Check It Out: The ones that got away
I read a lot of wonderful -- and then again not-so-wonderful -- books this year. And while I don't regret many of my reads, there are always so many that I just never got around to.
Roberto Bolano's 2666 is one of them. Translated by Natasha Wimmer, I've heard the grisly detective novel praised on NPR, in bookstores and newspapers nearly everywhere I've gone. It doesn't sound like the type of book I ususally enjoy -- hundreds of women are murdered in a small Mexican town, while an ensemble cast of characters are drawn to the darkness -- it's been called a darkly humorous masterpiece, written in the last days of Bolano's life. How can you resist a description like that?
The Good Thief, by Hannah Tinti, was first brought to my attention via a postcard sent with one of my One Story mailings. Judging a book by its cover, it looks awesome -- the silhouettes of a piratey man with his hand on a young boy's shoulder, walking away from a rickety house grabbed me right away.
I asked a few of my colleagues who report on that great big confusing economic industry for some reading suggestions. While many were in agreement that, of course, you should just read their articles, they were able to give some great recommendations:
With all of the television shows coming out, the ones based on books will probably be the easiest to judge, right away. After all, if you didn't like Jeff Lindsay's Darkly Dreaming Dexter, there's a pretty good chance you won't like the series based on his novels.
In an attempt to find a list of books that wouldn't make students -- past and present -- roll their eyes and walk away from the screen grumbling, 
One hallmark of Southern writing is the Civil War. Even if the war isn't mentioned outright, its heroic and tragic themes loom in the background. For recommendations about war-related books, I turned to local author Charles Mitchell, whose Maryland Voices of the Civil War is a collection of letters, diary entires and other contemporaneous writings. To get grounded in the war, he suggested these five great reads: 
There is possibly nothing so satisfying in this world than making a list and then checking it off. It's the feeling of accomplishment, I suppose. 
OK, so this list is a bit specialized. But it's a good one for some light summer reading, nu? The list came to mind as I was reading Absurdistan, a farcical look at geopolitics, love and religion. Most of these picks were read in my book club, which has a Jewish theme, but not all were universally loved. In fact, some were roundly criticized, despite my praise. Go figure. The list (in no particular order):
Like many other little girls in America, I dreamt of having my very own pony, of sharing that bond that a girl can only know with her horse and maybe someday even winning the Triple Crown.
Cam Northouse of Clayton Fine Books offered these largely Chicano authors to those who enjoyed Rudolfo Anaya's Bless Me Ultima: 
