Fiction • Non-Fiction • Writing
Wherein I list the books that I am currently reading (beginning with the April 2009 reading list) and give a brief synopsis of each. And yes, in case you’re wondering, I do read multiple books at one time. I leave them strategically placed all over the house so that anytime I alight, I can reach out and find a good book at hand. The books marked with an asterisk are books I have finished.
I’m reading several other fiction books than those listed here, but only for examples of good and bad writing, which I then use in my classes. For example, Dan Brown creates riveting plots but his characterization and prose are abysmal, in my humble opinion, whereas P. D. James and Elizabeth George know how to heft the language and make it sing.
Some of my all-time fiction favorites:
- Elizabeth Peter’s series about Amelia Peabody, Egyptologist and detective at the turn of the 20th century
- P.D. James’ mysteries with detective Adam Dalgliesh
- Laurie R. King’s mystery series with Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes
- Dick Francis mysteries
- Meg Gardiner crime thrillers
- Melville’s Moby Dick
- Dostoevsky’s Brothers Karamazov
- Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird
- The works of Flannery O’Connor and Walker Percy
Update: Just bought a Kindle. Needed it for research I am doing for Via Lucis Press and the books we are creating, but believe I’ll find it useful for much of my other reading. So far I’ve uploaded 129 free novels (mostly early English and American literature). This might save lots of room in the house...freeing walls for something other than bookcases. Perhaps. But I do love the feel of books!
Without further ado, my reading lists, most recent to distant past (well, 2009).
Fiction
Non-Fiction
Science-Fiction
On Writing