Tipping the Velvet
by Sarah Waters

Wow, I could not stop reading this one. Engrossing and vivid historical fiction about Nan, a woman-loving oyster-shucker, who takes up a career on the stage. And so much more.

The Sweet Hereafter
by Russell Banks

Four first-person narratives circle around a horrible school bus accident in a small town. Full of grief and surprising revelations.

Girls on the Verge
by Vendela Vida

It's Mrs. Dave Eggers' master's thesis and it is phenomenal. Vendela joins a sorority, crashes a debutante ball, and interviews young Vegas brides in her report on female coming-of-age rituals. Read it.

As I Lay Dying *
by William Faulkner

Loved it. Poetic and dark. Classic.

Running with Scissors
by Augusten Burroughs

Hilarious. Graphic. Unbelievable. An excellent memoir.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
by J.K. Rowling

The Road to Wellville
by T.C. Boyle

Find out about the cornflake wars. Learn to appreciate enemas. Lots going on here, some of it based on fact (?). A good read.

I Thought My Father was God
And Other True Tales from NPR's National Story Project
edited by Paul Auster

Beautiful stories told by everyday people about all aspects of life. Can't help but love it and learn from it.

The Invisible Circus
by Jennifer Egan

The Sheltering Sky
by Paul Bowles

Journey to strange hot lands, with three troubled Americans -- a husband, his wife, their male friend -- right after WWII. It's a dark journey, frightening and intense. The final section left me breathless.

The Lovely Bones
by Alice Sebold

Fourteen-year-old Susie is murdered and goes to heaven. She watches her family mourn, and the years pass. Oh so so sad, but not the sentimental kind of sadness. I cried approximately every other page. And felt uplifted while doing it.

Carry Me Across the Water
by Ethan Canin

August Kleinman faces the end of his life. The narrative hops back and forth in time, encompassing his love for his wife and her eventual sickness, his escape from Nazi Germany, a chilling encounter with a Japanese soldier in WWII, and his son's modern life. Grand themes, expertly executed.

Bringing Up the Bones
by Lara M. Zeises

Coming-of-age tale for girls, especially the lovelorn and uncertain. Set in Delaware! Written by my wise and talented friend! Quick read. Good times.

House of Leaves
by Mark Danielewski

Completely insane. A narrative within a narrative about a man making a film about a house that contains a tunnel of endless depths. I don't think it was that great of a book overall, but it was very original and truly haunting. I couldn't get my head out of it for several days after finishing.

Budding Prospects
by T. Coraghessan Boyle

One of the most fabulous feelings in the world is to discover an author like T.C. Boyle, an author who has TONS of novels and stories out ... because now I cannot wait to read more. Excellent, excellent fiction. Three semi-losers attempt to plant and harvest half a million dollars in marijuana in Northern Cali. And boy is it a tough. Psychotic police, prying backwoods neighbors, and hungry bears are the least of their worries. Oh, sigh, I loved reading this story.

Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister
by Gregory Maguire

Turns the Cinderella story into historical fiction. Major themes: art and beauty. Very different, very enjoyable.

Nowhere Man
by Alexandar Hermon

Utterly weird and impressive. Ends in a pulse-quickening rush. But ...

The Corrections *
by Jonathan Franzen

My god, incredible. Tense, upsetting, depressing, but ultimately uplifting. Three grown siblings and the parents who spawned them. Things go to hell when they try to gather for one last Christmas. Count on it.

Lightning Song
by Lewis Nordan

Crazy, funny, and lovely. A little boy who lives on a llama farm wants to be a cheerleader. It's all about his sexual awakening, quite a traumatic one really. Have you ever heard llamas cry to the full moon? Wow.

Me Talk Pretty One Day
by David Sedaris

Ha! The French are funny. And, damn, so is Sedaris.

Infinite Jest *
by David Foster Wallace

Truly truly amazing. Hilarious, ridiculous, and over-the-top. Heartbreaking, because it had to end. I would have read at least 500 pages more (and it's already +1,000 pages).

Among the Dead
by Michael Tolkin

Dark dark dark. Centers on a man you just don't like, yet you still feel sympathy as his life falls completely apart. Tolkin (author of "The Player") is good -- the tension builds and builds.

