Peter Sis' new book, "The Conference of the Birds," is based on an allegory about the search for divine truth written in the 12th century by a Sufi poet. It's richly illustrated and provides an encouraging story for the determined traveler.
Category: Good Books
An Irish family secret revealed
Brian Moore's novel "The Mangan Inheritance" was published this year by the New York Review Books Classics Series. Set in New York City, Montreal and Drishane, Ireland, it's a good one, with rich characterization and a stunning conclusion.
Shopping Brooklyn bookstores
It's that time of year when New York City teems with holiday lights and traffic jams surrounding the department stores, Rockefeller Center and Times Square. On a recent visit, I avoided the crowds and headed to Brooklyn, where I found a small herd of that endangered species, the independent bookstore.
Santa-land in the Mission District
Here's a novel to sink into for its place and characters, a dive bar filled with diverse patrons you won't easily forget. Enter its world and you'll meet Owen in a Santa suit, Shambles, No Eyebrows and many other colorful people. This exceptional novel, "Damascus" by Joshua Mohr, is brilliantly quirky and compassionately heartfelt.
How we get lost inside our lives
Linda McCullough Moore's new collection of short stories is narrated by a woman whose voice is unforgettable. She narrates all of them, because these are linked stories about moments in her life that began in the 1950s. "This Road Will Take Us Closer to the Moon" approaches readers with confessional intimacy.
It’s in the water, It’s in the story
Lauren Redniss' "Radioactive" tells the love story and scientific collaboration of Pierre and Marie Curie during the 19th and 20th centuries. It's a stunning combination of art and text that expresses much more than biographical events. Here's a look at this compelling, unusual book that uses glow-in-the-dark ink on its cover.
“La vie en Paris,” a siren’s song
Penelope Rowlands feels the siren call of Paris. On her website she writes, "Why, of all the places I've lived, did Paris affect me the most? For, although I’ve lived in half a dozen cities, this one left the deepest mark." The question drove her to compile "Paris Was Ours," a collection of 32 essays by diverse writers who bring us close to Parisian life and culture through their experiences. It's a delightful book to read.
Our imperfect memory
Julian Barnes is the author of 11 novels and three books of stories. His fiction has been nominated three times for past Man Booker prizes, and this year he snagged the win. "The Sense of an Ending" is spare in size but large in emotional scope. The narrator, a retired London man in his 60s, is forced to reevaluate his memories after receiving an unusual inheritance. Easily read in one sitting and unforgettable for the messages Barnes imparts about how we remember our past.
Obsession of a modern-day Ahab
When Ohio artist Matt Kish got the idea to illustrate the Signet Classic paperback of Herman Melville's "Moby-Dick," he decided to produce an illustration for every page. (The Signet Classic runs north of 500 pages.) He completed the project in 543 days. Here's the story of how that happened, and illustrations from the beautiful book that's published by Tin House Books.
The lucky life of Bruce Jay Friedman
Here's a memoir that's pure pleasure, written by a literary author and Hollywood screenwriter. The name-dropping is terrific fun, but the stories Bruce Jay Friedman shares in "Lucky Bruce" are the best.
Moscow’s neon lust and frenetic sin
A. D. Miller's "Snowdrops" is indeed a page-turner, as the judges of the Man Booker award have indicated. (Miller's debut is shortlisted for the award.) Much of its allure is the insider's view of modern Russia and the atmospheric, snow-charged, toe-numbing winters.
History is now and England, 2060-1940
Thank you Connie Willis for science fiction I've embraced and enjoyed in "Blackout/All Clear," award-winning time travel that goes backward in time, from 2060 to 1940.
An impulsive reaction turns fatal
Will Allison's "Long Drive Home" is a tense psychological and emotional drama so well executed it made me want to never put it down and nervously walk away from it at the same time.
Man Booker finalists that “zip along”
It's that time of year when the Brits count down to the best new 2011 novel published in the British Commonwealth or Republic of Ireland. Here's the final six, with links to synopses to help you make choices for your reading table. Also, the interesting premise that influenced the judges.
A famous “fait divers” in Paris, 1933
Sarah Maza's book about Violette Nozière's patricide, her trial and its outcome offer a look into the culture of crime in 1930s Paris overshadowed in history books by Hitler's rise to power. This is a satisfying story, interesting and historically rich.
The Longest Chapter 