 | Title: Further Tales of the city
Author: Armistead Maupin
First publication: 1982
Comments: The calamity-prone residents of 28 Barbary Lane are at it again in this deliciously dark novel of romance and betrayal. While Anna Madrigal imprisons an anchorwoman in her basement, Michael Tolliver looks for love at the National Gay Rodeo, DeDe Halcyon Day and Mary Ann Singleton track a charismatic psychopath across Alaska, and society columnist Prue Giroux loses her heart to a derelict living in San Francisco park
Started: January 2009 Finished: January 16th 2009, San Francisco |  | Title: A Series of Unfortunate Events: the reptile room
Author: Lemony Snicket
First publication: 1999
Comments: I received the first volume as a present, and it intrigued me. The style is quite unusual for a children book, and it has a dark cynical tone, but... I enjoyed it. Let's see how the story progresses in the next volumes.
Started: January 2009 Finished: January 25th 2009, San Francisco |  | Title: Chie-chan e io
Author: Banana Yoshimoto
First publication: 2007
Comments: Ho sempe amato i libri di Banana Yoshimoto, e anche quest'ultimo e' stata una piacevole lettura, ma devo dire che i piu' recenti volumi sfigurano a confronto ai suoi libri della giovinezza. Questa e' la storia di Kaori e Chie-chan, e del loro particolarissimo rapporto.
Started: January 2009 Finished: February the 15th 2009, Seattle |  | Title: Gentlemen and players
Author: Joanne Harris
First publication: 2006
Comments: Joanne Harris managed to awe me again, with this clever and amazing book. I really enjoyed this book, the characterization and detailed analysis of the main character. The only thing I did not really find great was the final "shocking revelation", that, even if very surprising and unexpected, it is not really convincing. Anyway, another masterpiece of Joanne Harris, that I strongly recommend.
Started: February 2009 Finished: April 27th 2009, San Francisco |  | Title: A Series of Unfortunate Events: the wide window
Author: Lemony Snicket
First publication: 2000
Comments: A pleasant read, entertaining read. I guess I will have to get the next volumes to see what happens to the orphans.
Started: April 2009 Finished: May 2009 |  | Title: Specimen Days
Author: Michael Cunningham
First publication: 2005
Comments: A second masterpiece (after The Hours) of Michael Cunningham. In The hours the lives of three people were intertwined together. In here we follow three characters in three historical periods, in three apparently unrelated separate novels. The historical background of each story is a different New York: the horrors of the industrial revolution, the fears of the Post September 2001, and a post apocalyptic feature. In each story the same characters come back over and over again, struggling over and over to understand the truth, to see what is hidden behind the reality, and to discover it in awe.
Started: May 2009 Finished: June 25th 2009, San Francisco |  | Title: Mothers and Sons
Author: Colm Toibin
First publication: 2007
Comments: A collection of short stories, each of them a in-depth investigations of them centered on human interactions (mother-son interactions), and the feelings, fears, desires beside them. As in Blackwater Lightship, the author demonstrates an astounding sensibility and understanding of human nature.
Started: June 19th 2009, on a plane to Miami Finished: June 24th 2009, on the plane back from Miami |  | Title: Fellow Travelers
Author: Thomas Mallon
First publication: 2007
Comments: I am currently reading it.
Started: July 2009 Finished: I am currently reading it |  | Title: A demon in my view
Author: Ruth Rendell
First publication: 1977
Comments: I am usually not fond of thrillers and mysteries, but this is definitely a great exception. I received this book as a present from a friend that swear R.R. is the best author on earth. I started reading the book and I was immediately captured by the deep psychological analysis of the characters. The reader can enter in the serial killer mind, understand his way of thinking, even relate and be sympathetic towards him. This is the kind of book that is impossible to put down once started, the kind of book you end up reading until an early hour in the morning to realize you need to be at work few hours later.
I was almost at the end of the book, when I discovered that there was a typographic problem with it: the last 2 chapters were missing (and the first 2 were repeated instead). The book vendor was very kind and offered to substitute it but it turned out the book is out of print. I got a refund, but I was craving to read the end. I tried everywhere but I could not find the book. Finally I managed to find it at the public library and I just got to read the end. Finally! The conclusion is almost as good as the rest of the book, even if it fells a little rushed and sudden.
Started: 2009 Finished: July 19th 2009 |  | Title: The caves of steel
Author: Isaac Asimov
First publication: 1953
Comments: I read a lot of I. Asimov when I was a kid, and it was quite interesting to read him again, in English this time. He was an adroit writer, able to capture the reader. I enjoyed this book, I was very surprised by the author mentions to the bible. I guess it was common at the time.
Started: July 25th 2009, over the pacific ocean toward Oahu Finished: End of July 2009 |  | Title: When you are engulfed in flames
Author: David Sedaris
First publication: 2008
Comments: Sedaris has a very peculiar sense of humor, and sometimes his funny stories turn out being not as silly as he pretend they are. Great book, it made me LOL more than once.