The Book of Laughter and Forgetting
by Milan Kundera

Many things to think about in this one. Kundera is an expert at writing about sensuality, and that is at the center of a few of the pieces in this novel. Some of the sections are autobiographical; some are fantasy. I'm not sure if I've processed it all yet ...

A Wild Sheep Chase
by Huraki Murakami

A girl with the most beautiful ears in the world. A short man in dirty sheep suit. Surreal and unusual.

In the Skin of a Lion
by Michael Ondaatje

Poetic. Lush.

The Alchemist
by Paulo Coehlo

"Nambee pambee," as one friend said. (I didn't know this before I started reading.)

The Girls's Guide to Hunting and Fishing
by Melissa Banks

It was okay.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
by J.K. Rowling

Reading "Harry Potter" makes my long-ass commute fly by. Sure, it only takes two commutes before I'm finished the book, but it was good times. (I actually think this book was a bit weaker than the first. I know that's not the standard party line, but it's HOW I FEEL.) Better than the movie.

Sweet Thursday
by John Steinbeck

"Cannery Row" is one of my all-time favorite books. This is the sequel. And it's not very good. Oh John how could you!

On Love
by Alain deBotton

"Six Characters in Search of an Author"
by
"The Importance of Being Earnest"
by Oscar Wilde

The Gift of Stones
by Jim Crace

Killshot
by Elmore Leonard

My first Elmore Leonard novel. He's supposed to be the master of crime fiction, right? Well now I can say with authority, "George Pelecanos is better."

Breakfast at Tiffany's
by Truman Capote

Capote makes magic. And who doesn't want to be Holly Golightly, at least some of the time? She's delightful. Much darker than the movie.

The Spy Who Came in From the Cold
by John LeCarre

84, Charing Cross Road *
by Helene Hanff

Very highly reccommended. Great gift for the book lover in your life.

Right as Rain
by George Pelecanos

Not as stand-out as some of his other work, but it's only the first book in a new series. Pelecanos still has the sharp & gritty dialogue down pat.

London Fields
by Martin Amis

Darts!

Like a Hole in the Head
by Jen Barnbury

Wonderful fun. Quck-witted and hip herione in lots of zany (and quite thrilling) adventures in LA. She works at a bookstore and is like woah, I can't belive all this crazy shit started happening to me!

Naked *
by David Sedaris

Heeeeeeee-larious! I don't know why I held off for so long. When I finished, I scoured the Internet for information about Sedaris and he's funny in interviews, in essays, in life, in socks! I want to marry him! But he's gay. And doesn't want me. *sigh*

The Amber Spyglass
by Philip Pullman

Neuromancer
by William Gibson

You know those robot spiders the government uses in "Minority Report"? Gibson thought of them first. It's like "The Matrix" way before Keanu Reeves was born. Lots of insane computer programmers furiously coding in futuristic cities. Hallucinogenic.

The Subtle Knife
by Philip Pullman

This is the second book in the anti-Harry Potter trilogy. Follow along in the heart-pounding adventures of young Lyra and Will, as they travel worlds populated by witches and ghouls and magic, on their way to assist in the greatest battle of all time. Rebel forces are taking on the Authority (aka God) and the Church. And guess who's side we're on? Down with God! Oh, it's great stuff.

A Fan's Notes
by Frederick Exley

Fictional memoir by an extremely intelligent, horribly drunk, constant failure of a man. He is in and out of mental institutes during his tale, in and out of relationships and jobs. But he's always a fan -- of the New York Giants. This is the story of a man who desperately seeks fame, and feels he deserves it (the American dream?), but must come to grips with that fact that he is a just another fan in the stadium. More heartbreaking, and real, than most.

Dancing After Hours
by Andre Dubus

Short stories, about lots of lonely lonely people. Oh it made me feel so alone. Desperately alone.

Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha
by Roddy Doyle

Written from the point of view of a ten-year-old. A hyperactive Irish boy. He's hilarious! And does vicious things to his little brother. It's a dark book, really, underneath it all, but since it's told from the frenetic viewpoint of a little boy, no pain lasts too long. A quick fun read.

Poems New and Collected, 1957-1999 *
by Wislawa Szymborska

I'm slightly worried at how this "what I'm reading" list completely NEGLECTS the poetry I devote a good amount of passionate reading to. Therefore: I highly recommend this collection of poems (winner of the Nobel Prize for literature) by the Polish writer. She's amazing. You do not need to be a poetry-lover to appreciate her clear and lovely verse. There are samples of her work online. Try "On Death, without Exaggeration" or "Utopia."

