Category: books and reading

Reading List 2024

The Drowned by John Banville, Faber and Faber 2024
strong characters in a many-layered mystery, but it’s really all about the language

Terra Incognita by Connie Willis, Del Rey 2018
three novellas, Willis is always interesting and entertaining

The Murder of Mr. Ma by John Shen Yen Nee and SJ Rohan, Soho 2024
lively, off the wall mash-up of Judge Dee and Sherlock Holmes in 1924 London; some interesting historical notes but I prefer Dee at home

The Sunset Years of Agnes Sharp by Leonie Swann, translated from the German by Amy Boding; (c2020) Soho Press 2023
sharp humor carries the story of murder in a seniors group home

The Devotion of Suspect X by HIGASHINO Keigo, translated from the Japanese by A. Smith; (c2005) St. Martin’s 2011
an ingenious plot and compelling psychological portrait; a very superior mystery story
(book group)

Will by Jeroen Olyslaegers, translated from the Flemish by David Colmer; (c2016) Pushkin Press 2019
Antwerp under Nazi occupation; the reader is drawn into a young man’s struggle with the moral quandaries of collaboration and survival

The Gardens of the Dead by William Brodrick, (2006) Penguin 2007
unusual and engrossing mystery concerned with the difficulies of justice and the moral choices of the characters as much as with solving the case

Smallbone Deceased by Michael Gilbert, 1950 Hodder & Stoughton
very clever and entertaining mystery, much humor at the expense of lawyers and the Law

Mild Vertigo by KAUAI Mieko, translated from the Japanese by Polly Baxton; (c2002) New Directions 2023
largely the internal monologue of a Japanese housewife whose swirling thoughts and memories collide with the ordinary routine of life; intriguing and compelling once one gives over to the flow of words

A Scream In Soho by John G. Brandon, (c1940) British Library 2014
a brisk Bulldog Drummondish adventure tale from the reliable series British Library Crime Classics

The Boy and the Dog by HASE Seishu, translated from the Japanese by Alison Watts; (c2020) Viking 2022
dog journeys home interacting with several humans along the way; less sentimental than most such

Austerlitz by W.G. Sebald, translated from the German by Anthea Bell; Hanser 2001
memory and history intertwine; elusive and haunting
(book group)

Trust by Hernan Diaz, Riverhead 2022
intricate multi-threaded story; invites reflection on various kinds of story telling, personal and literary
(book group)

The Strudlhof Steps by Heimito Von Doderer, translated from the German by Vincent Kling; (c1951) NYRB 2021
a huge immersive novel of Vienna in the early 20th century

Standing Heavy by Gauz, translated from the French by Frank Wynne; (c2014) Biblioasis 2023
the African migrants to Paris “stand heavy” all day working as security guards in fancy shops

Sea Room: An Island Life In the Hebrides by Adam Nicolson, North Point Press 2001
beautifully written description of the natural and human history of the small obscure Shiant Islands

Deep River by ENDO Shusaku, translated from the Japanese by Van C. Gessel; New Directions 1994
Endo suggests essential spiritual unities to be found in the experiences of Japanese pilgrims/tourists visiting India

The Heart in Winter by Kevin Barry, Doubleday 2024
gorgeous language elevates this story of doomed love in the Old West

Death Doesn’t Forget by Ed Lin, Soho 2022
very engaging and entertaining mystery set in Taipei

The Dark Flood Rises by Margaret Drabble, Farrar, Straus, Giroux 2017
story elements carry the observations and musings on old age and death

I May Be Some Time: Ice and the English Imagination by Francis Spufford, 1997 Faber & Faber
wide-ranging cultural history of the (often) fatal attraction for polar exploration and its meanings to Victorian England

I Will Show You How It Was, The Story Of Wartime Kyiv by Illia Ponomarenko, Bloomsbury 2024
Kyiv-based journalist takes the reader through the events leading to the invasion of his country and the first few months of war; very personal and vivid

The Stasi Poetry Circle by Philip Oltermann, Faber and Faber 2022
a fascinating and appalling investigation of the E German Secret Police obsession with poets and literary writers, recruiting some for an official poetry writing unit and subjecting the independent to crushing surveillance and harassment

A Cut-Like Wound by Anita Nair, Bitter Lemon Press 2014
interesting detective works in Bangalore, heavy on the local color

The Crooked Maid by Dan Vyleta, Bloomsbury 2013
Vienna 1948 is the star of this many-layered thriller, great sense of time and place

The Wealth Of Shadows by Graham Moore, Random House 2024
a very entertaining fact-based thriller about the efforts of a small unit of the US Treasury Dept to use money as a weapon in WWII

The Strangled Queen by Maurice Druon, translated from the French by Humphrey Hare (c1955) Harper Collins 2013
the second volume of The Accursed Kings is fast moving, filled with colorful characters struggling for advantage and survival in medieval France; solid history in an entertaining package

10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak, Bloomsbury 2019
in her last moments, a woman thinks of her friends – outcasts and misfits struggling to make a life in Istanbul; an affecting critique of contemporary Turkish society

House of Names by Colm Tobin, Scribner 2017
compelling telling of the story of Clytemnestra, Orestes, and Electra

