Righteous   Joe Ide
Second novel in the I.Q. series about the Sherlock Holmes figure based in the hood. This time he’s rescuing a friend’s sister from Triads while figuring out who killed his brother eight years ago. Language and dialogue aren’t quite as inventive and authentic this time, but the plot and characterization are good, the narrative comes together nicely, and, unfortunately, the excellent ending made me wish the next book in the series was already available. Enjoyable, entertaining read, like the protagonist and series quite a bit.

The Fifties   David Halberstam
Well-written, overview history of the decade when the United States became the country it is now. While not exhaustive, this is a thorough account focused on the people who embodied the staggering postwar affluence that generated suburbs, rock and roll, malls, big cars, fast food, McCarthyism, the pill, the beginnings of the women’s movement, huge Hollywood stars like Brando, Dean, and Monroe, the Cold War, the Korean War, Ike, desegregation, the generative stages of the Civil Rights Movement, the great migration, and the “changes that were taking place every day in more subtle ways because of the ferocious commercial drive of television and its effect upon both consumers and industry.” A very, very good book, informative and readable, really glad I got to it.

Duino Elegies   Rainer Maria Rilke
Very nice dual-language edition. Nearly every phrase is exquisite, even in Stephen Mitchell’s translation. Again, a little astonished that a person can write with such beauty. This time, except for some well-loved passages, it was like I hadn’t read them before. Still love these poems, always will.

                        “Ah, but what can we take along
into that other realm? Not the art of looking,
which is learned so slowly, and nothing that happened here. Nothing.
The sufferings, then. And, above all, the heaviness,
and the long experience of love...”

                                            "The Ninth Elegy"

My Absolute Darling   Gabriel Tallent
Beautifully written, deeply disturbing novel about the incestuous relationship between Julia “Turtle” Alveston and her monster of a father who abuses her sexually and emotionally. Extraordinary details about the physical world and her inner life. Outstanding portrayal of her personality that completely justifies the narrative development, and very-well written characters, good and bad, most often in authentic dialogue. Very good, but hard to read emotionally.

Sourdough   Robin Sloan
Read this book because I loved Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore so much, and this novel has the same inventiveness and wonder in the same light, readable prose. Story of a young woman, sourdough starter, the future of food, and, as always, love. An interesting blend of hard technology and mysticism, very bay area. Entertaining, enjoyable, and worth every quick page. Really liked it.

The Midnight Line   Lee Child
Latest Reacher novel. This time, he’s in Wyoming and South Dakota trying to return a woman soldier’s West Point class ring. Get’s involved with a very sophisticated opioid drug ring. Written in Child’s usual crisp, intelligent, highly-readable prose. But most of the interactions between Reacher and the other searchers weren’t as interesting as in past novels, almost got a little tedious in the  middle. But, a quick, entertaining, and enjoyable read. Sad, too. Wish I had another one.

I.Q. Joe Ide
Very inventive, entertaining novel about a contemporary Sherlock Holmes character in urban Los Angeles. The Holmes figure is a young black man, Isaiah Quintabe, thus the title, whose sidekick is Dodson. Pretty good characterizations, and good writing, but the real power of it is the dialogue, which is very good. Plot is a little thin, but not bad. Very enjoyable read, couldn’t put it down, even the way I am now. Really looking forward to the next one.

Deep Freeze   John Sandford
Latest, very entertaining Virgil Flowers police procedural, based again in the fictitious Trippton, MN. He has to solve two murders, both with some difficult wrinkles. Not as much humorous repartee, this time, and I miss Virgil’s sexual adventures now that he’s with Frankie, but still good. All of it told in Camp’s clear, very readable prose that moves things right along. A very nice, enjoyable distraction.

Later Short Stories, 1888-1903   Anton Chekhov
Re-read these stories because I read a statement in a review that Lady With a Dog is the greatest love story ever written. It, like all the others, is really good, but hard for me to agree it is the greatest. Really enjoyed re-reading The Bet again, one of my all-time favorites. Liked Shelby Foote’s introduction as well. Reminded me what real literature is about, even in translation. Really good stories.

Tampa   Alissa Nutting
In this novel, the main character “unrepentantly recounts her elaborate and sociopathically determined seduction of a 14-year-old student.” She particularly wants the most emotionally vulnerable boy she can find, so he can be easily used and manipulated. All this while she’s married. I could only survive a few chapters. The prose is good, and some of the characters are well and humorously described. But, I found the whole thing deeply disturbing, and I kept thinking what critics, especially feminist critics, would say about a man targeting for an affair the most vulnerable 14-year-old girl he could find in his class. Would it even get published? Why is this ok?

