What I'm reading now:

• The Judgement of Paris - Manet, Messonier, and the birth of impressionism

2008 Read

• The Man Who Would be King

2007 Reads

• Death's Acre, by Dr. Bill Bass. Story of the "Body Farm." Unfortunately he enlisted a science writer to help, who turned it into a weirdly cheerful bio with little interesting detail.

• Out, by Natsuo Kirino. Great characterization and well plotted, until the very disappointing ending.

• Berlin Noir (three novels) by Philip Kerr - good read, moral ambiguities of being a detective in Nazi Germany. First novel channels Chandler overmuch.

• American Women in the Field - collected bios/clips on women naturalists of the 19th century.

• Precious Dust - a history of the western gold rushes - so-so

• Gentleman Prefer Blondes, by Anita Loos. I wobble my head in brief amusement.

• Caught, by Henry Green. A rather obscure author now, but what a unique style, an original voice! Someone whose other books I will be collecting. Apparently in his day considered an "author's author" - highly regarded by other writers. This short novel concerns a diverse group brought together in a London volunteer fire brigade, awaiting the Blitz.

• Scandal, by Shusaku Endo. An elderly novelist tries to come to terms with the dark side of life. A meditation on life and death, moving in parts, but the author could have pushed it further.

• Foreign Studies, by Shusaku Endo. Three linked stories on Japanese students studying in Europe, and the overwhelming impact of trying to absorb a completely different culture. Translation somewhat clunky.

• M: The Man Who Was Caravaggio, by Peter Robb. 500+ pages, massively researched, wikipedia-like in its completeness, if somewhat adjectively deprived, shored up by a sincere appreciation for the artist and the desire to chivvy out what little information has survived about the great painter, who died in 1610 at 39.

• All the Shah's Men, by Stephen Kinzer. Another of those books that ought to be assigned reading in every school, detailing the depths of the US involvement in the 1953 coup backing the Shah of Iran. Truly an object lesson in that we are now reaping what we have sown.

• The Fixer, by Bernard Malamud. A Dreyfus-like tale set in Tsarist Russia. Might have worked better as a short story.

• The Setting Sun, by Osamu Dazai. Guess what kind of books someone writes who tried to kill himself five times? That's right, depressing. But strangely positive also, with a strong central woman character who manages to rise above her upbringing, culture, and the fallout of war.

• The Restoration of Leather Bindings, by Bernard Middleton. I learned that I won't be doing this anytime soon.

• My Family and Other Animals, by Gerald Durrell. This book deserves the simplest of praise: lovely and amusing.

• The Man in the High Castle, by Philip K. Dick. The alternate history is not much of a stretch, but I found the characters and the use of language absorbing.

• Tomorrow to be Done. A first-person recollection by a woman who served with the French Foreign Legion during WWII. Mainly an old-age justification of her habit of sleeping with her commanders.

• Stargazer: The Life and times of the Telescope, by Fred Watson. More interesting than it sounds, lots of good trivia for an astronomy buff like me.

• Justice Ends at Home, by Rex Stout. Early stories by the writer of the Nero Wolfe mysteries. A mixed bag. And I'm not happy that my first edition copy, cut & glued rather than sewn by Viking, fell completely apart.

• The Ghost Stories of M.R. James. Very brief but spooky Victorian ghost stories, wonderfully illustrated by Charles Keeping.

• Naming Names, by Victor Pavasky. The story of the House Un-American Activities Committee's attack on Hollywood. Although a stodgy, repetitive read, presents good insights and doesn't flinch from this appalling facet of US history, which involved the complicity in evil of so many.

• A Hero of Our Time, by M. Y. Lermontov. I've read this before, but so many years ago. Still excellent, in its depiction of the quotidian soul.

• Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte. Oh, how many times have I read this? But not for some years now. And I still get something new out of it each time - a reflection of added years and experience?

• Red Badge of Courage, Stephen Crane. A literary classic, praised for its description of war scenes by a man who was not there. Frankly I don't see it. Tedious and didactic. Give me the Iliad any day.

• How to Cook a Wolf, MFK Fisher. Food essays & recipes, pertaining to surviving under WWII rationing. Unfortunately, the second editon is littered with her later comments in brackets, continuously interrupting the flow. The recipes range from bland to disgusting; the main ingredients appear to be butter, wine, butter, tomato juice, and butter.

• Under the Andes, by Rex Stout. Early 20th century New York millionaire, his brother, and a Parisian courtesan face off against devolved Incas living underground below the Andes. Truly dreadful on every level. I only picked it up because I love the Nero Wolfe novels.

• The Yellow Claw, by Sax Rohmer. French detective Gaston Max hunts down an opium den in London. Great fun, if dated, and some suprisingly good turns of phrase.

• Around the World in Eighty Days, by Jules Verne. As delightful as ever. I recommend this website for online reading -- type large enough and formatted properly to read easily on screen.

2006 reads

A handful of my 2006 reads - my focus last year with this list was to record some of the more interesting or unusual books I came across, so not everything is on it. In particular I see mysteries and astronomy books missing.

• Harvey: the original screenplay for the wonderful Jimmy Stewart movie, by Mary Chase. (A unique copy of this was given to me by my best friend as my holiday present, so I wanted this to be my last book for the year.)

• Cosmic Critiques: How and Why Ten Science Fiction Stories Work: Ten classic sci-fi stories, rather lackluster commentary by Asimov.

• Unmentionable Cuisine - a great sort-of cookbook of all the stuff Americans don't generally eat, plus essays on exotic foodstuffs and food aversion.

• I Will Bear Witness: Diaries of Victor Klemperer, 1942-1945 (Vol 2). Suprisingly uplifting, considering the terrible privations Klemperer suffered during WWII, as one of the few Jews who managed to remain in Dresden throughout the war (due to his mixed marriage). The firebombing of Dresden saves his life and sets him off on an even more harrowing cross-country journey in the final days of the war.

• The Yellow Kids: Foreign Correspondents In The Heyday Of Yellow Journalism. Focuses on the involvement of American journalists in the Spanish-American War, including Harry Scovel, Stephen Crane, Richard Harding Davis, etc. backed by the machinations of Pulitzer and Hearst. More of a good read than an academic study.

• The Herbert Huncke Reader. Huncke was an iconic and authentic figure of the Beat generation, and figured large in the imaginations and works of writers such as Keruoac, Ginsberg, and Burroughs. He was a writer as well, but his life was complicated by truly massive drug use (despite which, he lived to be nearly 80). His description of the New York underworld he knew firsthand is absorbing.

• The Face of Battle, John Keegan. A classic on the experiences of the common soldier in wars throughout time. The military buff will enjoy this most, as it dwells at length on technical considerations.

• Complete Short Stories of Bernard Malamud. Old-fashioned storytelling: Malamud's narrative style is a bit too consistent, but some of the storie

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