The Stars Turned Inside Out by Nova Jacobs, Atria Books 2024
enjoyable mystery blending classic story elements, academic rivalry, and particle physics

A Time To Keep Silence by Patrick Leigh Fermor, (c1957) NYRB 2007
looking for a quiet place to finish a manuscript, Fermor is drawn into the timelessness of monastic life and finds unexpected peace of mind in keeping silence

White Jazz by James Ellroy, Knopf 1992
final volume in the LA Confidential set; staccato prose, improvisational feel to the narrative of the 1950’s LA we’ve come to know – still corrupt, violent, brimming with craziness and desperate longings, a fragmentary justice achieved

Kingdom Cons by Yuri Herrera, translated from the Spanish by Lisa Dillman; (c2008) And Other Stories 2017
fable-like story of a young singer who sees a drug lord as a king in a medieval court, gradually his corridas change with his understanding

A Chance To Harmonize by Sheryl Kakowitz, Pegasus Books 2024
interesting account of the work of the little known Music Unit, an arts project of WPA, emphasizing the role of two women in collecting folksongs

The Blue Flower by Penelope Fitzgerald, Flamingo 1995
a life of the Romantic philosopher and poet von Hardenburg/Novalis, his passionate imagination grounded in a superbly imagined world of late eighteenth century, from laundry day to Goethe
(book group)

All Passion Spent by Vita SackvilleWest, (1931) Vintage Classics ed. 2017
a wry, gently satiric story of an elderly woman determined to live as herself rather than a wife (now widow) or mother

Untraceable by Sergei Lebedev, translated from the Russian by Antonina W Bouis; (c2020) New Vessel Press 2021
an absorbing novel spun from the real political poisonings of Putin’s critics; explores the psychology of scientist, spy, and resistor

Fateful Mornings by Tom Bouman, WW Norton 2017
familiar hard-boiled elements in the hard country of rural PA/NY mountains; strong characters and evocation of place

A Whispered Name by William Broderick, Overlook Press 2008
a very cold case for the lawyer turned monk in the fine Father Anselm series; investigation of events around a WWI court martial

Cruz by Nicolas Ferraro, traslated from the Spanish by Mallory Craig-Kuhn; (c207)Soho 2022
this is real noir – violence, cruelty, betrayal, a flawed hero who may have fought through to a redemption

Nothing But The Bones by Brian Panowich, Minotaur Books 2024
polished new-noir set in north Georgia mountains; only neo-noir for too many good/likable characters and an improbable happy ending

The Iron King, Book One of the Accursed Kings by Maurice Druon, translated from the French by Humphrey Hare; (c1955)Harper 2013
great fun, a historical adventure/romance novel set in 14th century France

L. A. Confidential by James Ellroy, Hachette 1990
third stunning segment of the L.A. quartet, everyone holding secrets and fighting demons

The Big Nowhere by James Ellroy, Mysterious Press 1988
’50’s LA, social history as noir crime novel; utterly compelling storytelling, one enters his world and doesn’t look up until the end

The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy, The Mysterious Press 1987
vivid, compelling story of a horrific and notorious murder in 1947 LA

Packing My Library: An Elegy and Ten Digressions by Alberto Manuel, Yale 2018
packing 35,000 books gives much opportunity for thought; leisurely reflections and learned digressions on libraries, reading, words and their meanings

Skulduggery by William Marshall, Holt, Rinehart, and Winston 1979
One of the author’s mysteries set in the Yellowthread Street station, a shabby back alley outpost of the Hong Kong Police; this is a particularly ingenious and demented entry in an always amusing series

The Singapore Grip by J. G. Farrell, (c1978) NYRB 1999
an absolutely brilliant novel about the final days of British Singapore and the coming of WWII in SE Asia; many memorable, some endearing characters; remarkably funny even when most critical of the colonial system; vivid evocation of the world of old Singapore; beautiful narrative flow becomes as gripping as any thriller as the Japanese invasion concludes
(book group)

Ash Child by Pete Bowen, St. Martin’s Minotaur 2002
set in Metis Montana country, enjoyable variation of a western mystery

The Friend by Sigrid Nunez, Riverhead Books 2018
in short mock-journal entries Nunez writes movingly of grief, the relationship of humans and dogs, and the nature and purpose of writing; she has a distinctive voice
(book group)

My Friends by Hisham Matar, Random House 2024
a moving story of a young Libyan exile in London; he reflects on the lives he and his friends have struggled to make, the nature of friendship, the longing for family and home, the power of literature. The beauty and elegance of the writing makes this a exceptional reading pleasure.

