomplishment meters) and is set in a future DisneyWorld.

Reading some really cool stuff next…

And you? What are you reading these days?