Robert N Hope
I began 2016 with the objective of finishing one book a week – 52 for the year. That may seem like a modest goal but, for me, was ambitious. Reading at any significant clip is difficult for me as I have a horrible time not falling asleep, whether I’m sitting or reclining. This is a particularly difficult problem through the morning and mid-day… a problem I attribute to poor sleep and drugs (all prescription meds I assure you).
It has been a good year for reading as I explored numerous new authors, revisited one book, and doubled on a couple favorite authors. I remain a big fan of two novelists, one current and one late 19th century; Daniel Silva and Thomas B Costain. Silva has written quite a few books featuring an Israeli intelligence agent, Gabriel Allon, who also happens to be an art restorer – the art aspect is interesting to me. This year I read three of Silva’s novels: The Marching Season; The Heist; and The Mark of the Assassin.
The Costain book is The Last Love, the story of Napoleon’s exile on Elba. Costain’s writing style is so very different from current era authors – I’m not sure that the difference can be explained… it seems slower, more detailed, maybe more introspective, always engaging and interesting. Not page-turners by any stretch but completely pleasant and satisfying. This last book is number 10 on the list of his books that I've read... which is certainly more than any other author.
Other repeat authors this year were: Robert Ludlum, Arturo Perez Reverte, Dave Barry, Carl Hiassen, Dan Brown, Wilbur Smith, Ian Caldwell and James A Michner. Authors whose books I read more than one of were Lynn Cullen (in anticipation of our trip to Italy) (3 books), Daniel Silva (3), Dave Barry and Isabel Allende. One book, Dan Brown’s The Inferno, I read for a second time in anticipation of the movie’s release and following up on our visit to Florence. I don’t know that I’ve ever read the same book more than once but I didn’t enjoy it at all this time through as he spent far too much time on background and fact-giving than on telling the story in the context of history.
There were a few books that I started and didn't finish... actually 10, including Cervantes' Don Quixote. I tried hard on that one and made it past half-way but couldn't finish it. There are also two works by Marcel Proust on my shelf that I've had in hand a few times but haven't been able to get very far into. I will generally try to alternate between a higher quality historical fiction and something more current. I'd put The Hope, Birds Without Wings, The Romance of Leonardo Da Vinci, and 1812 in the former group and Dave Barry, Carl Hiaasen, Dan Brown and Daniel Silva in the later. I struggled through Christmas Holiday by W Somerset Maugham, thinking that the age and prestige of the author signaled quality... they didn't. It was brutal.
I still enjoy grabbing a foreign author and have a keen interest in Spanish authors (I don't know why) like Allende, Reverte, and Perutz. I also enjoyed The Seamstress by Frances De Pontes Peebles from Brazil and The General in His Labyrinth by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, a Columbian. Stripes of the Sidestep Wolf by Sonya Hartnett and two Peter Carey books, The Tax Inspector and Parrot & Olivier in America, are all from Australia and just unusual enough to know that they come from another world. I also found a Russian author - Merejkowski, that I struggled with but enjoyed. And, if you count England as 'foreign', you could throw in Anthony Hope and Elizabeth Cook. And one Irish author, Chet Raymo, with The Dork of Cork.
I also like to reach into our past with older books: writers such as Hope, Rabelais, Costain, Maugham and Henry Harland. (Anthony Hope is a curious author and I've read a handful of his works. He is rather like Costain only more dated and deliberate - I'll admit I first picked him up because of his name but have found his stuff unusual and thereby curious. He provides a very interesting view of the upper echelon of society in 19th Century England.)
The last group I'll mention are the books that were pleasant surprises... ones that turned out to be other than expected or far better than expected. P. Also Michner's Miracle in Seville which gave a fascinating view of bull fighting. Achilles, by Cook was a beautiful retelling of the Greek classic. The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach looked like an interesting baseball book, which it was, but also insight into college sports and gay relationships. I read The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie, not knowing that he wrote wonderful late-Renaissance novels. Lastly, The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker was a sweet and warm tale.
