The
NY Times' Notable Books list interested me. I don't know if I agree with Dave that the list is
too predictable. I think it included a few new authors to watch whose books didn't necessarily get that much exposure. I know Jill loved
Beyond Black and I have just added it to my Books to Read (As Soon As I Have Finished All the Other Books I'm Reading) list. I also notice that Elliot Perlman's
Seven Types of Ambiguity made the list. (Dave says he doesn't trust novels written by a man whose name sounds like a dentist, but as Perlman is a fellow Aussie I am rather protective, and just tell Dave to shut up.) Anyhow,
Seven Types has just recently jumped forward on my BTR list because of how much I am
loving his
short story collection. (I'm also a sucker for that glorious cover art.) I will add that
Seven Types was another one Jill gave the thumbs-up to.
And while we are on the topic of Jill and I swapping book recommendations, I was thrilled to find she agreed with me on how utterly divine the new Julian Barnes novel (Arthur and George) is. Just magic! It reminds me very much of Any Human Heart. Both are beautifully written novels that span a period of time in Britain with gorgeous attention to detail, a subtle wit, and an innate gentleness which in turn becomes immensely moving. In both cases the lives of these men are so absorbing one never wants the book to end. But end it did. Now I'll just have to get around to finishing a few more of these books I'm currently in the middle of:
- Are Men Necessary? by Maureen Dowd ? whose op-eds I can find somewhat cloying, but whose take on feminism is wonderfully fresh.
- Forty Words for Sorrow by Giles Blunt ? which already seems a terrific winter mystery set in Canada.
- The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Green by Joshua Braff ? a sweet and wincingly funny book that I missed in hardcover, and I hope to see do well in paperback. The author was terribly lovely when I met him, which helps!
Well enough with my blogging. I have some books to read. Cheers, Georgie