Writer’s Corner

I’m always curious to know what sorts of books other authors are reading and enjoying. With that thought in mind, I’ve decided to add my own list of recently consumed books, which include everything from fiction to biography to history to memoir to academic tomes. There is no real rhyme or reason to what I read – I just buy a ton of books every year and have them sit in a pile on the floor of my library. When I finish one book and am ready for the next I just head over to the pile, lift a book or two up, flip through a few pages, maybe stare at the author photograph on the back cover, and eventually pick whichever finally grabs my fancy. I can tell you that I like to switch things around, so it is rare that I will read very many of the same genre of book in a row, but having said that, literary fiction is my favorite – and most frequent – source of reading pleasure. If you’re curious as to how I choose which books to buy in the first place, well, that’s also rather random, stemming from recommendations from friends, critiques in newspapers and magazines such as The New York Review of Books, and winners of high-profile contests such as the Man Booker or the Nobel Prize. In truth, everything is random, as is life…

In addition, I’ve recently been adding a one-word distillation of every book listed (in parentheses after the title).  This is a description and critique, of sorts, but it can also be simply the feeling the book left me with, or the image that the book imprinted in my mind.  After I’ve finished reading a book I let it sit for a day or two, and whatever single word rises to the top of my consciousness regarding its contents, I use it.  I admit it’s a challenge at times deciding on a single word, but, that’s also half the fun.  Enjoy: