 Currently On The NightstandI read a lot. Nothing succeeds like excess – I usually have a half-dozen books going at once and jump around based on my current interests. In my newsletter I usually mention what I'm presently reading; this page lists some of the most recent recommendations. Fiction
| Book |
Author |
Commentary |
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James Lee Burke |
In between all of my historical reading, I indulged in a novel from one of my favorite authors. This is a Dave Robicheaux novel, so there are evocative characters, incisive description, adult dialogue, and the usual amount of gratuitous violence. In other words, if you like a modern-era detective novel with a realistic background, you'll like it a lot. The only unusual thing is the pasted-on last few pages that talk about Katrina (the series is set in New Iberia, Louisiana), and the obvious insertions further forward in the book to set it up - that probably had to be done because the original draft was likely submitted before the storm hit. |
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James Lee Burke |
This book is another Dave Robicheaux novel. While the average book in this series consists of: the seamy underside of New Orleans; random acts of violence; soliloquies on the principal character's dead wife, his lost youth, and his alcoholism . . . Burke's ability to evoke the setting and scene reveals his brilliance as a writer. I can't put his books down. |
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Laurie King |
This is the most recent Laurie King Russell/Holmes novel. They've gotten up to 1924 now, and her depiction of San Francisco is fascinating. As always, a great read. If you've not read this series, I can heartily recommend it. |
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Sarah Micklem |
This book, Sarah's first novel, is a complex weave of the fantastic and the mythic, which appears to be the first book in a series. I first met Sarah at Readercon a few years ago and was pleased to take possession of a signed copy. You can read more about Sarah and her book at her website. Apparently the second book is due out shortly – Sarah turned up at Readercon 2008 and had an ARC in her hands and has just sent one to me – I look forward to reading it. |
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Tim Powers |
At Los Angeles Worldcon I picked up a copy of Tim's latest novel. The Washington Post reviewer called it a "magical mystery tour de force". Doesn't that roll trippingly off the tongue. Like it's an amazing ride through the present and recent past, another great Powers book. |
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Philip Pullman |
This is the first book of the series His Dark Materials, and has gotten considerable attention due to the recent movie (and video game, and board game (s) . . .) I've been told that the two sequels are disappointing and haven't gotten to them yet; the first one was interesting. It beats Harry Potter. |
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Alastair Reynolds |
Alastair and I did a panel at Worldcon in Glasgow and I bought his first book at once. It's very strange but very good. Now I have to read the others. |
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Harry Turtledove |
An engaging "alternate timeline" story about a typical family engaged in crosstime commerce. A very good read. |
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Harry Turtledove |
Harry Turtledove has written lots of alternate history material over the past few years; he's the most well-known author in this particular subgenre. This one, about a world in which Nazism wasn't stamped out and Judaism is practiced in secret, has personal significance; even if it isn't his most dramatic, it's certainly among his most evocative works. |
Non-FictionResearch for writing projects usually leads me to read historical work, but I also have other expository work appear in my reading lists. Here are some recent examples.
