WHAT I HAVE BEEN READING

I read 14 books in April which brought me to 62 books read for the year so far. That is not as many as I planned but you know, I actually spent some time with people doing social activities. I guess that is good for me.

Here is a list of books I read. The reviews will be posted soon if they haven't been already:


Tunnel Vision, Sara Paretsky. Her eighth novel and one of my favorites. I have been reading through her books in the order she wrote them.

Christine Falls, Benjamin Black. The pen name for literary novelist John Banville, who started writing mystery novels in 2006. This is the first one. Good, not great.

Justine, Lawrence Durrell. From my list of 1957 books. The first of his Alexandria Quartet. Great.

Shanghai Girls, Lisa See. Her latest book, read for two of my reading groups this month. Excellent.

The Mind-Body Problem, Rebecca Goldstein. I reviewed her latest novel, 36 Arguments for the Existence of God, for my paid reviewing job at BookBrowse. This is her first novel. She is great. Writes about philosophy embedded in fiction.

The Amber Spyglass, Philip Pullman. The final volume of His Dark Materials trilogy. I loved them all. Not for mainstream Christians but great for people like me.

Let the Great World Spin, Colum McCann. Another reading group read which won the National Book Award for 2009. I had mixed feelings about this one.

A High Wind in Jamaica, Richard Hughes. Somewhat of a classic which was also a reading group read. Children, pirates, 19th century. I thought it was fantastic.

The Floating Opera, John Barth. Also from the 1957 list. He is one of the original post-modern, meta-fiction writers. This was his first novel. I was a little afraid, but I liked it.

Deep Water, Patricia Highsmith. 1957 list again. She makes you so nervous!

Olive Kitteridge, Elizabeth Strout. Pulitzer Prize winner for 2009 and a reading group book. I am still deciding whether I liked it or not.

The Help, Kathryn Stockett. Still on the bestseller list after more than a year. My sister and niece MADE me read it. It was actually quite good.

The White Negro, Norman Mailer. Hardly a book at only 27 pages, but Mailer in 1957 put his mind to figuring out what it meant to be a hipster in the mid 50s. Do you remember TheBonfire of the Vanities? It made me think of that.

The Door Into Summer, Robert A Heinlein. One more from the 1957 list. (I only have 6 more to read.) This one is about time travel from 1970 into 2000, as well as cryogenics, and takes place in LA. Fun!


That is the list. What did you read this month?