Athenian Blues by Pol Koutsakis (author’s translation), Bitter Lemon Press 2017
fast paced mystery, strong characters, interesting look at contemporary Athens

Writers and Missionaries: Essays on the Radical Imagination by Adam Shatz, Verso 2023
collection of intellectual biographical essays from London Review of Books; focused on how political committment/identification shape the writers work for good and ill; careful, discerning and nuanced journalism by an excellent stylist

City of Bohane by Kevin Barry, Vintage 2012
wildly imaginative language, a distinctly Irish dystopia, very entertaining

Goodbye, Eastern Europe, An Intimate History Of Divided Land by Jacob Mikanowski, Pantheon Books 2023
an impressive, exhilarating immersion into the history and peoples of a region scarcely known

Palm Beach Finland by Antti Tuomainen, translated from the Finnish by David Hackston, (c2017) Orenda Books 2019
I love his books; another nordic gem of dark, but not too dark, comedy

Children of the Street by Kwei Quartet, Random House 2011
well drawn characters , smoothly written mystery set in Ghana

Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch by Rivka Galchen, Farrar 2021
story of Katherina Kepler, mother of Johannes Kepler, tried for witchcraft; interesting companion to the Banville novel
(book group)

The Friend by Sigrid Nunez, Riverhead 2018
after the death of a friend, the narrator takes in his dog; written as a journal, reflections on the loneliness of the writer’s life woven among the account of their grieving together

Death on Gokumon Island by YOKOMIZO Seishi, translated from the Japanese Louise Heal Kawai; (c1971) Pushkin 2022
another fiendishly complex mystery solved by detective Kindaichi

Shutter by Ramona Emerson, Soho 2022
Navaho woman’s work as police photographer is complicated by the fact that she sees ghosts; interesting premise, evokes the landscape well

Kepler by John Banville, Martin Secker and Warburg 1981
Renaissance life in its astounding range of squalor, violence, and intellectual ambition
(book group)

Three Assassins by ISAKA Korato, translated from the Japanese by Sam Malissa; Overlook Press 2022
very entertaining; improbable Tokyo underworld story unexpectedly grounded by the “hero”, a grief stricken ordinary man looking to revenge the death of his wife

The Tobacconist by Robert Seethaler, translated from the German by Charlotte Collins; (c2012) Picador 2016
a complex , unexpected tale of a naive country boy who comes to Vienna on the eve of the Anschluss; witty, delicate, sad

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride, Riverhead Books 2023
chock full of characters and plot

Bread by Maurizio De Giovanni, translated from the Italian by Antony Shugaar
one of the Bastards of Pizzofalcone mystery series; well developed characters and atmosphere of Naples, satisfying complexity to the plot

The Makioka Sisters by TANIZAKI Junichiro, translated from the Japanese by Edward G. Seidensticker; Knopf 1957
wonderful portrayal of family life in the last days of old Japan

Beside The Syrian Sea by James Wolff, Bitter Lemon Press 2018
engrossing thriller with an Everyman hero

Lost Names, Scenes from A Korean Boyhood by Richard E. Kim, (c1988) Univ. of California 1998
a boy grows up in Japanese occupied Korea; very moving tale of endurance, lovely details of country life

Sleep Well My Lady by Kwei Quartey, Soho 2021
very enjoyable mystery series set in Ghana

In Search of Lost Books by Giorgio van Straten, translated from the Italian by Simon Carnell and Erica Segre; (c2016) Pushkin Press 2017
the forgotten stories of eight mythical volumes and their phantom lives among those who search or speculate about them

The Corner That Held Them by Sylvia Townsend Warner, (c1948) NYRB 1988
a singular historical novel, a curiously engrossing immersion into the life in and around a small community of nuns in the 14th century; vividly conveys the dailiness of life, good bit of humor, conspicuosly little interest in the spiritual (book group)

The Gate by SOSEKI Natsume, translated from the Japanese by William Sibley; (c1910) NYRB 2013
graceful, delicate prose somewhat melancholy in tone but balanced with humor and affection

Mr. Bowling buys a Newspaper by Donald Henderson, (c1943) Collins Crime Club 2018
a man commits murders in order to be caught and punished; an uncommon mix of darkly comic/ironic elements and a deranged longing for redemption

Ridgeline by Michael Punke, Holt 2021
smoothly told historical novel building the characters and events leading to the Battle of a Hundred in the Hand (the Fetterman Massacre)

Ruritania, A Cultural History from the Prisoner of Zenda to The Princess Diaries by Nicholas Daly, Oxford Press 2020
interesting, readable history of the extraordinary popularity of the Zenda novels and the continuing popularity and adaptability of imaginary kingdom stories

Highway Rest Areas Bucket List?

10 Interstate Rest Areas to see before you die? Doesn’t seem a likely list but, if it exists, I will nominate this one on I80 westbound near Tiffin IA (near the University of Iowa and its writers program).

I walked all around the building to enjoy the frieze of book spines like a super long library shelf and the sturdy book stack pillars at the corners. The celebration of Iowa’s literary culture, both serious and playful, gave new energy to a tired traveler!

The eastbound rest area is said to be even more fun and elaborate in its displays. If only I’d known I would have made the equivalent of a highway “around the block” to see it!

looking for books in the old Habsburg empire, a tale of three cities: pt 3 Prague

Prague is the fifth most visited city in Europe. Millions of travelers are attracted to this remarkably beautiful city by its art, architecture, history, and, it must be said, the amazingly cheap beer. It’s good beer, too, so the price is all the more surprising to the American craft beer drinker used to a ten dollar pint. This is the only place I’ve ever been where the beer in a restaurant costs less than the tap water.

