Thursday, January 3, 2013

Happy New Year and Happy Reading

I'm a couple of days late and more than a few dollars short, but I thought I'd give this blog a bit of a kick in the pants and talk about reading and reading projects for a bit. I'm in the middle of several things and not near the end of any of them, but for some reason the beginning of the year always makes me feel incredibly optimistic about my reading goals. It's probably the combination of the end of the holiday madness and the still short days that makes me feel like I'll now have a lot more time for the printed word. Somewhat delusional, but it's a nice delusion, and you never know.

I'm currently reading Dana King's Wild Bill, his contemporary Mafia story set in Chicago. Reminds me a bit of John McFetridge's Toronto crime fiction in it's ability to keep many plates spinning. I've also started Zadie Smith's NW, the new novel by a famous author that I perhaps most wanted to read. The reviews have been mixed, but I'm really enjoying it and I think it's one of those books that caught me at just the right time. I'm also well and truly absorbed in Expendable Man  by Dorothy Hughes. I'd read several of her novels of pyshological suspense before, but apparently missed this one, put out freshly under the New York Review of Books imprint. And I'm soon to start The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Anne Fadiman's wildly popular book about the healing philosophies of the Hmong culture, or so I gather. Have yet to open it, but as it's a book group selection, open it I shall.

I have very ambitious plans about reading more books for the Europa Book Challenge, 2013, but probably the less said about that the better, until I actually have time to start one...

Good luck to us all.

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