Absurdistan, by Gary Schteyngart - This book is all surface, but what a surface it is: funny, deeply ironic, smart, topical, nimble. Still, I can't love a book without a beating heart.
West With the Night, Beryl Markham - A truly wonderful memoir by a female pilot and horse trainer in Africa, in the early and middle parts of the 20th century. Hemingway praised the book highly, and there is a similarity of style, although I think that Markham runs laps around Hemingway where content is concerned. A new heroine to add to my pantheon!
The Language Police, by Diane Ravitch - A book about censorship in public schools, especially of textbooks. Substantive, well-researched, both shocking and thought-provoking.
Book By Book, by Michael Dirda - Books about books and reading can only rise to a certain height, but this one is light and fun and will probably give you some good ideas.
The Surrender, by Toni Bentley - Toni Bentley thinks she's a badass because she likes anal sex, and she wants you to know about it.
The Land Was Everything, by Victor Davis Hansen - A eulogy for the family farmer; a book as noble and yet also as narrow-minded as its subject.
A Field of Darkness, by Cornelia Read - A very witty, character-driven mystery. The whodunit wasn't hard to spot, but the book is great.
The Mona Lisa Stratagem, by Harriet Rubin - A beautifully written, oracular "guide" to power and authority for older women. Unfortunately, it's most useful for women who think Colette's greatest accomplishment was seducing a 16 year old boy at 60, and want to follow in her footsteps.
Harry Potter 7, by J.K. Rowling - Bliss.
Thief, Queen of Attolia, King of Attolia, by Megan Whalen Turner - Satisfying young adult series, reminded me a bit of Lian Hern's Tales of the Otori or Poison Study.
1 comment:
An interesting site for bibliophiles:
http://www.swaptree.com/
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