But even with the thousands of holiday revelers filling the narrow streets of Old Town it’s possible to find a quiet pocket and an uncrowded museum. The Postal Museum, for example, where we were (by the guest book) the third visitors in a month. “Yes, yes, we’ve come to see your museum,” we assured the startled security guard. He flitted upstairs and fetched equally startled but welcoming staff who unlocked the cash box and took our admission fee.

Postage stamps carry a lot of political and cultural history between their tiny perforated borders. The Czechs are rightfully proud of their authors and literature so it’s no surprise to see them represented on stamps.

We’ve come to our last day in Prague and the end of our trip. We’ve honored the pledge to buy no books more in the spirit than the letter, but, still, I can lift our suitcases. We decide to reward ourselves and ask the hotel concierge for the best bookstore in Prague. With no hesitation she directs us to Luxor bookstore on Wenceslas Square. A little map study told us it would be a longish walk but doable. A few wrong turns turned it into a very long walk. On the bright side, we saw more of the city and enjoyed a really excellent pastry and coffee just when we needed reviving. And we did reach the Square and had a very pleasurable browse through the large selection of history books. Tired legs are forgotten when you find something special!

looking for books in the old Habsburg empire, a tale of three cities: pt 2 Vienna

Vienna at Christmas time is purely wonderful. All the constant pleasures of the city – the coffee houses and cafes, the museums, the arts and music performances, the shops – are magnified by the seasonal festivity. Huge displays of lights, decorations, and Christmas markets seemingly around every corner make it a delight to stroll the streets.

We did pop in to a couple of bookstores as we passed by, just to enjoy the sight and smell of books, but didn’t go looking for them. For new ones, anyway. The Tyrolia bookshop behind St. Stephan’s Cathedral is an old favorite. Not a big store but it always has something to add to my husband’s library.

Books have a way of finding me, though, or perhaps, being a bookish person, I just notice them more. I was casually viewing the Lower Belvedere’s collection of medieval art when I noticed a book in a saint’s hand. Then another, writing in a book, and another in his study with untidy bookshelves behind him!

The best and most unexpected book appearance was at the Weltmuseum (Ethnographic Museum). Was it really chance that led me down that bland hallway or were my steps guided by some magnetic force pulling me to discover Chaekgeori? And why was the exhibit extended by more than a month until I would be there? Methinks there be mysterious bookish powers at work.

Someone thought it would be a good idea to celebrate the 130th anniversary of Austrian-Korean diplomatic relations. I don’t know that I would have, but I am delighted that it prompted this terrific exhibit. Chaekgeori translates as “books and things” and refers to a tradition of painting an arrangement of books, shelves, small treasures and objects. The style moved from scholarly court paintings into Korean folk art and continues to engage contemporary artists. All completely new to me and so interesting and so much fun.

I bought the catalog, of course, but it’s small and hardly added any weight to the suitcase. Oddly, though the exhibit captions included English, the catalog is only Korean/German. Good thing I’m happy just to look at the pictures!

looking for books in the old Habsburg empire, a tale of three cities: pt 1 Bratislava

Strictly speaking, we weren’t looking for books on our holiday trip. “We’re packing light, right? Only carry-ons, right? So we can’t buy books this trip.” I said. “Only carry-on, keep it light!” my husband agreed, “No books. Unless we find something really special, of course. Surely one or two would fit?” Our good intentions lasted into the second day.

And to be fair, I was the one who broke first. When touring the Bratislava castle the visitor must pass through a really attractive museum shop to reach the medieval tower. One would think it safe for the non-Slovak speaker to walk past the abundant displays of books. One would be wrong. “Oh look,” I said. “The exhibit catalogs are bilingual!”

Reading List 2023

December

A Train Of Powder by Rebecca West, Viking 1946
description and analysis of the Nuremberg Trials with a few additional essays on notable post-war criminal trials; she was a remarkable stylist

November

Pursuit by Luis Alfredo Garcia-Roza, translated from the Portuguese by Benjamin Moser; (c2003) Henry Holt 2006
intriguing ambiguous psychological mystery

The Murderers by Fredric Brown, (c1961) Library of America Crime Novels: Five Classic Thrillers 1961-1964 2023
smoothly told story of unattractive characters on fringes of Hollywood and the Beat culture

The Name of the Game Is Death by Dan J. Marlowe, (c1962) Library of America Crime Novels: Five Classic Thrillers 1961-1964 2023
compelling amoral protagonist; driving, intense first person narrative

The Expendable Man by Dorothy B. Hughes, (c1963) Library of America Crime Novels: Five Classic Thrillers 1961-1964 2023
beautifully written, sharply observant of locale and social issues

Herbie’s Game by Timothy Hallinan, Soho 2014
Junior Bender, burglar and detective in either order, is always a good time

The Score by Richard Stark, (c1964) Library of America Crime Novels: Five Classic Thrillers 1961-1964 2023
very polished style, his popular character Parker robs a whole town

A Killer in King’s Cove by Iona Whishaw, TouchWood 2016
very enjoyable mystery with appealing female sleuth; start of a series set in late ’40s in a small BC town

October

Pompeii by Robert Harris, Random House 2003
a terrifically entertaining historical thriller that also carries lots of interesting information on volcanology and Roman engineering techniques

