January 2015

First book of the new year, tho' started in the old. The Transcriptionist by Amy Rowland. Simply lovely, odd and quirky.

Finished Emily St. John Mandel's The Lola Quartet. Shouldn't be a surprise, because Station Eleven was so good, but--wow! The woman can write. A terrific noirish story, full of end-of-the-road characters, rife with coincidence, heavier and darker than a summer night in southern Florida--it all works, it all comes together in the end, it's bleak and it's beautiful.

Bleak & beautiful works for me.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot by David Shafer. Whew--it's what Dave Eggers' The Circle wished it was.

4>Any book named WTF has got to be a winner.

I'm reading Coleman Dowell's One of the Children is Crying at the moment. Superb so far...

Embarrassed to say I've never heard of it, or the author. What kind of a bookseller am I?

Just finished The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides. Good. Juicy. Not great.

6> Hey I wouldn't be too embarrassed. I doubt very many booksellers (or anybody) even back in Dowell's day knew a lick about him, or his books.
7> I recall buying that very book at The Book Frog's previous address.

I'm on a sci fi/urban fantasy/magical realism kick.

This week: Jo Walton's Among Others a magical coming-of-age story with lots and lots and lots and lots of books. Truly excellent

Also, Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson. Brilliant and gorgeous.

Next up: Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer, the first in the Southern Reach Trilogy and a title on many, many best of lists I've seen.

Finished Annihilation. May or may not read the other two books (although I'm firm in my believe that it's actually one book that the publisher split into three--short, each volume published just a couple of months after the one before it), but did enjoy this very much. Humans/earth vs (one thinks) aliens-that-take-over-and-transform-our-bodies-and-the-land. Or something like that.

Just started Directive 51, recommended by John Scalzi. So far, an exciting, if standard, techno thriller. However, I'm only a few pages in, and Scalzi has pretty good taste.

Hey Becky, have you had a chance to catch Inherent Vice? Saw it a couple weeks ago and it was fabulous. Those books you've read look intriguing. I'll check 'em out.

I haven't seen Inherent Vice yet. Glad to hear the thumbs up--I'm always so leery of movies made from books that I've loved.

'Sup your way? Hope all's well. We're struggling along post-move, post-holiday. It's a great location but people are too damn slow finding us. Ah well...

I'll be shocked if you don't love Inherent Vice.

Well I'm planning on finding you guys on Monday for your event. May have no choice but to buy some books as well!

You don't have to buy a thing! I hope you make it--it will be simply lovely to see you--and I don't think you've met Pete, so you have that to look forward to.