The Children's Book

After learning there were more than 200 people wait listed to borrow this book from the DC Public Library, I used a gift card to Border's and purchased my very own copy. I must say that at 675 pages it definitely is a daunting read. I must also say it never slowed or bored. What an amazing brilliant book! The story of the adult generation trying to find their way at turn of the century England and how that path clashes with the next generation as they deal with their own struggles. All that plus the history of modern England to boot. AS Byatt is indeed worthy of the Man Booker nomination for this novel and I can't wait to read Wolf Hall if it truly is better.

Banker to the Poor

Even though I don't celebrate the holiday season I was a bit lost for reading time. I moved and painted and tried to stay warm. At any rate, my old book club Naked Suit reunited tonight with Muhammad Yunus' book on microfinance and it's ability to pull the poor out of oppression and empower them to greatness. The book was poorly written and simply too optimistic. I'm not sure if that is a natural propensity of the Indian personality to ignore the negative and focus on the good or if that is his character. At any rate, I feel like the concept is laudable and the book would have been much better if written by a neutral party. I hear so many arguments for and against microfinance but there must be someone who can write about it without getting sucked into the emotion. Thumb down for me because it was too upbeat.

Dune

I've been wanting to re-read Dune for a long time. I finally grabbed it and started reading it when I returned from N.O. for Thanksgiving. It really is a grand story and a wonderful read. Because I tire of the stories that warn us of a desolate future after we rape the planet, I now read these as the assurance that the destruction of humanity will in fact come and the planet will have an opportunity to repair itself without our presence--even if it is giant worms. Yay Frank Herbert.

China Mieville The City & The City

My love for China only grows with each book. This is a great classic noir detective story wrapped around a parable for our culture of insulated lives. He really did a great job with character development, creating a fantastical world struggling with physical limitations that is completely understandable and believable. I enjoyed the story front start to finish. Yay.

The Business

I'm continuing my Iain Banks reading with The Business. I disliked this more than the previous. I'm interested in reading The Wasp and will hit MLK when I return from holidays to check that out. His Sci-Fi interests me much more than his dystopian fiction or whatever one calls these books. This novel contained way too much non-essential descriptive prose ("I listened to Alanis Morisette's Jagged Pill while on the plane.") Lots and lots of it. I also found the story somewhat irrelevant and the conclusion uninspired and unsatisfying. Sorry.

David Plante's loss

David Plante's The Pure Lover: A memoir of Grief was an elegant small volume of remembrances of love past. I liked how strongly he recalled his love for his partner and how vividly he wrote about intimacies and small moments. I think the sum of a life together is really the small moments; that is when a couple creates a thing, a oneness. Over time these shared moments become a thing to cherish or a pain in the ass. It's nice to read about this couple who really did love each other, or at least that is how Plante remembers it. Either way, it's a nice read.

Transitions

Iain M Banks' newest sci-fi is a "fable for the future"--hardly. It is actually a tale of modern mans' hatred and fear of intelligence. I stumbled on the incidental homophobia in the first 50 pages ("I'm not gay or anything; I'm totally normal.") but stayed with him to the thrilling conclusion. I really enjoyed the book. I am a huge fan of structure and enjoyed how he put the story together through various first person narrations. While I figure out fairly quickly who was who in the story it didn't diminish the pacing or the ultimate battle. While Iain Banks may consider homosexuality to be abnormal, I still enjoyed the book.