My Father’s House by Joseph O’Connor, Europa Editions 2023
from the neutral Vatican City, an Irish priest and allies organize the rescue and escape of prisoners from the Nazi controlled Rome

Go, Went, Gone by Jenny Erpenbeck, translated from the German by Susan Bernofsky; (c2015) New Directions edition 2017
thoughtful, compassionate story of migration; retired professor is drawn into the struggles of a group of African refugees in Berlin; prose is understated and intense and lyrical, a very fluent translation

Disaster at the Vendome Theater by M. L. Longworth, Penguin 2022
smooth agreeable read, death in a Provence theater

Random Acts Of Medicine: The Hidden Forces That Sway Doctors, Impact Patients, And Shape Our Health by A. Jena,MD and C. Worsham,MD; Doubleday 2023
thought-provoking and lively accounts of the authors’ natural experiments that examine the ways unconscious biases, assumptions, and habits impact health care

Waiting to Be Arrested at Night, A Uyghur Poet’s Memoir of China’s Genocide by Tahir Hamut Izgil, translated by Joshua Freeman; Penguin Press 2023
the large scale horror of Uyghur oppression made intimate and personal in this quiet, deeply moving memoir

A Chess Story by Stefan Zweig, translated by Alexander Starritt;(c1941) Pushkin Press 2013
an Austrian man enduring psychological torture in Nazi prison finds first salvation in chess, then obsession to near madness

September

The Acid Test by Elmer Mendoza, translated from the Spanish by Mark Fried; (c2011) MacLehose Press 2016
Mendoza wrings some very black humor from the outbreak of the Mexican drug wars; things have only gotten worse for Detective Lefty Mendieta since we met him and his colleagues in Silver Bullets

Linger Awhile by Russell Hoban, Bloomsbury Publishing 2006
Hoban (author of the beloved/cult children’s novel A Mouse and His Child) is a marvelous singular imagination; an elderly fan obsessed with a 1950s B Western star brings her to life from a soup of video particles and alchemical ingredients blended in “a suspension of disbelief”

The Hanged Man Of Conakry by Jean-Christophe Rufin, translated from the French by Alison Anderson; (c2018) Europa edition 2022
unusual setting in a small African port city and an endearing odd duck detective

August

Summer Lightning by P. G. Wodehouse, read by Martin Jarvis; (c1929) AudioGO 2011
a brilliant reading/performance of one of the Blandings Castle stories

The Order Of The Day by Eric Vuillard, translated from the French by Mark Pollizotti; (c2017) Other Press 2018; 2017 winner of Prix Goncourt
Vuillar uses the Nazi annexation of Austria as a prism to reveal the facets of greed, cowardice, and self-delusion that drive history; it has the “can’t look away” quality of a horror story, I read it one sitting
“We never fall twice into the same abyss. But we always fall the same way, in a mixture of ridicule and dread.”

Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Del Rey 2023
clever and entertaining story set in the remnants of the film industry in ’90s Mexico City; delightful characters, the plot and tone of a classic ’30s horror film

Some Prefer Nettles by TANIZAKI Junichiro, translated from the Japanese by Edward G. Seidensticker; Knopf 1955
subtle study of the strains and conflicts of modernity and tradition in postwar Japan

Gentleman of Leisure by P. G. Wodehouse, read by Frederick Davidson; (c1915) Blackstone Audio 20
delightful “Gentleman Burglar” story; wish I could have seen Douglas Fairbanks in the stage adaptation

The Two-Pound Tram by William Newton, Bloomsbury 2003
a seemingly artless, delightful tale of two young brothers in England 1937

Maude Martha by Gwendolyn Brooks, Harper and Row 1953
glimpses into the life of a young Black woman in Chicago; from girlhood when she saw herself as a dandelion, beautiful in everydayness, to maturity when she shows the resilience of the dandelion which blooms again no matter how harsh the winter (book group)

The Seven Moons Of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka, Sort Of Books 2022
2022 Booker Prize a story of remarkable energy and imagination, a veritable torrent of words – comic, angry, satiric, tender – critiques the Sri Lanka civil war

Flowers Over The Inferno by Ilaria Tuti, translated from the Italian by Ekin Oklap; (c2018) Soho Press 2019
intriguing mystery with an unusual and sympathetic 60ish woman police detective

Women Rowing North: Navigating Life’s Currents and Flourishing as We Age by Mary Pipher, Bloomsbury 2019
calm and encouraging observations on living well into old age

Beton Rouge by Simone Buchholz, translated from the German by Rachel Ward; (c2017) Orenda Books 2019
a really well written noir set in Hamburg; Buchholz is a very distinctive stylist creating vivid characters and scenes with exceptional economy

July

Lying Awake by Mark Salzman, Vintage 2000
a beautiful novel, a restrained and insightful exploration of the interplay of Grace and self-doubt in spiritual life

To The Lake, A Balkan Journey Of War And Peace by Kapka Kassabova; Graywolf Press 2020
a unique blend of memoir/travelogue/history; the author’s search for her family’s stories builds a rich multi-layered portrait of the cultural and natural history of the Balkans; exceptionally beautiful prose, a memorable book

