1. Patricia Klindienst, The Earth Knows My NameStrange, moving, beautiful.
2. Sam Quinones, Antonio's Gun and Delfino's Dream
If you want to understand modern Mexico, you must read Quinones. (I reviewed his first book, True Tales from Another Mexico, here.)
3. Halldor Laxness, Atom Station
(Reykjavik, ho!)
4. Janet Lewis, The Wife of Martin Guerre
This may well be the best novela written in English, ever. Every page, every scene, every image, is stunningly vivid. And the author lived in Los Altos, California! Too incongruous.
5. Hermoine Lee, Edith Wharton
At last, Wharton has the bio she deserves. A grand, plummy pleasure to read, all 850+ pages.
6. Mary Morris, The River Queen
A heart-felt personal memoir of a journey to rival Huck Finn's own.
7. Dale C. Carson and Wes Denham, Arrest-Proof Yourself
Witty, wise, and very disturbing. The authors's dedication says it all: "To the thousands of young men in jail for petty offenses. It's not right. It's not just. America can do better." Read my post on this book here.
8. Janice Eidus, The War of the Rosens
A masterfully told story of a family in the Bronx in the 1960s.
9. Mark Kurlansky, Nonviolence
I selected this one for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize in Non-Fiction.
10. Edward Tufte, Beautiful Evidence
And read my rave about his one day course.
---> Read Madam Mayo's Top 10 Books Read in 2006 here.
Back blogging December 5th.