The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye   David Lagercrantz
Deeply disappointing next volume in the Lisbeth Salander books. Lagercrantz has completely missed her character and sidelined her in the narrative. The plot is stiff and predictable, filled with unbelievable characters and sidebars. It all gets adolescent treatment, and the resolution is completely unconvincing. He has undermined and trivialized one of the great literary characters of the 21^st century. A complete shame. A waste of money, as well. A really bad book.

Home   Toni Morrison
Latest, brief novel by the Nobel Prize winner, the third book of hers I’ve read. Employs a narrative technique where the protagonist writes a critique in the first person of the narrator’s third person account, though not sure what that adds for anyone other than the author herself. Got almost propagandistic toward the end, and I found Frank’s recovery unjustified. I though A Mercy was excellent, and Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination was deeply mistaken. Unfortunately, this book is closer to the second, but glad I read it.

Wolf on a String   Benjamin Black
Novel about the court of Rudolf II in 1599 Prague, where a young visiting scholar improbably gets tasked with solving the murder of Rudolf’s mistress. Much court intrigue, and far too many prose flourishes, Banville seems completely infatuated with his own style, found myself skipping over-long descriptions of unnecessary things. Fairly interesting, follows the same structure and method of his Quirk, mysteries. Not a waste of time, but not great.

You Belong to Me   Colin Harrison
Beautifully written “thriller” about the American wife of an Iranian-American financier and the multi-layered connections to them both. Harrison is great at portraying the richness of the webs that bind people, families, and communities underneath their seemingly-normal lives. Really liked the protagonist, Paul. As usual with Harrison, the worst possibilities triumph, though there are, this time, some survivors. Another very good read.

No Middle Name: The Complete Collected Jack Reacher Stories   Lee Child
As the title indicates, a collection of all the Reacher stories Child has written, plus a new novella. Entertaining, like the novels, though it is easy to tell the older stories because the prose hasn’t yet gotten to the precise, clear style of the more resent work. Enjoyed reading them all very much, wish they hadn’t gone by so quickly.

Prussian Blue   Philip Kerr
Most recent Bernie Gunther novel. More interesting than the previous few because he’s back in Nazi Germany, working for them against his will. He’s up at Berchtesgaden, Kerr’s pretentious homage to Der Zauberberg with Gunther as a jaded Castorp? Longer, with more detail, some unnecessary. Kerr eschewed any romantic involvement this time, probably a good thing, in the last few novels it was forced. Not as good as the first three, but enjoyable. Thanks to Charlie for giving it to me, glad I read it.

Habermas: A Very Short Introduction   James Gordon Finlayson
Excruciatingly tiny print in a small book, but a very intelligent, informative, thorough, and well organized introduction to and overview of Habermas’s work and thought. Habermas’s contributions to philosophy, sociology, and political thought are so extensive, getting them all together, even briefly, is a major accomplishment. Finlayson writes clearly and precisely. Excellent summary appendix at the end, though the book is so well done, it’s almost unnecessary. A very good book.

Golden Prey   John Sandford
Latest Lucas Davenport police procedural. I’m not really a fan of Davenport, but Camp’s prose is very readable, and the plot’s are always entertaining. This novel is the same, though this time there wasn’t as much funny cop chatter, and the two sinister criminals were much more sympathetic and interesting than the cops. Another quick read and pretty good distraction.

What Work Is: Poems   Philip Levine
Beautiful, personal, almost polemical poems about labor and life in the United States. Levine, and this book in particular, have had a profound influence on my poetry. re-read it for National Poetry Month. Loved it again, though this time I read it with some heartache because it is my last, and I’m no longer writing poetry.

The Book Thieves: The Nazi Looting of Europe's Libraries and the Race to Return a Literary Inheritance   Anders Rydell Disappointing book about the efforts to identify, and in some cases, return books stolen by the Nazis. Well enough written, as you would expect from a journalist. Based on the title, and my interest, I thought there would be much more history. Instead Rydell deals primarily with the present day attempts at identification. Also, he inserts himself into the narrative way too much for me. Besides, I am unconvinced that it really means something to return a book to the descendants of someone who was gassed and then incinerated by fascist racists. Too bad.

American Philosophy: A Love Story   John Kaag
Engaging tour through the history of American philosophy as a result of Kaag’s time working in Ernest Hocking’s library. I generally love books like this, intellectual history and analysis couched in a personal narrative. Kaag’s vituperative discussions of his first marriage, even though most of the blame is directed at himself, seemed much too personal, I felt like I was forced to look at something I didn’t want to see. But the book is pretty well written, and it did help rekindle my interest in James and Royce, so I’m glad I read it.

