Winter Reading

It’s been way too long since I’ve made time to review books. Instead of trying to catch up, I’m going to mention the books about which I have something to say.

The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist
When I bought this book, I didn’t expect to discover a new 1984 or Handmaid’s Tale, but I did! It’s about a society in which people with no children and no super-valuable job become “dispensible” at age 50. (Unmarried artists and writers are prime candidates.) It’s disturbing, sad and brilliantly done, the sort of story that lingers. I think it’s important and the sort of book everyone should read, but be warned, it’s difficult to take.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
I don’t read much YA, but these convinced me I should. The Book Thief is about a German girl who hides a Jew in her basement during WWII. It’s told from the point-of-view of Death. (So cool.) Life As We Knew It follows a family through an apocalypse and then a post-apocalyptic world. Yet, it’s a small, personal story. Very well done. *recommends*

The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood
This sequel to Oryx and Crake occurs during the same timeline but follows different characters. A couple of the important people and events from Oryx and Crake show up along the way. I LOVE Atwood’s writing. I love her ideas. I love how she holds everything back until the very end yet somehow keeps me reading. I love that her characters are so real and flawed. She’s dark, yet hopeful.

So, yeah, I loved this book. I recommend reading Oryx and Crake first, though.

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
I hadn’t read any Dan Brown before this, I merely saw the movies. I really enjoyed the movies, but I didn’t think I’d enjoy the books. I was wrong! Brown may use too-familiar plot conventions and a cliche here and there, but man oh man, his books make me *think* (and I like to think!) This one involves noetics, the Masons and Washington D.C. I read quickly and enjoyed every second.

Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant
*happy sigh* I adore Sarah Dunant. This story is set in a convent and is told by an alchemist nun (unusual, I suspect). It’s also about an unwilling nun being sold to the convent and how she deals with losing the love of her life. It’s a beautiful, sad and ironic story about love and religion, and it’s great historical fiction. Highly, highly recommended.

Late Spring Books

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
I don’t normally read [or enjoy, to be honest] YA novels, but this one was timely enough to be interesting. It’s about Homeland Security going mad with power in San Francisco after a terrorist attack and a kid’s fight against the resulting invasions of privacy and attacks on the Bill of Rights. It’s a cool story because it’s very Real Life. The techno-extrapolation and pop culture references are fun, too.

Death With Interruptions by Jose Saramago
Ahhhh Saramago. Too bad I only have 2.5 books left to read by The Jose. This wasn’t my favorite of his but was wonderfully enjoyable nonetheless. It’s about death (the being) deciding not to take anyone’s life for a while and the resulting chaos. It’s full of Saramago’s thoughtful and humorous observations as well as being an engaging story.

The Sirian Experiments by Doris Lessing
This was my second Lessing book and the one that confirmed for me that I LOVE HER. She has this way of including the entire scope of human history in every chapter. I’ve read two other Lessing books since and they were the same way. This one is the story of the human race written from the perspective of an alien race trying to positively effect our evolution on Earth. So, it’s sci-fi, but also clearly literary. The idea itself is fascinating (and well-developed, of course) but that’s not all. The narrator is a wonderfully sympathetic character who learns along with humanity. This book continuously made me think and feel. It rocks. Highly recommended.

Shikasta by Doris Lessing
This is the first in Lessing’s five-book “Canopus” series. I suppose I should have read it before The Sirian Experiments (book three) but, alas, I did not. Didn’t need to! See all the great things I wrote above and apply to this book. Plus more scope and brilliance.

The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing
Again let me state my love for Doris Lessing. *LOVE* This is the story of a monster child born into an otherwise-ordinary family. It explores many aspects of feminism, especially relating to the responsibilities, emotions and desires of motherhood. It’s a complex, layered story that makes you think, but it’s also a page-turner. And it’s sci-fi! Lessing crosses the sci-fi/literary border gracefully.

Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx
I saw the movie first, of course, but Proulx’s style is so original as to make this a great read anyway. It’s very short!

The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry
This book was shortlisted for the Man Booker prize, and I ended up liking it a *lot* more than the book that won (The White Tiger). It’s about a psychiatrist and patient in a mental hospital that’s closing after many decades. The history of the patient and the doctor are revealed with beautiful prose and vivid vignettes. But the present-day story is great, too. This book had a lot of layers and was a joy to read.

The Love We Share Without Knowing by Christopher Barzak
This is a *gorgeous* novel. It’s a set of intertwined stories set in Japan about love and loss. The Amazon review compares it to Haruki Murakami’s work, and I would have to agree. It has the same magic realism feel. I loved this book not for the plot or any particular character but because of the beautiful world it brought to life.

May Books

BTW, I love my Kindle so much. It was way too easy to access and read books while traveling. Kindle = pure joy.

Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang
Good God. These stories are brilliant. Everyone needs to read them, then there are things we’ll all need to discuss. Chiang is a complete original. Go. Read.

One For Sorrow by Christopher Barzak
This is a beautiful, original ghost story. Barzak perfectly captures what it feels like to be young and searching for meaning. The story is about the difference between being alive and being dead–how cool is that? The writing is thoughtful and the characters full of vulnerability. I love the genre; it’s literary, clearly, but still speculative. I’m anxious to read his next.

