November (first half) 2015 Reading

Once again I ignored my TBR stacks in favor of the public library collection. But what to do when you get notices that the latest by Albom, Allende, Eco, Hijuelos, and  Irving are waiting for you on hold shelf? And when you go to pick them up there is NeuroTribes on the new book shelf?  AND, you already have checked out Pamuk, Kundera, Thomson, Urrea, and others? You read like crazy, and NOT from your personal collection.

The month is off to a great start with two weeks of great reading (no duds here) :

A Strangeness in My Mind: A novel; Pamuk, Orhan
Wonderful! Once again Pamuk leads me through the neighborhoods of Istanbul. Library book.
  
 
Katherine Carlyle; Thomson, Rupert
Another fantastic read.  Coming of age of a girl born of IVF. Stunning, sparse, and utterly enchanting. Set in Rome Berlin and the Norwegian/Russian Arctic. Love the cover.  Library book.



The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto; Albom, Mitch
There is no way I can possibly select my favorite book from the first half of this month. What a spectacular (and varied) group of books. This one is pure magic. Library book.

The Festival of Insignificance; Kundera, Milan; Linda Asher (Translator)
Well, that was fun. Library book.

The Dream of My Return; Moya, Horacio Castellanos; Katherine Silver (Translator)
A short, sometimes humorous, very intense, surrealistic novel about a Salvadorian exile in Mexico. His life is a mess. He has decided that the fighting is almost over and it will be safe to return to El Salvador. Most of the novel is a rambling narrative of his anxieties about the trip, his deteriorating love relationship, and his memories of the deaths of family and friends caught up in political struggles. Library book.
 
The Never-Open Desert Diner; Anderson, James
This is Anderson's debut novel although he has worked in the publishing business. He has also been a trucker and chose a trucker as the protagonist of this book. It's set in the desert in Utah and is a delight. Library book.

The Water Museum: Stories; Urrea, Luis Alberto
Super collection of short stories with great characters and settings. Must read more by this author. Library book.

Non-fiction:

NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and The Future of Neurodiversity; Silberman, Steve
Outstanding discussion of autism. Includes history, research, diagnosis, activism, social acceptance, coping, and many other aspects of the condition. Library book.

Online Reading:

From Bomb magazine
The Poet's Ghost by Carmen Boullosa

Two short stories in the November 2015 issue of The White Review
Three Days in Prague by Naja Marie Aidt, translated by Denise Newman 
Wolves by Jeon Sungtae, translated by Sora Kim-Russell