I keep getting behind, so I don’t feel like I’m doing each book justice as I write about it. But ah well, here we go again.

an underachiever’s diary by Benjamin Anastas: Maybe it was the point, but I was a bit underwhelmed by this novel. It was sent by booksfree, and I don’t remember ordering it, but it looked interesting. It’s the diary of a twin, whose brother does everything better than he, so he makes it his purpose in life to be an underachiever. The interesting bits come from his descriptions of being a twin- what that means, how it feels- but as a character he’s not really all that likeable. Loveable in an underdog kind of way, but not likeable.

The Complete Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde: These are stunning, poignant stories, more than once I was moved almost to tears. As the afterward points out, many of the stories were allegories for Wilde’s own struggles, but I enjoyed them on a purely narrative level. Beautifully written… just gorgeous.

Pursuit of Love & Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford: I love these books. Mitford envokes a vision of life so clear it’s as though you’re experiencing the events with her. Her characters, based loosely on real people, are lovable and dear, although complex enough to be compelling. I’m still out on her ultimate point- in both books death prevents the main characters from being mothers, I haven’t read enough of her other writings to completely decide what that means. It’s almost as though the “pursuit of love” is the important thing, and mixing children in isn’t as interesting. The one child that does live while the mother lives is seperated from her through divorce…. Maybe I’ll have more of an idea after I finish the biography I’m reading of her and her family.

Shadows over Baker St. ed. by Michael Reaves: This book was fascinating. It’s an anthology of stories about Sherlock Holmes investigating phenomenon from the Lovecraft mythos. The great logician, going up against forces that defy logic. I’m not a huge fan of Holmes, but I really enjoyed these stories. The quality of the stories is consistently high, and one was by my friend, the talented Barbara Hambly, and is now one of my favorites of her work.

the curious incident of the dog in the night-time by Mark Haddon: 2 things link this book to others I’ve just read- the title has no capitals, and Sherlock Holmes. The main character of this book, Christopher, is a 13 year old autistic boy investigating the murder of a neighbor’s dog. He appreciates Sherlock Holmes for his unemotional logic and the way he finds clues, as his own autism prevents him from fathoming other people’s emotions and intentions. As he investigates the murder he discovers more than he set out to, and the result is fascinating. Haddon works with autistic children, and obviously has a great understanding for the way they see the world.

A Child’s Book of True Crime by Chloe Hooper: Again, another book that underwhelmed me. The premise is interesting; school teacher has affair with man whose wife wrote a book about a true crime where a woman killed her husband’s mistress. As the plot goes on, the stories become tangled in school teacher’s head and you can’t tell if she’s going crazy or discovering the truth. Sounds interesting, and it kinda was, but the ending was eh, and the conceit of having every other chapter be a chapter from the children’s story that the school teacher writes to tell the son involved in all this the truth didn’t really work.

Current count: 48
Just Finished: A Child’s book of True Crime by Chloe Hooper
Currently Reading: The Sisters: The Saga of the Mitford Family

Wow I’m behind. (On posting, not on reading. I’m actually ahead on reading.) To catch up, here are the recent books in order:

Book Lust by Nancy Pearl: I think maybe you’re supposed to pick your way through this book, since it’s all catagorized book reccomendations, but I just read it straight through, marking titles that look interesting. There are suggestions for topics I’d never think of, and now can’t wait to read. (If I ever go back through and get any of those books.)

The Paths of the Dead by Steven Brust: Another great book in his series. Hilarious, great character development, highly enjoyable.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl: My mom never read this one to us when we were little- different from the movie but highly enjoyable. The commentary on class difference is more evident in the book, and Charlie’s dad isn’t dead.

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension by Earl Mac Rauch: Someone needs to tie up Mr. Rauch somewhere and make him write more books. I love Buckaroo, and this book has a great pulp fiction feel. Like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, this one had a movie made of it- and while the actors were perfectly cast, the movie has so much left out that it’s almost a different story.

Blade Runner (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Phillip K. Dick: Ok, this is funny, I didn’t realize I had been on such a movie tie-in run. Even more than Buckaroo, this book is completely different from the movie. Very well written, thought provoking, and depressing as all get out, this book has a completely different undercurrent than the movie. Class struggles, questions of identity, faith, and ownership are all strong themes of the book, while the movie concentrates on the concept of the meaning of humanity. I need to watch it again.

Election by Tom Perrotta: Unlike the previous books, the movie made from this book is almost spot on. Wickedly funny at parts, this book is also depressing in its portrayal of Tracy, who wants to succeed so much that she alienates everyone around her. Maybe it was more depressing as I read it in one sitting directly following Blade Runner, so I was already in a hopeless mood about the state of the world. Either way, I have to admire the casting of the movie version of this as well.

Bandbox by Thomas Mallon: I had a little trouble starting this book. I expected to instantly love it, and when I didn’t it took effort to get into the story. After a rough beginning however, I got sucked into the crazy, convoluted world of publishing in the 1920s. Reading more like a pulp novel than the Dorothy Parker I was expecting, the story’s huge cast of characters race through more adventures and mishaps than I thought could fit in a book of this size. This actually would make a great movie. =)

Better than Beauty by Helen Valentine and Alice Thompson: This is a great find, an etiquitte and behavior book originally published in 1930 something. Highly enjoyable for its novelty, its also quite wittily written.

Lord of Castle Black by Steven Brust: About halfway through the Vlad Taltos series, Brust started off on a path that was inevitable but quite sad, and I sensed beginning this book that it would be no different. I admire Brust for the fact that he doesn’t spare his characters, they are always true to themselves, no matter where that leads them. The story is great, the writing is great, the ending knocked me on my butt, but really couldn’t have happened any other way.

Sethra Levode by Steven Brust: I’m still mad about this book. Whereas in Lord of Castle Black the ending had to happen the way it did, things happened in this book that weren’t neccessitated by character, and I’m quite mad about them. Thats all I’m going to say, because I’m mad.

Little Red Riding Hood Uncloaked by Catherine Orenstein: This is a facinating look at the history of the Red Riding Hood fairy tale and its sociological influence over the years. For such a short book it is quite extensive in scope, looking not only at French court during the Sun King, but at werewolves, the history of rape in courts, and current versions of the story. It’s gotten me in a fairy tale analysing mood- next up I’m reading Oscar Wilde’s fairy tales, and then another book on the history of Red.

Current Count:42
Just Finished: Little Red Riding Hood Uncloaked by Catherine Orenstein
Next Up: The Complete Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde