One of the many great things about working in a library is the unfettered access to just about book that catches your fancy. Then you go and retire. The economy tanks. Libraries cut their book budgets. What’s a reader to do? Wait for months on end to see if your local library even orders the more obscure titles, or just give in and buy them? The answer is obvious.
Suddenly, my bookshelf is overflowing. Titles from the past mingle with new ones. When I was a public librarian, part of my collection development assignment was “esoteric fiction.” This usually meant “translated from the Bulgarian” or “First time in print since 1927.” I’m happy to say that, due to my endless promotion of these out of the mainstream title, they all circulated well.
So, for the foreseeable future, I’ve given up buying books and am going to read the ones I have bought. And here they are:
We Need to Talk About Kevin (2003) by Lionel Shriver. A novel in letters, a woman writes to her former husband trying to decipher her tortured relationship with her son, Kevin, a high-school mass murderer. Recommended by John Waters.
Turn of Mind (2011) by Alice LaPlante. The novel features a hand surgeon with Alzheimer's who may or may not be complicit in her best friend's death.
Sarah’s Key (2007) by Tatiana de Rosnay. Alternating between 1942 and the present day, this novel chronicles the gleeful collaboration between the citizens of Paris and the Nazis, when the city’s Jews were rounded up and housed in the Vélodrome d’Hiver as a way-station to concentration camps.
The Tiger’s Wife (2011) by Téa Obreht. A young Croatian women tries to solve the mystery of her beloved grandfather’s death. Winner of the 2011 Orange prize.
Tigerlily’s Orchids (2011) by Ruth Rendell. I try to read every Rendell (and Barbara Vine) book that’s published. It’s not just that the stories are so engrossing, but also that she knows how to use the English language to it’s best effect.
Stones from the River (1994) by Ursula Hegi. I missed this one when it came out, despite all the favorable press and its main character is a librarian and a dwarf. The fourth volume of her “Burgdorf” series. I like long series, having made my way through The Forsyte Saga (John Galsworhty), Dance to the Music of Time (Anthony Powell), and Strangers and Brothers (C.P. Snow).
The Man Who Loved Children (1940) by Christina Stead. The unrelenting story of the ultimate dysfunctional family, this Australian novel has been equally praised and damned. Another John Waters recommendation.
Harvard’s Secret Court (2005) by William Wright. In 1920 Harvard University went through system-wide homosexual panic. A secret panel was set up that made the HUAC investigations a walk in the park. Now, 90 years later, gays can marry in Massachusetts.
As Meat Loves Salt (2001) by Maria McCann. An historical novel set during the English Civil War, with love, passion, and obsession. Not my usual fare, but it was recommended by Lionel Shriver.
The Borrower (2011) by Rebecca Makkai. Lucy Hull, a young children’s librarian, finds herself both kidnapper and kidnapped when her favorite patron, a ten-year-old boy, runs away from home. Recommended by a fellow Infopeep.
The Indian Clerk (2007) by David Leavitt. In this novel, based on the true story of the strange and tragic relationship between British mathematician G.H. Hardy and self-taught Indian genius Srinivasa Ramanujan, Cambridge University comes alive with the luminaries of the day.
Time’s Arrow (1991) by Martin Amis. Another recommendation from Lionel Shriver, the novel centers around Tod T. Friendly, a doctor living in a peaceful American suburb, who once worked in the medical section at Auschwitz. There’s a doppelganger narrator living inside him who has a separate consciousness that travels from death to birth, trying to understand his life history.
Queen Lucia (1920) by E.F. Benson. Not many laughs in the titles above, so here’s the start of a great six-novel series in lovely little English villages between the wars.
The Case of the Man Who Died Laughing (2010) by Tarquin Hall. A friend reviewed another book by Hall on her reading blog, so I thought I’d give the one, a mystery featuring Vish Puri, Delhi’s most private investigator.
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1974) by John le Carré. Back, yet again, to an old favorite, the first part of the “Quest for Karla” series. The best spy novel by the best spymaster. And, thank you, Costco, for having all three volumes on sale. The others in the series are also on this list
So, I’m going to stop reading the New York Times Book Review, the New York Review of Books, Times Literary Supplement, and just about anything else that may tempt me into adding to this list before I’ve finished reading everything on it. And the way I read, it should take me a couple of years!
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