Blame it on fall and the library. First, not only do the leaves and temperatures change, we start getting the fall releases of books. That is fueling much of this month’s book lust. Then there’s the prime aider and abettor (for which I am highly grateful) — the library. As you’ll see, it is helping satiate my gluttony with 80 percent of the books on this month’s list.
Here’s what made the list so far — not counting the six books I’m already slated to review that will be coming out in the third quarter of the year. (And we won’t talk about the two reviews I need to write in the next week.)
Await Your Reply, Dan Chaon — Never having read anything by Chaon and not being overly impressed with the brief description of this novel, I wasn’t initially inclined to read it. But a couple glowing reviews puts it on the list following its release last week and puts me on the reserve list at the library.
Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen, Christopher McDougall — Although released in May, a interview with the author on The Daily Show led to this book on the life and running habits of the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico making the list (along with the fact the library has it so I could get on the reserve list).
Generosity: An Enhancement, Richard Powers — Favorable buzz about the latest novel from this National Book Award winner led me to check and the library had it on order. Thus, I am on the reserve list for this end of the month release.
Rasskazy: New Fiction from a New Russia, Jeff Parker and Mikhail Iossel (eds.) — Not surprisingly, this collection of stories set off both my translated fiction and Russian sensors. When I then had an opportunity to review the book, out today, I figured it was serendipity.
Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman, Jon Krakauer — With publication already delayed once, I look forward to Krakauer’s exploration of the Tillman story. Once again, I’m looking to the library reserve list when the book is released in two weeks.
Where do I find the time for not reading so many books?
Karl Kraus, Aphorisms and More Aphorisms