Confessions of a Crap Artist by Philip K. Dick
The intro to this book says it’s Dick’s only published non-speculative novel. It’s about a very twisted family dealing with their destructive natures. I love the characters; even though they were rather despicable, they were still sympathetic and vividly drawn. Dick employs his usual brilliant subtext and engaging storytelling. You may note I’ve added him to my list of fave novelists. I didn’t know I’d like him so much. He continues to surprise me.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon
What a beautifully touching book! And fast; I read it in an afternoon. The main character is autistic, and seeing how his mind works is fascinating. He tries to figure out who killed the neighbor’s dog and in the process, every safe thing in his life is challenged. Really, really enjoyable and uplifting read.

Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
This is my first Lehane novel. Wow! So full of twists! It’s about a couple of U.S. Marshalls tracking down an escaped mental patient on Shutter Island, which houses only the mental hospital and a really spooky lighthouse. It’s a smart psychological thriller. Definitely going to read more Lehane now.

Peeps by Scott Westerfield
I *loved* the parasite stuff in this book! Every other chapter talks about a different parasite, and apparently they are poised to take over the universe. (Srsly, beware.) In the other chapters, parasites are merely taking over the city by turning people into vampires. Very cool premise. Fun book.

You? Whatcha readin’?

More May Books

On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan
I read this one because I enjoyed Atonement, and this one was even better. It’s about a couple’s wedding night in 1963 and the connection between sex and love. McEwan brings everything together to a shocking and poignant end. There’s even scope, with historical context and how small things can affect an entire life. Brilliant!

Call of the Wild by Jack London
Cool book. Not much to say about it. I enjoyed it. It’s about a dog.

City of God by E.L. Doctorow
Wow. I loved this book, but it wasn’t a fun or easy read. The narrative style was challenging; Doctorow jumps POVS without telling you who you’re reading about (figure it out from context, dummy!), and his characters pontificate a LOT. But the pontifications are fascinating. He uses science ideas as metaphors (So cool!) and song lyrics for symbolism. The basic story is a priest searching for a crucifix that’s been stolen from his church, but the people involved have relevant personal histories stretching back through the whole twentieth century. The story glimmers with thoughtful themes and vivid writing.

Fast Times at Fairmont High by Verner Vinge
This was a fun sci-fi story about students who discover a government secret while taking an off-campus test. The cool part is the technology; humans are plugged directly into communications networks. Vinge deals with how kids in such an environment might forget how to live outside the network.

The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
This is a sci-fi story about humans discovering alien life and the consequences of making contact. I have some friends who really loved the novel, and I did love the ideas, but for some reason it dragged a bit for me. I think I wasn’t crazy about the narrative style. I did love the female character who became an indentured slave to gain her education.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick
This was a fabulous book! A bounty hunter sets out to terminate androids who are nearly-unrecognizable from humans. The setting is a bizarre future where animals are mostly extinct, so people spend lots of money for the opportunity to keep sheep, turtles or pigs as pets. There are even android pets, but they give less status. Dick is amazing at building intense complexity into the world and characters. There’s so much subtext and irony. I want to see Blade Runner now, though I’ve heard they aren’t really the same.

Next up, a Scott Westerfield novel a friend recommended. Then… I dunno! You tell me!

Spring Books

Mara and Dann by Doris Lessing
Lessing is really cool! She’s literary speculative fiction. (!!) She won the Nobel Prize recently, so I checked her out because I loved Jose Saramago so much. This is a far-future sci-fi novel where humans are struggling to survive an ice age. Europe and North America are under ice, and the change in climate has made life *very* different and difficult in Africa and South America. Mara and Dann are trying to stay ahead of the drought, heading north from southern Africa, and we see the devastation along the way.

Dragons and giant insects and lizards have evolved, and there are flash floods and new types of humans. There are descriptions of old civilizations buried for thousands of years. Europeans are still around… but not doing so well. Mara and Dann try to learn all they can of what happened during the 15,000 years Earth was habitable and what happened when the civilizations fell. It’s absolutely fascinating. Lessing made it incredibly believable. I highly recommend this book and suspect most of the people I know would really enjoy it. Looking forward to reading more of her for sure.

The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood
This is a retelling of the Penelope myth (she was constantly barraged by offers of marriage while waiting for Odysseus to return, and when he finally returned, he killed her twelve maids!) It’s a feminist retelling, looking at the reality of how the women might actually have felt if these things really happened. The writing didn’t feel much like Atwood–it felt more distant and tell-ish–but I think the ideas are the appeal of this book. Definitely interesting and worth reading.

American Rust by Philipp Meyer
Amazon reviews were calling this guy a modern Steinbeck. I totally see why. This book feels very American and explores the underbelly of a western Pennsylvania factory town. Two young men are forced into a violent encounter which changes their lives. The story is how they deal with it. One runs away and the other faces prison. The prose is gorgeous and the details exquisitely realistic. If you like Steinbeck, you’ll love this.

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
Coolest. Book. Evah. Loved it. It’s a dystopia where violence is so common in society the government has to come up with interesting new ways to combat it. It’s told from the POV of a young man heavily involved in the violent youth culture. What’s awesome is the language; a good 25% of it is made up! It’s fun figuring out the words from context. It’s a weird combination of English and Russian. What’s also cool is the dystopian element of how the violence is supposed to be curbed.

I watched the Kubrick film right after. It’s fabulously weird, like the book. Malcolm McDowell is perfect in it. He captures that boyish, “I’m violent but you still like me, don’t you?” attitude.

Miles From Nowhere by Nami Mun
The writing in this is just beautiful. It’s the adventures of a runaway told in non-linear format. I think this is Mun’s first novel. I hope she writes more.

And you? Read any of these? Have thoughts? Any interesting books you think I should know about?

*blows kisses*