Saturday, February 22, 2020

2019 Reading List, Part II



Having just finished Unsheltered and wanting a break before I start something new, I return to finish up the recap of last year's reading. I'm at the tail end (I hope) of the flu and oddly depressed by the results of the Nevada caucus and so, I tell myself, not at my most scintillating here.

Beloved
Disquieting but unputdownable is Ms. Morrison's bestseller. I'm not sure if one was supposed to not know who the strange visitor was from the outset; it seemed pretty obvious. Regardless, a fine if not particularly happy read.

The Fourth Bear
From Jasper Fforde's "Nursery Crime" series. I can't remember why I was moved to re-read this, but it involves the Three Bears and a missing journalist with yellow hair.

Becoming 
The mega-best-selling Michelle Obama autobiography. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book and how much I liked Ms. Obama.

The Intuitionist
Sometimes I'm particularly slow on the uptake so I read a lot of this earlier work of Colson Whitehead believing there really was a city department of elevator inspectors. And I  continue to have a sort of warm feeling about elevators. Weird but quite fine.

Invisible Man
Another classic you'd think I'd have read earlier. Mostly what I remember about this one is how the narrator gets kicked out of school so unfairly. But that's really just the start of how unfair his life is.

Convenience Store Woman
I read a review of this, and I liked its wacky cover art. I was never entirely clear just how crazy I was supposed to find the main character, but she's a young woman who finds she fits in best working at a convenience store so, really, I'm okay thinking "pretty crazy."

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
So many people love this book. Scott did not care for it. I figured I should read it for myself to see. Now, so many months later, I dimly recall that I fell somewhere between the two extremes. There's a lot of creeping in and out of apartments or houses via the back alley.

Owl at Home
Now here is a fine book! Owl makes tear water tea, is alarmed by the strange bumps in his bed, and enjoys the company of his good round friend, the moon. 

The Bluest Eye
Toni Morrison again--perhaps my first? And dark dark dark it was, too, which is maybe why it is perhaps my favorite.

The City & the City
I dimly recall that there are two cities that coexist in the same space and that a criminal from one sneaks into the other, causing difficulties for the detectives. Maybe.

Antosha in Prague 
Surely this was a reread. Short stories featuring a character who bears striking similarities to Anton Chekhov. You'd think it would find a publisher.

Maus, Part I
Mein Gott, another classic that I waited a few decades to read. The rise of Nazi Germany featuring some quite charming mice. I should really see about getting Part II to see how it turns out. 

The Virgin in the Garden
A reread of classic A.S. Byatt. I can't remember how it held up, truth to tell.

The New Yorker Album 1925 - 1950
Honestly, I could just read nothing but cartoons and kids' books. This collection of old New Yorker cartoons includes "I say it's spinach and I say to hell with it," and "You've got to put your back in to it."

The Autobiography of Foudini M. Cat
Sometimes I just don't remember how books came into my possession; I think I bought this at a garage sale years ago and it just waited until I got around to it. The narrator and hero is a cat. It worked for me.

Our Uninvited Guests
A book by Julie Summers about houses in England that, either voluntarily or not, were used by the British government during the second world war. Fascinating stories of spy-training as well as refugees and schools.