Can I step back through the books I’ve read so far this year? Let me try:
Granta 103 – The Rise of the British Jihad. Granta is consistently excellent and I’ve been reading it since University and subscribing for over 10 years. It’s a wonderful introduction to new writers and a way to see new writing that I would probably never pick up otherwise.
Thong Nation – Henry Sutton. Trash. I apologise for even mentioning it here. I bought it on the strength of an excerpt in a magazine that turned out to be the best paragraph in the book.
Come on Shore and We Will Kill and Eat You All – Christina Thompson. Has to win a prize for one of the best titles ever. It’s a great story of a woman who marries a Maori guy intertwined with history of the interaction between Maori and pakeha in NZ over the past 360 years.
The Wisdom of Whores – Elizabeth Pisani. I think Jen was shocked when she saw this title on my shelf, but it’s actually a fascinating account of the “AIDS mafia” and the strange and illogical way that epidemiology and the AIDS establishment butts heads with reality in places like South Africa and Indonesia. I heard the author interviewed on CBC and managed to find the book at the Strand.
The Ice Museum – Joanna Kavenna . Subtitle is “In Search of the Lost Land of Thule” and it’s a great travelogue and exploration of places through the North Atlantic and into the Arctic. Very evocative and interesting in her search of sources.
I feel like I’m missing a couple more. I just reorganized my bookshelves so it’s not so obvious what was read and when. I’ll update if and when I remember other titles.