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay *
by Michael Chabon

Heartbreaking and hilarious. Epic and true. A continuous delight to read. THIS is why readers, like me, love to read.

Gertrude and Claudius
by John Updike

Clever pre-story to Shakespeare's famous "Hamlet." Find out why Gertrude ditched her husband and hooked-up with his brother! It's quite sexy, what with the falcons and horseback rides and kingly feasts. I enjoyed this novel, but at times it was an exercise to read, probably because Updike is so dead-on with the period language. It is, no matter, a lesson in love.

My Cousin, My Gastroentoroligist
by Mark Leyner

Leyner has been getting some talk from kids in the know (for his "Tetherballs of Bougainville"), so I picked up this earlier collection of stories. I didn't like it. Too "Naked Lunch" (makes no sense; drops tons of names) for me. Didn't take me anywhere. Pissed me off, really.

The Giver
by Lois Lowry

Newbery Medal winner, which means it's a "young adult" novel. So what? They're real good too. Here's a quick read, that tackles all kinds of big & philosophical questions, and it might make you cry and it might make you question the world around you. It's a bit of an adventure as well. If you don't want to read it, give it to your 12-year-old cousin. And he will think you're a big nerd.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? *
by Philip K. Dick

Classic science-fiction (this is the basis for the movie "Bladerunner"). Pretty great. Far-reaching religious themes involved, as well as the "can we create humans out of machines?" riddle. Read it!

Pastoralia
by George Saunders

Unusual, exciting voice. The title story is told by a man hired to play a caveman in a zoo-like place (echoes of Vonnegut, I'd say). Fascinating, quick read. The other stories in this collection don't hold up to the same promise, but I'll give Saunders a break.

Out of the Girls' Room, Into the Night
by Thisbe Nissen

Short stories by some MTV-contest winner. Weak (in my snotty opinion).

The Tipping Point *
by Malcolm Gladwell

Excellent book! You will feel so much smarter after reading! Gladwell researches the tipping point -- the point when something (a fad, a virus, crime) spreads far and wide enough to make a measurable difference. If it sounds boring, it is not. Find out why "Sesame Street" is great for children! Discover why smoking is so popular! Gladwell writes quick and clear and just carries you along for the ride.

Already Dead: A California Gothic
by Denis Johnson

Oy. It was a task to get through this jumbled trip of a novel. I think I liked it, a lot, but mostly I was relieved to finish. And it's not a story that gives you any easy answers. Which is fine, but quite frustrating. Perhaps that's the point. The story is about all these crazy people that live on the Northern California coast (! great location, eh?). There are witches, drug addicts, psychotics, murderers, and policeman trying to do right.

Being Dead *
by Jim Crace

An older-than middle-age couple returns to the spot in the dunes where they first got it on, and are murdered. This takes place on the first page of this lovely novel about life, death, love and decomposing bodies. One chapter examines the natural decay of their flesh (find out where the flies land! learn what happens to your skin when the rain and sun have their way! what part do the gulls most like to pick? read it here!), the next follows their love affair, and so on, back and forth. Eventually a storyline about their one wayward daughter joins the progress. None of these people are perfect, or beautiful, or blessed with love. But ... there is much love here, by the author, and between these imperfect (dead) people. And it's only 196 pages long!

Birds of America
by Lorrie Moore

I'm a fan of Lorrie Moore, so it's not a stretch for me to completely enjoy this collection of short stories. It's hard to explain what she does, but if I could, I would say it's something like this: Moore takes broad meditations on love, sex, marriage, family, etc., and transforms these almost-cliched ideas into poignant and achingly bright prose poems.

Shame the Devil
by George P. Pelecanos

This is my 4rth Pelecanos novel. It's not necessarily my favorite (that would be between "King Suckerman" or "The Sweet Forever"), but it has all the necessary ingredients: incredibly detailed descriptions of D.C., blood, guilt, sex, good & bad guys all with major character flaws. It's pulp fiction, and one of the best examples of the genre. Recommended for those needing a fast, gritty read ...

