I have only ever read one Salman Rushdie before – East, West, published in 1994. I don’t recall much about it, other than where and when I bought it – in 1994, in London. My copy is autographed by the author, something I thought extraordinary since he was still very much in hiding at that... Continue Reading →
We, by Yevgeny Zamyatin. Book report #37
We, by Yevgeny Zamyatin. Originally published 1924. Translation by Clarence Brown, published 1993. This selection was driven primarily by the need to complete the banned-book category, but also by several pieces in The Happy Reader (issue #10) that made me dig it out of my bookshelves. Briefly, the story is set in the future -... Continue Reading →
Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Book report #28 (2023)
Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, rendered into English verse by Edward Fitzgerald. Originally published in 1859 (1st ed.), my copy from 1960. My current favourite podcast is Backlisted, and I may shortly breakdown and get a paid subscription just so I can get some of my favourite features, including a list of all books mentioned on the... Continue Reading →
Mrs. Bridge, by Evan S. Connell. Book report #25 (2023)
Mrs. Bridge, by Evan S. Connell. Pub 1959. This was a recommendation from two years ago from my book club partner. I got it a few months later and made a few false starts on it last year. This year, I got stuck in and enjoyed it. The novel has 117 short chapters that provide... Continue Reading →
The Quiet American, by Graham Greene. Book report #18 (2023)
The Quiet American, by Graham Greene. Pub 1955 I heard an episode of Backlisted (the show that gives new life to old books) discussing various books of Graham Greene, and The Quiet American was the only one I happened to already own and had never read. Greene's story and the story of his many novels was very interesting and... Continue Reading →
Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver. Book report #15 (2023)
Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver. Pub 2022 After reading Kingsolver's previous novel Unsheltered, and really not enjoying it, I was tempted to this one given its premise: a transcribing of David Copperfield into the Appalachia. This would have been less appealing were it not for my having recently completed the audiobook of the Dickens novel, and loving it.... Continue Reading →
By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept, by Elizabeth Smart. Book report #37 (2022)
By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept, by Elizabeth Smart. Pub 1945 I originally had somewhat positive hopes for this one, as I do usually enjoy a more lyrical/poetic narrative. This was not that. Lyrical and poetical yes, narrative not at all. There are only a few concrete incidents in the entire story (and I... Continue Reading →
Klara and the Sun, by Kazuo Ishiguro. Book report #11 (2022)
Klara and the Sun, by Kazuo Ishiguro. Pub 2021 I selected this book as a Christmas present, based on my recent reads of other Ishiguro works. Oddly, I have not read his most famous, The Remains of the Day, but I suppose that will happen eventually. Klara is an android/robot, known in the novel's world as... Continue Reading →
Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell. Book report #9 (2022)
Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell. Pub 1949. As I saw on Twitter recently, satire writers are having a hard time these days keeping up with reality. In the current state of the world, reality seems like it must be satire, and writers have difficulty making up things that are too absurd. There are also plenty... Continue Reading →
All the Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr. Book report #2 (2022)
All the Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr. Pub 2014 I've wanted to read this one for a while, and so was glad to have the new prize category to push it to the top of the tsundoku pile. This book was excellent - complex, well researched, engaging characters, surprising twists, and clever connections.... Continue Reading →
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