Coming to the naming of my favorites, it is difficult because they represent a broad spectrum of style, although I lean very heavily to historical fiction. Somewhere in my top three would be Herman Wouk’s The Hope, the story of Israel’s establishment of nation status and the several wars that were necessary to maintain that status. I found that I was horribly ignorant of the history of Israel and came away full of respect, admiration, and awe of the Jewish state and the Jewish peoples.
Lori will testify to the fact that I will almost never, ever, laugh out-loud when reading the comics, a book, a column, a post, viewing a video, or hearing a joke or story. It’s not that I don’t have a sense of humor or an appreciation of humor… I simply internalize it. Until there was Dave Barry. I read Insane City and laughed and giggled throughout. I suppose that puts it in my top three.
Choosing a third is difficult. I love history and learning about places, people and eras that are new to me but also significant to our world. Books like Allende’s Zorro, even though clearly fiction, was chock full of California’s history. Similarly, Birds Without Wings by Louis de Bernieires, based in Turkey (which is always a plus), tells of the close of the Ottoman Empire and the Muslim/Christian conflicts surrounding the Great War. The slaughter of Armenians was somehow missing from my education. David Nevin’s 1812 was a fascinating background on telling of the war of that year, which, it turns out, was no small matter. It followed nicely on the tail of a book on the War, Andrew Jackson, James Madison and the Trail of Tears, which I’ve lost. Reading about the Trail of Tears was eye-opening… another significant history that I was ignorant of.
Beginning with my favorties and going downhill
Zorro Allende, Isabel
Birds Without Wings Bernieres, Louis de
The Seamstress Peebles, Frances de Pontes
The Enchantress of Florence Rushdie, Salman
The Hope Wouk, Herman
Daughter of Fortune Allende, Isabel
The Little Giant of Aberdeen County Baker, Tiffany
Insane City Barry, Dave
Tricky Business Barry, Dave
The 6th Lamentation Brodrick, William
The Tax Inspector Carey, Peter
Achilles Cook, Elizabeth
The Last Love Costain, Thomas B
Signals of Distress Crace, Jim
I Am Rembrandt's Daughter Cullen, Lynn
The Creation of Eve Cullen, Lynn
Twain's End Cullen, Lynn
The Malice of Fortune Ennis, Michael
The Art of Fielding Harbach, Chad
Stripes of the Sidestep Wolf Hartnet, Sonya
Native Tongue Hiaasen, Carl
Miracle in Seville Michner, James
The Messenger Montero, Mayra
1812 Nevin, David
Leonardo's Judas Perutz, Leo
The Oracle Glass Riley, Judith Merkle
The Aerialist Shmitt, Richard
The Heist Silva, Daniel
The Marching Season Silva, Daniel
The Mark of the Assassin Silva, Daniel
Assegai Smith, Wilbur
Misfortune Stace, Wesley
The Book of Speculation Swyler, Erika
Rococo Trigiani, Adriana
Inferno Brown, Dan
The Fifth Gospel Caldwel, Ian
Parrot & Olivier in America Carey, Peter
Blood of the Wicked Gage, Leighton
God's Spy Gomez-Juurado, Juan
Myself and Marco Polo Griffiths, Paul
The Scorpio Illusion Ludlum, Robert
The General in His Labyrith Marquez, Gabriel Garcia
The Romance of Leonardo da Vinci Merejkowski, Dmitri
Don Quixote de la Mancha Saavedra, Miguel de Cervantes
Squirrel seeks Chipmunk Sedaris, David
The Vicar of Sorrows Wilson, AN
Da Vinci's Tiger Elliott, LM
The Daughter of Siena Fiorato, Marina
Frost of Heaven Podrug, Junius
Neanderthal Darnton, John
Christmas Holiday Maugham, W Somerset
As Above, So Below Rucker, Rudy