Mercury Pictures Presents by Anthony Marra, Hogarth 2023
bittersweet comic novel centering on the cast of a poverty-row Hollywood studio; it felt overstuffed and overwritten sometimes, but I really enjoyed some of the stories; funny and heartfelt

The Sun Walks Down by Fiona McFarlane, FSG 2022
deceptively simple Australia 1883 outback story of a lost child; like the title, which is a Swedish not aboriginal phrase for sunset, the human and natural landscapes are complex and full of unexpected connections (book group)

The Shape Of Water by Andrea Camilleri, translated from the Italian by Stephen Sartarelli; (c1994) Penguin 2002
first of long-running series with Inspector Montalbano in Sicily

Kafka on the Shore by MURAKAMI Haruki, translated from the Japanese by Philip Gabriel; (c2003) Vintage 2005
interesting mix of the magical and the mundane, of philosophy and (tedious) Freudian psychology, of the culturally hip and the mysterious natural world

Travelers to Unimaginable Lands: Stories Of Dementia, The Caregiver, And The Human Brain by Dasha Kiper, Random House 2023
skillful blend of case histories and research into brain function; the author’s unique and valuable perspective illuminates the ways our brains shape the interactions between ‘patient’ and caregiver

June

Claiming Ground by Laura Bell, Vintage 2011
a memoir of a woman who makes a life in the remote Big Horn Mountains of Wyoming; laconic in the best western way; spare honed language carries deeply felt reflections on her own experience and the mountain community

The Mystery of Hunting’s End by Mignon G. Eberhart, (c1930) Univ. of Nebraska 1991
the 2023 “One Book One Nebraska” selection; Eberhart was a major contributor to the “Golden Age” of mystery writing; this is an entertaining story in the Country House category with the guests trapped in a blizzard in a remote Sand Hills hunting lodge

Cold Hearted River by Keith McCafferty, Penguin Books 2017
a particularly enjoyable entry in the Sean Stranahan series set in Montana fly-fishing country; the plot revolves around the possible reappearance of Ernest Hemingway’s lost case of fishing gear

Mirror, Sword And Jewel, The Geometry of Japanese Life by Kurt Singer; Kodansha 1973
probing, insightful analysis of Japanese culture and history

A View by the Sea by YASUOKA Shotaro, translated from the Japanese by Karen Wigen Lewis; (c1958) Columbia University Press 1984
a cool, unsentimental examination of the post-war family in prose precise and filled with images

May

How Big Things Get Done by Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardner, Currency 2023
might have been titled “get done so badly”; eye-opening analysis of those mega-projects that seem always to be over-budget and over-schedule

Life and Death of Harriett Frean by May Sinclair, (c1922) Penguin Books/ViragoPress 1980
well crafted psychological novel prompted good discussion (book group)

I Will Have Vengeance: The Winter Of Commissario Ricciardi by Maurizio De Giovanni, translated from the Italian by Anne Milano Appel; (c2007) Europa ed 2012
it’s 1931 in Naples, the first story of the Commissario set at the opera; distinctive delightful noir

Making the Cut by Jim Lusby, Orion 1995
Irish mystery, well-drawn characters and an entertainingly twisty story

Like A Sword Wound by Ahmet Altan, translatd from the Turkish by Brendan Freely and Yelda Turedi; (c1997) Europa 2018
marvelous language, an engrossing many-layered story of the last days of the Ottoman empire; first in the Ottoman Quartet

The April Dead by Alan Parks, Europa 2021
one of Europa’s World Noir imprint; Parks is an intelligent and skillful writer but his ’70s Glasgow is a very very dark place

April

The Engagement by Simenon, translated from the French by Anna Moschovakis; (c1933) NYRB 2007
early non-Maigret novel; unsettling, pitiless and cold even for a noir

American Midnight: The Great War, A Violent Peace, and Democracy’s Forgotten Crisis by Adam Hochschild, Mariner Books 2022
author is a notable writer of popular histories; examines the social hysteria, paranoia, and cruelties triggered and given license with America’s entry into WWI

Cheap Land Colorado: Off-Gridders At America’s Edge by Ted Connover, Knopf 2023
life on the rural margins if not quite off-grid, a close look at the San Luis valley in south central Colorado (includes Great Sand Dune NP)

The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey, Soho 2018
ambitious effort to portray the social and cultural complexities of 1920’s India in a mystery story

Fragile Cargo: The World War II Race to Save the Treasures of China’s Forbidden City by Adam Brookes, Atria Books 2022
fascinating and well-told story of the extraordinary efforts made by the museum’s staff to protect the many fragile precious pieces of the collection

Age of Vice by Deepti Kapoor, Riverhead Books 2023
sprawling gaudy story of crime and wealth in contemporary India

The Rabbit Factor by Antti Tuomainen, translated from the Finnish by David Hackston; Orenda Books 2021
a unique voice in Nordic noir crime fiction; a warm, hilarious, absurdist thriller

Blood Curse: The Springtime of Commissario Ricciardi by Maurizio De Giovanni, translated from the Italian by Antony Shugaar; (c2008) Europa 2018
Naples, 1931 mystery story; beautifully written, wonderfully atmospheric

The Greatest Slump Of All Time by David Carkeet, Harper and Row 1984
an exceptional, insightful comic novel of depression; players on a baseball team struggle with personal “slumps” as the team is mysteriously successful