Angle of Repose *
by Wallace Stegner

Classic! Overwhelming! This is a tough read, or it was for me at least. It's this amazing arching story, of a woman artist who marries the wrong man, and moves West into the unknown. These are some of the very first Western pioneers, leaving behind the culture and affluence of New England for rough adventures in the desert. In another layer, the tale of Susan Ward is told to us by her grandson, a crippled bitter man who finds little hope in life except for what's at the bottom of the liquor bottle. Does Lyman Ward (the crippled progeny of Western pioneers) ever find hope, a reason to live? Does he find it in the hard sad story of his incredible grandmother? That's up to you, dear reader, to find out.

Continental Drift
by Russell Banks

I lack words at the moment. Overall, it was a very bleak look at the American Dream. The central character is a blue-collar family man, and everything gets screwed when he moves his family to Florida. And not in a funny way. There is a second storyline involving a Haitian immigrant woman. The two threads come together with devastating results.

How many book jacket blurbs do you bet >ive< read?

The Body Farm
by Patricia Cornwell

For the year or so I was the books editor of a major online news site (ahem), Patricia Cornwell would consistently hide out at the top of the best seller lists. Of course, this does not mean a book is worthy of reading . . . sometimes (usually?) it's quite the opposite. But many many people would tell me that Cornwell writes good stuff, worthwhile stuff. Her books are always about this kickass woman, the state forsenic investigator for the feds. She hangs out with Clarice Starling types. And sometimes I desperately crave pulp fiction. It's fast and dirty. Feels good. John Grisham can do it ("The Firm" is an awesome read!), so can Michael Crichton (my god, "Jurassic Park"? Amazing!).

"The Body Farm" is . . . good. I won't necessarily recommend it. It was very promising for awhile, but I knew who the murderer was way too early. There was good dark character stuff, and interesting love affairs, and bodies in a field in Tennessee. But . . . go read George Pelecanos' "The Sweet Forever" or his "King Suckerman" for a rocking, dirty time. He crafts fast-talking characters that aren't necessarily good or bad. He writes dark stuff, with just a little light of hope flickering in the end. Love it.

The Fermata
by Nicholson Baker

N. Baker's an interesting one. Read this novel, and you can't help but imagine what it would be like if you could pause time, with a snap of the fingers. That's what the main character in this novel can do. He's actually writing this, his biography, during the Fold (his name for the paused-time warp). Of course, this guy is usually pausing time to take off women's clothes. He does lots of interesting things with them, too. Yes.

After I was Thrown in the River and Before I Drowned
by Dave Eggers
(short story in the "Speaking with the Angel" collection)

Sure, it's just a short story! It will only take you 15 minutes to read in a bookstore, but since I just loooooooooove Dave, I wanted to tell you that his little story, told by a fast fast dog (yes, a dog! how hip!), is really quite good. Good good good. Read it.

Underworld
by Don DeLillo

This book -- this tome, if you will -- is great, sure. It's epic. In the way that "Traffic" was, if books and movies were some kind of parallel art form where such a comparison would make sense. "Underworld" jumps all over the country, cuts back and forth in time, and uses the perspectives of a seemingly endless number of characters. They are all tied together by the themes of TRASH and BASEBALL. Now, that's America for ya!

I suppose I really enjoyed the book, but mostly I'm proud to say I managed to read it. I'm not sure I got it. It was almost too big to get, unles one were to write a 12-page English paper on it. Since the book works its way backwards in time . . . it's really difficult to see how all the different characters affect each other and the world of the novel. Actually, I'm positive that DeLillo has populated the text with hundreds (thousands?) of deja vu-type nuances; I probably even spotted some on my own. And that is quite artful. I wish I could have done it. The man also has a way with words. Ah, sweet words. But . . . but . . . what did Nick Shay (the main character, though you could argue that) learn about life and love and death in his 800-page story? So many things, and then again, nothing at all. Perhaps that's the point.

The New York Trilogy *
by Paul Auster

Great, great stuff. His voice is like nothing I've read before. It's a cold, distant voice. But he makes you think. The "Trilogy" is three short stories, interconnected in a way that defies description. Lots of detective work, and looking at clouds, homelessness, and uncertainty. (I can also recommend Auster's "Leviathan." It's one of those books I read, and really enjoyed, and have no idea, now, what it was about. *shrugs*)

Who Will Run the Frog Hospital?
by Lorrie Moore

Moore writes like a poet. I read her "Anagrams" a few months ago (based on a recommendation by none other than Dave Eggers), and it was great. So, sure, I found this one with the odd name at a used bookstore. Plot: Two friends grow up together, grow apart. Typical, maybe. But it's a short novel, infused with meaning. I shed a few tears as I finished it, sitting as I was in the backseat of the Saab somewhere in Kansas. I cried at the universal loss of innocence, of the pain of growing up.