The Ranger   Ace Atkins
Interesting thriller about an army Ranger who goes home on leave to find his uncle dead and the town he grew up in submerged in corruption. Of course, he fixes it. Very readable prose, more actual characterization than often is the case in this genre, and general believability. Found it to be a pleasant, fairly satisfying diversion. First in a series, may try the next one. Enjoyable enough. Glad I read it.

Guilty Thing: A Life of Thomas De Quincey   Frances Wilson
Relies heavily on De Quincey’s autobiographical writings, at times it seems just to be regurgitating them. But provides a good sweep of his life. Prose is pleasant and effective, though De Quincey himself remains a little elusive until the end, this book provides a good overview. Surprised and very interested that Poe was so strongly influenced by him, and that De Quincey was read and so esteemed in America. Enjoyed it very much even though my opinion of De Quincey is now more realistic, his life got very sad at the end as he got more prolific and brilliant. Good writing and research. Excellent, brief summary at the end of De Quincey’s profound influence. Glad I read it, kind of sad it has ended.

Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II   John W. Dower
Excellent, Pulitzer Prize-winning history of postwar Japan. Really liked the emphases on social and intellectual history, use of popular culture, such as, comedians, TV shows, magazines, songs, etc., and personal letters and diaries. Provides good insight into what life was like for individual Japanese. Very interesting details about the decision to keep the emperor in place, reflecting SCAP’s very conservative approach. Though I read this book about 10 years ago, it fit well with my current reading about Japan in the Pacific war. Very good book.

Confessions of an English Opium Eater   Thomas De Quincey
De Quincey’s idiosyncratic autobiographical sketches of his early life, as well as specific thoughts and reminiscences of the pleasures and pains of opium use, in his case laudanum. I was assigned to read this book in high school, but I didn’t, so, since I have always been interested in it, I finally got to it. I never would have been able to get through his prose back then, it was work enough now. The section on the pains of opium use was the most tedious, all his weird dreams, etc., but I enjoyed the book somewhat, and I’m really glad I finally got it done.

Sad Animal Facts   Brooke Barker
Imaginative, creative, delightful book of little-known facts about all kinds of animals. The drawings, though seemingly simple, convey the facts and emotions perfectly. A fun, quick read by the daughter of a good friend. Really enjoyed it.

Silence   Thomas Perry
Thriller about the attempt by Jack Till, a PI, to bring a woman back from hiding. Interesting narrative technique of focusing on two couples, Till and the woman he is returning, and the assassins hunting her. For me, too much interpersonal maneuvering. The whole thing got tedious, especially since Perry’s prose is only average. Nothing thrilling about it. Too bad.

The Fall of Japan: The Final Weeks of World War II in the Pacific   William Craig
Very readable, highly informative history of the last weeks of World War II in the Pacific. Excellent details about the struggle within the Japanese hierarchy about whether to surrender, Hirohito’s decision, and the subsequent failed coup, even though the book was written in 1967, and Hirohito’s full military influence wasn’t yet known. Fascinating accounts of the two atomic bomb missions, rescue of prisoners in China by the OSS, the arrival and tension of the first occupiers and their fear of being murdered, etc. Very interesting, enjoyed every page.

So Lovely a Country Will Never Perish: Wartime Diaries of Japanese Writers   Donald Keene
A collection of diary entries by Japanese writers during World War II. Disappointed  that it isn’t just the entries. There is far more commentary by Keene, and diary entries are used as examples of what he’s saying, though what he says is not bad. As he says at one point, “The diary is filled with brilliant passages that cry out for quotation.” Really wanted to read those passages and the diaries themselves. Also, Keane organizes the sections by topics that often seem of secondary importance. Not a bad book, but disappointing for me.

The Girl from Venice   Martin Cruz Smith
Engaging novel about a fisherman and the girl he fishes out of the Venice lagoon toward the end of World War II in Italy. I have really liked all of Smith’s novels, and this one is, like the others, very well written, but I found the characters thin, and the narrative line a little preposterous. Never was convinced by the relationship. Ok.

The Decline and Fall of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan: A Pictorial History of the Final Days of World War II   Hans Dollinger
Excellent pictorial history of the final 100 days of the war from German, Japanese, and allied sources. Impressive collection of photographs, detailed charts, complex maps, and primary documents. Very thorough, especially about the war in Europe. Extensive explanatory text, as well. If I have a complaint, it’s that the pictures and text, because there are so many of them, are small, and so, a little difficult to see. But that is not really a criticism. Much less coverage of the war in the Pacific, but what there is is thorough. This is an important historical reference gem.