10.17.08

In looking over the books I've completed so far this year, it was surprising how many I'd actually finished, more than double from last year. Here are my notable picks: (Photos shamelessly stolen from Amazon)

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

I read this in one very late night (I couldn't put it down). It is a fascinating story with odd, strangely believable characters living in a world nearly ours (but much cooler).

The Girl Who Played Go By Shan Sa

I wasn't prepared for the conclusion of the story - read it and you will understand.


Blindness by Jose Saramago

This book was a difficult but engrossing read. Difficult, not because of the subject matter (though that was at times disturbing) but because of the lack of punctuation. I usually read fast - it is a bad habit and you can miss a lot of details along the way - but when punctuation is missing you have to slow down and pay attention He never names his characters and the city and country in which the story occurs is never mentioned.


Turn, Magic Wheel by Dawn Powell
She describes her characters so vividly and unflinchingly that it wouldn't surprise me at all if certain of her acquaintances didn't speak to her after she published novels.

And of course, The Road by Cormac McCarthy
which I've already mentioned here



Now, I am in the middle of The Quiet Girl by Peter Hoeg
I read everything this author writes, because it is always interesting and also partly on principle. I read Borderliners while vacationing in Jamaica and it was good. Really good. Mr Hoeg has a lifetime free pass and, somehow, never disappoints.