Bee Season
by Myla Goldberg

It's about a little girl, age 9, who discovers her secret gift is . . . spelling. Of course, the book is about much, much more than that. It's about parents that have trouble expressing or understanding love, it's about sibling rivalry, and religion, and finding something to believe in. This is a book about a very very sad family, even if they are all extremely smart. Everyone is trying too hard to please someone, or something. Overall: I really enjoyed this book. It will (probably) excite anyone who takes pleasure in words and language, and family. And the elusive, never-ending search.

Girl With Curious Hair
by David Foster Wallace

I just picked this one up, for a second attempt. Now: I'm big (real big) fan of Wallace's essay-collection ("A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again"), but these short stories? Just ... too ... wordy. It's Wallace conjuring up his most I'm-A-Smarty-Pants-Author attitude. He should learn some down-to-earth lessons from the wondrous Michael Chabon. But, I'm going to give Mr. Wallace another chance. I'll let you know.

*later, after reading two more stories* Okay, he's good, Wallace is good. I just can't take too much of him. But the piece on Lyndon B. Johnson? Loved it. Then again, I love it anytime a book makes me question history. We should all question history.

Outside the Dog Museum
by Jonathan Carroll

I'm a sucker for book-jacket blurbs, and this can be especially dangerous in used book stores. But, in the most perfect of worlds, seduction by book-jacket blurbs means everyone wins. I picked up this book (it's out of print at Amazon and Barnes & Noble!) because the jacket said things like "sexy, eerie and addicting." And, well, I read it straight through in just a few days, not wanting to put it down. It is the tale of a gifted architect who has a nervous breakdown, of sorts, and is in love with two women, and hallucinates, and has a guardian angel/dog. He's also, uh, commissioned by the sheik of some Mideast country to build a Dog Museum, which turns out to be a Tower of Babel, sorta. Quite, quite. Heh. No matter, I think there will be more Jonathan Carroll in my future.

The Beach
by Alex Garland

Yes, I saw the movie with Leonardo DiCaprio (oh, Leo). But way before that, I had heard that this was a good book -- quick and hip. Since I read it after watching the film (always a mistake), I didn't particularly worship it. But ... it did take me to a land like none I've ever known (Thailand, and the backpacking culture), and it was quite exciting and entertaining, and that climax! Much better than the movie. Totally so. I like that the main character is stark raving mad, essentially, and it's never a big issue. Ha!

Sam the Cat, and other stories
by Matthew Klam

I honestly don't know what made me purchase this book — in hardcover, no less — but it might have had something to do with a high-praise article I read and the fact that I happened across an "autographed" copy. Boy oh boy.

Of the first two short stories I've read, it is simple and fast and sharp. Lots of good what-a-real-man-thinks-about-women observations in there (if I'm allowed to judge), and it's not particularly celebratory of the male. The stories go places you probably had no idea they would/could go. Interesting.

Holes
by Louis Sachar

There's nothing wrong with retreating to young adult literature every so often. In fact, I strongly encourage it. It's usually a much quicker read, with a slightly more compact moral message than your average book-of-the-moment. And for me, since I spent so many of my formative years with my nose shoved in such a book, reading new additions to the genre assures me that I've grown up, just a bit.

This one is extra good, too -- a recent Newbery Medal winner. And, sure, you can pull together the loose threads of the story long before the author does it for you. But it still feels nice.

Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter *
by Mario Vargas Llosa

Quite amazing! And amusing! Lots of vocab words to look up, lots of exotic locations (learn about Peru while sitting on your couch!), lots of vibrant and fascinating characters. Yes.

Microserfs
by Douglas Coupland

So what if I got to San Francisco too late? I definitely wouldn't have enjoyed (or understood?) this novel about software programmers if I hadn't moved out here to do the dotcom start-up thing. Highly recommended for techie wannabes (like me?). The book's pay-off isn't exactly what I had hoped for ... but ... am I allowed to say this? ... I am most definitely not one of Coupland's biggest fans. *ducks and runs for cover*

* Read this now, or suffer.