March

Tokyo Zodiac Murders by SHIMADA Soji, translated from the Japanese by Ross and Shika Mackenzie; (c1981) Pushkin Vertigo ed 2015
complex puzzle story

Killshot by Elmore Leonard, William Morrow 1989
tremendously entertaining, great dialogue leavens the tension

52 Pick-up by Elmore Leonard, Secker and Warburg 1974
first of his crime novels; a blazing fast read because I couldn’t put it down

The Boat of Longing by O.E. Rolvaag, translated from the Norwegian by Nora O. Solum; (c1933) Minnesota Historical Press 1985
a moving story of immigration, its hopes and costs; lovely, lyrical language in the descriptions of the sea and life in Norwegian fishing village (book group)

Picture in the Sand by Peter Blauner, Minotaur Books 2023
pure storytelling pleasure; a young Egyptian man caught up in the political turmoil of post-British Egypt in the 1950’s while working on the deMille production of The Ten Commandments

Nights of Plague by Orhan Pamuk, translated from the Turkish by Ekin Oklap; Knopf 2022
a tremendous novel, expansive in themes and engrossing in character and story; bubonic plague strikes a small island in the waning days of the Ottoman empire

Crashed by Timothy Hallinan, Soho Press 2012
a Hollywood comic crime novel with sharp writing and great characters; if you like this kind of thing, which I do, it’s a delight – I rationed the pages to savor the dialogue

In The Morning I’ll Be Gone by Adrian McKinty, Seventh Street Books 2014
1980’s Belfast, police detective solves a classic locked room mystery to catch an IRA bomber

Counting Sheep, A Celebration of the Pastoral Heritage of Britain by Philip Walling; Profile Books 2014
a remarkably interesting and enjoyable guide to all things sheep in the UK, historically and today; really a delightful book, especially for anyone who has enjoyed the sight of “woolies” dotting the hills and countryside of Britain

China After Mao, The Rise of a Superpower by Frank Dikotter; Bloomsbury 2022
a superbly readable account, dense with economic and historical detail and enlivened with anecdotes and personalities; the consistent repression and economic mismanagement described should finish the foolish expectations of democratic change; the chapter on the Tiananmen Square massacre is masterful and devastating

Iced In Paradise by Naomi Hirahara, Prospect Park Books 2019
another enjoyable, well written story from Hirahara; the mystery has a nice twist but the chief pleasure is in the picture of life on one of the smaller Hawaiian islands

Three Roads Back: How Emerson, Thoreau, and William James Responded To The Greatest Losses Of Their Lives by Robert D. Richardson; Princeton Univ. Press 2023
a slim, thoughtful reflection on the impact grief had on the thought and lives of the three men and how their resilience can be models for each of us

February

Idol, Burning by USAMI Rin, translated from the Japanese by YONEDA Asa; (c2020) Harpervia 2022
sympathetic portrayal of a teenage girl and her obsession with a J-pop idol; winner of Akutagawa Prize

Billie Starr’s Book of Sorries by Deborah E. Kennedy, Flatiron Books 2022
2nd grader Billie collects the “Sorry” excuses and explanations she hears from adults

Second-Class Citizen by Buchi Emecheta, George Braziller 1975
strongly autobiographical novel of a woman determined to be educated and independent; propulsive narrative takes Adah from childhood in Nigeria to the London slums as a young mother

A Death in Tokyo by HIGASHINO Keigo, translated by Giles Murray; (c2011) Minotaur Books 2022
a classic procedural with Detective Kaga; psychological insight, deeply moral

Evil Things by Katja Ivar, Bitter Lemon Press 2019
solid mystery story set in early 1950’s Finland, introduces an interestingly complex female detective who solves a tricky case in Lapland

Into the Riverlands by Nghi Vo, Tom Doherty Books 2022
modest novella about the value and importance of stories, personally and culturally; set in an appealing China-ish fantasy world

Gravel Heart by Abdulrazak Gurnah, Bloomsbury 2017
deceptively powerful novel; a story of lives disrupted in the post-colonial turmoil of 1970’s Zanzibar told in such measured subtle prose that I was immersed before I noticed my feet were wet

O Caledonia by Elspeth Barker, (c1991) Scribner 2021
a very witty, very odd novel, a bit unsettling but wonderfully entertaining for the language and dark comedy (book group)

January

Murder After Christmas by Rupert Latimer, (c1944) Poisoned Pen Press 2021
a delightful entertainment, like the classic elements of a Golden Age mystery exuberantly exploding from a Christmas Cracker

The Heretic by Liam McIlvanney, Europa 2022
intricate procedural in darkest Glasgow

Gaia, Queen of Ants by Hamid Ismailov, translated from the Uzbek by Shelley Fairweather-Vega; Syracuse Univ. Press ed. 2020
the stories of intriguing empathetic characters, all shaped by the political turmoil of their homelands, are intertwined with myths and folktales of Central Asia; lots of food for discussion in Book Group

Double Wide by Leo W. Banks, Brash Books 2017
I’m calling this very entertaining western mystery/thriller ‘noir light’ – lots of tough and snappy dialogue, characters on the fringe of Southwest society, but the exbaseball player protagonist is just too likeable for Noir (that’s a good thing)

