A Reading Job Well Done and Other Thoughts

For the third year in a row I have been asked to participate in the choosing of the top ten literary fiction books of the year for Library Journal. Three of us have been voraciously reading for two months as we suffered over whittling the list down from a hefty number of fifty-five! And still there were some that I'm sure we have missed. But yesterday afternoon in a zoom meeting - what else - we found serendipity among us and decided on our top ten in record time. I can't wait for the article to be published (December issue) so that I can share with you the wonderfully diverse list of authors and their marvelously original works.

In the mean time, bear with me as I adjust to this horrible new "upgrade" to the Blogger format which has been giving me fits. I simply do not have the psychic energy right now to create a new blog on Wordpress and try to import ten years' worth of work. Maybe this winter?

One of the most rewarding benefits of participating in a project like this is being introduced to authors I might never have crossed paths with and being able to share my excitement with you readers. After all, yes, we had to narrow down our choices to ten but honestly there were really no losers. Each novel is noteworthy in its own way and I have enough material to last for months!

Stunning books by debut authors vied for attention with established award winners like Sigrid Nunez, Martin Amis, Marilynn Robinson, and James McBride. My admiration for writers continues to grow unchecked.

Today I am taking a break from the news and from serious fiction to try to revitalize my waning sense of humor. In two weeks we may have a new president and my stomach is in knots. It's fitting that I relax on the swing, on what may be our last warm day of the year, with Christopher Buckley's satire "Make Russia Great Again," though I must admit it's pretty difficult to even work up a laugh as we face the waning months of this destructive administration.

Tomorrow I'll get serious again with my thoughts on Phil Klay's "The Missionaries."