Books 26-36 of 2010
26. The City and the City by China Mieville (312 pgs)
I'd been wanting to read something by Mieville forever. My first surprise was that China was a man. My second was that this was a crime novel combined with speculative fiction. I'm not sure that combo worked (but I tend not to enjoy crime novels in general, Larsson excluded). I read lately that he wrote it for his mother who loves crime novels, so I guess I can look past it and definitely try something else he has written. I was fascinated by the idea of these two cities that exist in the same place and the people living in them are trained not to see the other one, lest they have to deal with Breach.
27. Too Much Happiness by Alice Munro (304 pgs)
I'm on a big short story kick this year. The first few stories in this set are the kind where Something Bad Happens, which always feels forced to me. I prefer the stories where events are more subtle and unexpected, or at least the characters are. It is almost harder to write subtle than dramatic, and Munro does manage to accomplish this in stories like Face, which is probably my favorite of the set.
28. That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo (261 pgs)
You know, I really do love Russo. He can take a plot that would otherwise be mundane and bring the characters to life. I find myself enjoying his novels even when I could care less about the subject matter. I loved this one and its exploration of long-term marriage, and family.
29. Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri (333 pgs)
More stories. Lahiri continues to be one of my favorite authors, so much so that I put off reading this book for a while when it first came out. She is a master of short story writing, and her characters are rooted in India (Bengali, Calcutta usually) but living in the northeastern United States.
30. Selected Poems by Mark Strand (152 pgs)
I read almost everything by Strand last year, but this anthology had some I was unfamiliar with. It includes some of my favorites, published the year he was selected as the Poet Laureate, now 20 years ago! I loved Eating Poetry with the foot-stamping librarian, The Room, Lines for Winter, and of course - The Remains and Coming to This, two of my favorites.
31. Carrots Love Tomatoes: Secrets of Companion Planting for Successful Gardening by Louise Riotte (224 pgs)
This book was in such high demand at the library, I had to wait six weeks to check out a copy. It is an interesting philosophy of which plants do well together, and which plants you should plant far away from everything else (fennel does not love anything, apparently). It is hard to give the book a rating without having tested out its advice, but I plan to put dill where I harvested radishes, and next year will try some of their suggestions to keep cabbages healthy. A lot of things love tomatoes, it seems, including basil and carrots.
32. Queen of a Rainy Country: Poems by Linda Pastan (77 pgs)
This is a book of poems reflecting the poet's life. My favorite was Par Avion. I read half of them in the drive-thru at Starbucks this morning.
33. Where the God of Love Hangs Out by Amy Bloom (201 pgs)
I was a little bothered that two of the stories were in the last book of stories I read by Bloom, and that seemed a little unnecessary in 200 pages, but this is a good volume if you are new to her.
I loved, LOVED, the stories of William and Clare. They are the epitome of what I love about Bloom. Her characters are so human and imperfect.
34. PM/AM: New and Selected Poems by Linda Pastan (112 pgs)
Most of Pastan's poems, at least in this volume, are about mundane life, but from time to time she truly does find something incredibly insightful to say. And who says poetry can't be about mundane things too?
My favorites were We Come to Silence, Dido's Farewell, Waiting for my Life, and What We Want.
35. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (374 pgs)
Really great, fast-paced, interesting young characters, impossible death-game situation in a post-apocalyptic former USA. I should have just bought it instead of waiting months to get it from the library, and I can't wait to read the next in the series.
36. Both Ways is the Only Way I Want It: Stories by Maile Meloy (219 pgs)
There are interesting threads going throughout these stories, like lonely people and black ice. I loved the pairing of the last two stories - The Children and O Tannenbaum - demonstrating the "both ways" concept.
I'd been wanting to read something by Mieville forever. My first surprise was that China was a man. My second was that this was a crime novel combined with speculative fiction. I'm not sure that combo worked (but I tend not to enjoy crime novels in general, Larsson excluded). I read lately that he wrote it for his mother who loves crime novels, so I guess I can look past it and definitely try something else he has written. I was fascinated by the idea of these two cities that exist in the same place and the people living in them are trained not to see the other one, lest they have to deal with Breach.
27. Too Much Happiness by Alice Munro (304 pgs)
I'm on a big short story kick this year. The first few stories in this set are the kind where Something Bad Happens, which always feels forced to me. I prefer the stories where events are more subtle and unexpected, or at least the characters are. It is almost harder to write subtle than dramatic, and Munro does manage to accomplish this in stories like Face, which is probably my favorite of the set.
28. That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo (261 pgs)
You know, I really do love Russo. He can take a plot that would otherwise be mundane and bring the characters to life. I find myself enjoying his novels even when I could care less about the subject matter. I loved this one and its exploration of long-term marriage, and family.
29. Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri (333 pgs)
More stories. Lahiri continues to be one of my favorite authors, so much so that I put off reading this book for a while when it first came out. She is a master of short story writing, and her characters are rooted in India (Bengali, Calcutta usually) but living in the northeastern United States.
30. Selected Poems by Mark Strand (152 pgs)
I read almost everything by Strand last year, but this anthology had some I was unfamiliar with. It includes some of my favorites, published the year he was selected as the Poet Laureate, now 20 years ago! I loved Eating Poetry with the foot-stamping librarian, The Room, Lines for Winter, and of course - The Remains and Coming to This, two of my favorites.
31. Carrots Love Tomatoes: Secrets of Companion Planting for Successful Gardening by Louise Riotte (224 pgs)
This book was in such high demand at the library, I had to wait six weeks to check out a copy. It is an interesting philosophy of which plants do well together, and which plants you should plant far away from everything else (fennel does not love anything, apparently). It is hard to give the book a rating without having tested out its advice, but I plan to put dill where I harvested radishes, and next year will try some of their suggestions to keep cabbages healthy. A lot of things love tomatoes, it seems, including basil and carrots.
32. Queen of a Rainy Country: Poems by Linda Pastan (77 pgs)
This is a book of poems reflecting the poet's life. My favorite was Par Avion. I read half of them in the drive-thru at Starbucks this morning.
33. Where the God of Love Hangs Out by Amy Bloom (201 pgs)
I was a little bothered that two of the stories were in the last book of stories I read by Bloom, and that seemed a little unnecessary in 200 pages, but this is a good volume if you are new to her.
I loved, LOVED, the stories of William and Clare. They are the epitome of what I love about Bloom. Her characters are so human and imperfect.
34. PM/AM: New and Selected Poems by Linda Pastan (112 pgs)
Most of Pastan's poems, at least in this volume, are about mundane life, but from time to time she truly does find something incredibly insightful to say. And who says poetry can't be about mundane things too?
My favorites were We Come to Silence, Dido's Farewell, Waiting for my Life, and What We Want.
35. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (374 pgs)
Really great, fast-paced, interesting young characters, impossible death-game situation in a post-apocalyptic former USA. I should have just bought it instead of waiting months to get it from the library, and I can't wait to read the next in the series.
36. Both Ways is the Only Way I Want It: Stories by Maile Meloy (219 pgs)
There are interesting threads going throughout these stories, like lonely people and black ice. I loved the pairing of the last two stories - The Children and O Tannenbaum - demonstrating the "both ways" concept.