The Orphanage by Serhiy Zhadan, translated from the Ukrainian by R. Costigan-Humes and I. Stackhouse Wheeler (c2017) Yale University Press 2021
an intense, gripping story of war at the Ukrainian-Russian border as a trip across town to reach the orphanage becomes a three day nightmarish journey; brilliantly conveys the confusion of identity and loyalty in the community, the confusion and uncertainty of the military action, and the misery and suffering of everyone

The Marshal at the Villa Torrini by Magdalen Naab, (c1993) Soho Press 2009
one of an excellent series of mysteries set in Florence; beautifully written with a very appealing and singular detective character

The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman, Viking 2022
the Thursday Murder Club solves a cold case in this third book of the improbably entertaining, witty, and warmhearted series

The Slowworm’s Song by Andrew Miller, Europa 2022
subtle, exquisite prose; a story of finding a way out of the trauma and guilt from a tragic mistake, the possibilities of healing and reconciliation

2022 in books

My reading fell off a little from 2021 as the world reopened. I read 77 books, 57 fiction and 20 non-fiction. 30 titles were translated from other languages; many of those were mystery/crime novels but I still get points in the “exploring other cultures” category, right?

The non-fiction “best of” portion is easy this year. These four books would make such a list in any year.

Travels with Herodotus by Ryszard Kapucinski (transl. from the Polish)
We Don’t Know Ourselves, A Personal History of Ireland by Fintan O’Toole
The Black Sea by Neal Ascherson
From the Holy Mountain, A Journey in the Shadow of Byzantium by William Dalrymple

Making choices among the novels is always a little harder. The best shine out but some of the very good must be left behind.

The Devils’ Dance by Hamid Ismailov (transl. from the Uzbek)
Reading in the Dark by Seamus Deane
Lady Joker, vol. 1 and 2 by TAKAMURA Kaoru (transl. from the Japanese)
Afterlives by Abdulrazak Gurnah
Augustus by John Williams
Olav Audunsson, vol. 1: Vows by Sigrid Undset (transl. from the Norwegian)
Country by Michael Hughes
The Seventh Cross by Anna Seghers (transl. from the German)
Into the Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea
Eight Dogs or Hakkenden, An Ill-considered Jest by BAKIN Kyokutei (transl. from the Japanese)

World Noir favorites

Total Chaos by Jean-Claude Izzo (transl. from the French)
The Princess of Burundi by Kjell Erikson (transl. from the Swedish)
Northern Heist by Richard O’Rawe
Silver Bullets by Elmer Mendoza (transl. from the Spanish)
Fatale by Jean-Patrick Manchette (transl. from the French)
The Body Snatcher by Patricia Melo (transl. from the Portuguese)

Best “off-beat, make you smile, life-affirming story” category

Long Live the Post Horn by Vigdis Hjorth (transl. from the Norwegian)

And finally, special recognition in the “best book I bought for its title” category

How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read by Pierre Bayard (transl. from the French)


reading what I like, affirmed

Denise Mina, award-winning Scottish author of crime/mystery novels, defended reading for pleasure in a recent interview in The Guardian (Sept 30, 2022). It’s an engaging interview and prompted an addition to my library “hold” list. This writer of Scottish noir is a huge fan of P.G. Wodehouse. Clearly a woman I should get to know.

My comfort read
All my reading is comfort reading. On my 50th birthday I gave myself the gift of throwing aside any book I wasn’t finding engaging. There are plaster chunks out of the wall in my study. Life’s too short for reading things that aren’t for you.

looking for books, a road trip coda

Two days driving across the beautiful plains and prairie of southern Colorado and Kansas, we reached the end of the Flint Hills Scenic Byway and the official end of the grand Western Road Trip. Just a drive for home along the familiar sights of I70 ahead. But an unexpected final treat awaited in Council Grove, the small town at the end of the Byway.

Flint Hills Books is a delightful shop in a fine old bank building in the center of town. The space wasn’t large enough for a big collection but it was very well chosen with a particularly choice case of local interest. The bookseller was friendly and chatted while tallying our stack of books. We’d made her day, she said, but I assured her that she’d made ours.

Nothing more but to head for home and start reading!

looking for books along CA49, the Golden Chain Highway

The Gold Rush country of Northern California is a beautiful area of mostly small to very small towns. Not too promising as an environment for bookstores, but we found that books – like gold – are where you find them.

First strike in Nevada City. Harmony Books packs a good, balanced selection of books into its historic storefront. Right by the front door is a case of local interest material with the Gold Rush guidebook we’ve been looking for.

Murphys is small but bustling with tourists looking for wine instead of gold. Amongst the tasting rooms is the bright and cheerful Books on Main.

Auburn is an attractive county seat town where we were able to find both real gold – a massive nugget displayed in the fine county museum – and a few literary nuggets at William Smith Books. Smith Books is a very good general used bookstore, an increasingly rare find. The shelves are well filled and meticulously organized.

Museum and Park gift shops are often good sources for books too. The Visitor’s Center at Calaveras Big Tree State Park had an excellent selection and gave us a fine tote bag to carry them.