During a week that's been unkind to my reading time, a TLC interlude of humor.
Month: February 2011
How do you spell Mississippi?
Here's a great novel, one of the contenders for the 2011 Edgar Awards in the category of Best Novel. It's got wonderful characters, intriguing mysteries and a deep south setting so richly evoked you feel like it's just outside your back door.
The kind of question one can never answer
Snooping through the bookshelves of The Little Bookshop in Westerville, Ohio, I came across a novel published in 1949 with interesting copy on the back of the dust jacket. Not the usual plot summary or praises of the book one would expect, rather a commentary about reading, written by the book editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer. A curiosity worth sharing.
An Italian love story
"From the Land of the Moon" won the City of Rome Prize for Italian Fiction and recently became available to the English-speaking world via Europa Editions. Set in Sardinia in the World War II era, it's an exceptional story. I loved the bold and beguiling narrative voice.
Chief Inspector Alan Banks on the case
I've recently experienced the crime solving of Henning Mankell's Inspector Kurt Wallander and Georges Simenon's Inspector Maigret. I enjoyed both, but Peter Robinson's Inspector Alan Banks has got me hooked more. Here's what I found in his first book, as I continue to explore this genre of crime mysteries.
Two from Canada, one from Billy
A collection of short stories by a Canadian author arrived in the mail this week, and I couldn't put it down. Then, I found my nose deep into Newfoundland territory as I read reviews about Michael Crummey's new novel. Amidst the Canadians, also, former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins. Here's what I know of these three upcoming books.
The Longest Chapter 