| Book |
Author |
Commentary |
|
Karen Abbott |
This is a highly entertaining book about the Everleigh Club - the most famous upscale house of delights in Chicago, its rise and eventual disappearance. There's even a web site. A wonderful, quick read. It's particularly interesting to read this book having read Erik Larson's , the gripping account of the mass murderer H.H. Holmes, who operated just out of sight of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. |
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Kenneth Ackerman |
After visiting the Garfield site in Ohio, I picked up Kenneth Ackerman's book about the American Presidential campaign of 1880, and the brief Presidency and untimely death of James A. Garfield, our twentieth president. Garfield turns out to be quite an interesting figure, and the period is compelling – there may be a novel in it. Unfortunately, it'll have to wait until other projects are dealt with. |
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Roger Angell |
Angell is best known for Boys Of Summer, but this book is about baseball in its classic period – the Fifties. He is a master storyteller and his writing is very evocative. |
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Ian Bremmer |
I was fascinated by this book, which deals with a new approach to the pattern of nations' rise and fall. Like all such books it verges on being a polemic, but it's so clear and well-written that I can think seriously about what he's saying and what I think of it without feeling as if I'm being lectured at. |
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Jung Chang |
This biography is subtitled "The Untold Story". Ms Chang, author of , spent ten years writing this very revealing and extremely uncomplimentary biography of this prominent man, and I'm clearly going to have to read more about him. |
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Richard Francis |
This book is a biography of Ann Lee, the founder of the Shakers. It’s a very . . . interesting view of a culture we largely know for abstinence and chairs. Actually, the first generation was quite a fervent community, with an almost apocalyptic view – reminiscent of the Millerites or even the Scientologists. |
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Lewis L. Gould |
Since I had an Amazon book credit, I settled on this book about the contentious 1912 election, highly recommended. (If you can name all four principal Presidential candidates in 1912, you win a cookie. No peeking. I knew them all.) It's superbly written and a fascinating look at an event a century ago, particularly interesting in light of the exciting contest going on right now in American politics. |
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James Grant |
A well-written book about John Adams, a historical figure whom I've really come to admire – pugnacious, principled, and devoted to the idea of America. |
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Richard Ketchum |
An interesting study of New York City during the American Revolution. Ketchum is the author of an excellent book about as well. (add link) |
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David McCullough |
My original impression of this book was very positive, but having read a number of other books on the same period I realized how much it was written for the lowest common denominator – not historians or serious students of history, but instead more casual readers. |
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William Moran |
This book focuses primarily on the women who worked in New England's textile mills in the 19th and 20th centuries. I am the son of an immigrant mother, and I grew up (and went to college) in sight of those mills - on the Merrimack and the Androscoggin Rivers, respectively - though I have no family association with them.
Here's a bit of William Moran's closing prose:
"The rivers of New England long ago ceased to generate power for the mill machines that clothed the world. Now, on warm, sun-filled days, the rivers carry people in canoes and kayaks as they explore the old industrial waterways . . . In the distance they see the deserted mills, with weeds reaching up to shattered windows and gloomy interiors. They wonder about the past, about ghosts, about broken dreams. They turn away and drift downstream, searching for scenery more pleasing to the eye." (© 2002, William Moran; published by St. Martin's Press.)
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Thomas Pocock |
This is a very readable history of the Seven Years' War (which he rightly terms the first true world war.) In addition to covering the well-known parts of the conflict - central Europe, North America – he pays particular attention to the Caribbean (including the siege and assault on Havana) and the complex campaigns in India. Highly recommended. |
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N.A.M. Rodger |
This book is a history and in-depth study of the British Navy during the time before the American Revolution – the Georgian Era. In addition to being authoritative enough to have a pull quote from Patrick O'Brian, it's an exceptionally readable work. |
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Alan Taylor |
This book chronicles the period between 1750 and 1800 in upstate, central and western New York, detailing the repeated screwing of Native Americans by white settlers before, during and after the War of Independence. Taylor's is an outstanding book, and he does not disappoint in this one either. (I should note that the editor of the series to which these books belong is Prof. Eric Foner, who is more or less a Marxist - is the only polemic of his I have on my shelf - but that particular set of blinders seems not to be attached to Prof. Taylor's face.) |
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Adrian Tinniswood |
This book is a biographical insight into an extraordinary seventeenth-century family, which was divided by the English Civil War. |
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Adrian Tinniswood |
Tinniswood's best known book, this is a superb and detailed account of London's Great Fire of 1666. I was led to this book after reading The Verneys (see above); now I have Samuel Pepys' 1666 diary on my shelf, and Tinniswood's book makes Pepys a lot easier to read. |
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Gordon S. Wood |
This book purports to argue the ways in which the founding generation in America was different from the following ones. It's a fine effort from Professor Wood (my favorite of his is but I was not completely convinced. Wood is an excellent historian and a very good writer, though. |
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