January Bibliolust

It’s the time of year where we look both forward and back. In looking back, I am surprised at how closely the percentage of Bibliolust books read last year is to the all time percentage. I doubt there’s any significance but I do find it interesting. Looking forward means half the books this month actually come out the first week in February. The other half have been out for a bit but only recently intrigued me enough to make the list.

All That I Am, Anna Funder — I enjoyed Funder’s writing talents in the nonfiction work Stasiland: Stories from Behind the Berlin Wall. As a result, when I saw she’d written a novel about German opposition to Hitler coming to power, it ended upon the list.

Mail-Order Mysteries: Real Stuff from Old Comic Book Ads!, Kirk Demarais — I’m from the later part of the era for whom comic books were an essential. I remember the X-ray specs and other stuff advertising in the back of those books so want to find out what it all really was.

Men in Space, Tom McCarthy — I enjoy fiction about central and eastern Europe so a promo for this novel, set in Central Europe after the fall of communism, attracted my attention. I’ve not previously read any of McCarthy’s work so thought this might be a fair chance to do so.

Tolstoy: A Russian Life, Rosamund Bartlett — I’ve always thought Tolstoy was a fascinating character in and of himself. Although I was aware of Bartlett’s background in Russian literature, it’s only now making the lust list — and the reserve list at the library — based on the praise it has received since being released in early November.

Report Card:

Calendar Year 2011

Total Bibliolust books: 53

Number read: 42 (79.25%)

Started but did not finish: 5 (9.4%)

Cumulative (September 2008-December 2011)

Total Bibliolust books: 203

Number read: 161 (79.31%)

Started but did not finish: 14 (6.9%)

Art Garfunkel, Esquire magazine, December 2011