Started: August 2009 Finished: August 2nd 2009 |  | Title: Homeland
Author: R.A. Salvatore
First publication: 1990
Comments: When I was young, I always brought with me a pile of books every time I was going on vacation. Many were beach-friendly light reads, fantasy novels. Given that I was (for the first time after many years) on a beach vacation I bought this one. It was like traveling back in time. There is nothing better than sun, beach, warm ocean and a nice book to read lulled by the sounds of the waves. Regarding this book in particular, it really reads like a prequel. I have the strong feeling that the author wrote a book that was successful and then later decide to add a prequel to ride the success of the previous book. It is a fun book, but there is nothing special. I'll read the following to see if it gets better.
Started: August 2009 Finished: August 2009,on the Pacific flying back to SF |  | Title: The naked sun
Author: Isaac Asimov
First publication: 1956
Comments: I read a lot of Asimov when I was young (translated in Italian), and I used to love his books. I recently started to read them again, and hey, he was a master of mass market novels. His books are hard to put down. Many of his ideas now are clique, but they weren't at the time. The only disturbing part is to see some sexist comment in the book. I doubt Asimov was sexist, I believe that, at the time, it was "normal" at the time to treat female differently. Still, disturbing to see that in his vision of the future, women were living their home and joining their husband homes upon marriage.
Started: September 2009 Finished: Sept 25/26, flying over the international date line |  | Title: Dragons of the highlord skies
Author: Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
First publication: 2007
Comments: I was traveling to Japan to attend a conference and I wanted something easy and relaxing to read while traveling. This was perfect. The characters are familiar, I could say I grow up with them. A fun read, even if the ending is disappointing, and the turn of the event is often unjustified and illogical.
Started: September 2009 Finished: October 1st 2009, Kyoto |  | Title: Exile
Author: R.A. Salvatore
First publication: 1990
Comments: I was traveling to Japan to attend a conference and I wanted something easy and relaxing to read while traveling. This was a perfect candidate. Unfortunately, as the previous book, the story is not that great. It really does feel like a prequel written poorly but quickly to leverage on the success of the previously very successful books. It was entertaining, but I won't recommend it. I will keep reading at this point, hopefully I'll get soon to one of the good ones.
Started: Oct 2009, Kyoto Finished: Oct 5th 2009, Osala |  | Title: The robots of dawn
Author: Isaac Asimov
First publication: 1983
Comments: In the third volume of Asimov's "Robot" series all the characters of the previous books (Elijah, Daneel, Gladia) are back in this sequel. The book was written more than 20 years after the first two, and it shows. It is quite interesting to witness the cultural changes occurred in those 2 decades while reading the books. While I was reading the first two volumes, I was quite surprised by the prevalent gender inequality in the "future" societies described in the books. It was rather funny to see the shortcoming of the Western world of the 50s in a "future society". In the third book, things are changed quite a lot. While the previous books were almost puritan, in this third book sexuality is a central element. But while the author describe a society in which sex is quite free, he continues to make the point that sex without love is worthless. It come out a little bit hypocritical: on one side he speaks about free sex to lure readers, on the other he judge it. Anyway, there has been huge social progress in this 20 years, and the progress is astonishing and clear when you read this books.
Started: October 2009 Finished: November 5th 2009, Atherton |  | Title: Magic's Pawn
Author: Mercedes Lackey
First publication: 1991
Comments: The book is a portray of the coming out in a fantasy settings. The main character is raised by a homophobic family. He is desperate, because he does not understand what he is doing wrong, he just wants to be loved by his father and mother. Eventually he moves away, in a far more civil place, and over there he learns his value and heal his self-esteem badly damaged by his family. It is a very touching story, that young readers (of all sexual orientations) should enjoy. And it is also a quite entertaining fantasy novel!
Started: November 2009 Finished: November 2009 |  | Title: Day of the dragon
Author: Richard A. Knaak
First publication: 2001
Comments: I was expecting quite a bad book, given that it was inspired by a videogame. It turned out quite a nice surprise. Yes, granted, is not a masterpiece, but I enjoyed reading it quite a lot. The only things I did not like is that the Demon Soul reminds me of the One Ring.
Started: December 2009 Finished: December 2009, Atherton |  | Title: Magic's Promise
Author: Mercedes lackey
First publication: 1990
Comments: The hero of this story is Vanyel, completely crashed and lost after the tragic loss of his love. Unfortunately for him, there is no time to mourn the loss, he is catapulted in the middle of a multi national crisis involving magic, murder, and a young man, Tashir, that just discovered enormous powers inside himself. In the background, young Vanyel and his family come to terms with their differences.
Started: December 2009 Finished: December 19th 2009, flying toward Orlando |  | Title: Magic's Price
Author: Mercedes Lackey
First publication: 1990
Comments: This is the final chapter of Vanyel's trilogy. Vanyel is now powerful and treated with awe by everybody, but his life is a hell, because he knows that the enemy will attack everybody he loves to get to him (given that they can hardly get at him directly). A very strong sense of duty keep him going until a young bard enter in his life, teaching him to love again.
Started: December 2009 Finished: December 31st 2009, Miami |
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