We just had an election here in Uganda, and we had two days off for it. Thursday for the voting and Friday for the counting, then the weekend for the announcing of the results and the -- we hoped not -- unrest. The government also turned off the internet. The combination of time off and no internet led to completion of many books. As it turned out, there was/is some unrest, and we are now going to be teaching online for a little while. This may lead to more reading? We'll see. I'm not thrilled about teaching online again, but more reading time is always a good thing.
Book #5 of the year was The Searcher, by Tana French. This is the beginning of a different series from the French series I read last year. I enjoyed it and look forward to the next one being available.
Book #6 was The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny, by Kiran Desai. I expected to love this book. So many people had it on their favorites list for last year. I love many Indian novelists. Plus I had already read two Kiran Desai books and liked them both. I absolutely loved The Inheritance of Loss. And yet I found this book only OK. I actually had to force myself to finish it. I think a big reason for this was that I hated the Ilan plot and that took up soooo much of the book. I was glad I finished it because I liked the ending, but it was a big disappointment after her previous books.
Book #7 was What Kind of Paradise, by Janelle Brown. I enjoyed this study of the good and bad sides of technology. It moved fast and that was kind of what was called for after Sonia and Sunny.
Book #8 was The Priory of the Orange Tree, by Samantha Shannon. This is the kind of fantasy novel I rarely read, but the occasional dragon-riding story has to be a good thing, right? Even at more than 800 pages, it kept me reading. At first I thought I'd never keep all the characters (all with strange names) straight, but I had no trouble.
Book #9 was The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, by Arundhati Roy. I had to take several runs at this one, and I also had to make myself finish it. It has brilliance in it, though.
Book #10 was Philip Yancey's memoir Where the Light Fell. Yes, the Philip Yancey that's been in the news lately. It was still a good book.
Book #11 was what I listened to when I couldn't listen to podcasts (while washing dishes and doing laundry, mostly). It was Charlotte's Web, by E.B. White (and read by the author). This book is so good. If you haven't read it since you were a kid, you've probably forgotten how good.
Book #12 was Home Remedies, a book of short stories by Angela Pneuman. I went to college with her, and I had already read her novel, Lay It On My Heart. The stories are in the same physical and emotional universe. They are kind of like if Flannery O'Connor were writing about Kentucky in the 80s.
Book #13 was Halcyon Journey: In Search of the Belted Kingfisher, by Marina Richie. I love books that are part nature writing, part folklore, part memoir, and this falls squarely in that category.
Book #14 was Theo of Golden, by Allen Levi. This was a book club pick. We couldn't meet last week because of the election, but when we last talked, we were all enjoying it!
