Haruki Murakami, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage

Haruki Murakami, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage. Lonely and solitary person, unresolved sorrow, solace in music. Familiar elements, but one of Murakami's more emotionally nuanced books. 

More assorted sci-fi, mystery, comics

More assorted sci-fi, mystery, and comics. Dan Simmons Hyperion, George R.R. Martin Dreamsongs; Diana Gabaldon Outlander; Vernor Vinge Marooned in Realtime; G. Willow Wilson and M. K. Perker Air series; Mike Carey and Peter Gross The Unwritten series; and Dorothy Sayers and Robert Eustace The Documents in the Case. The V. Vinge was pretty fun, the Gabaldon was embarrassingly smutty (the closest thing I've ever read to a bodice-ripper and listing it is mortifying) the Sayers collaboration was solid but with lots of self-indulgent pseudo-biological theological excursions, Air was boring, and The Unwritten was fun. Nothing great.

Herman Melville, Moby Dick

Herman Melville, Moby Dick. One of my very favorites and every time I've forgotten.

Jonathan Miles, Want Not

Jonathan Miles, Want Not.  4? 5? 6? separate narratives, centered on excrement, effluvia, refuse, overage, built in losses, and trash. I particularly liked the morbidly obese linguist who somehow re-entered his wasted life in the process of hilariously and surreptitiously butchering the deer that smashed his car.

Alison Lurie, Real People

Alison Lurie, Real People. Not as captivating as Foreign Affairs, but I did enjoy the the snobbery and competitive social interplay at a very unusual writer's colony.

Katherine Dunn, Geek Love

Katherine Dunn, Geek Love. I wanted to scrub my hands until they bled after finishing this, except that it reminded me of scrubbing in for amateur amputation surgery.

William Styron, Darkness Visible.

William Styron, Darkness Visible. A frank (and surprisingly tender) memoir of depression by a pompous old man.

Neal Stephanson, Zodiac

Neal Stephenson, Zodiac. A little bleh, but quite distinct from other Stephenson in subject and tone.  Gonzo environmentalism with a very 80's flavor (I was not impressed by the microbiology/genetic engineering, but it was a decent story). Lacked the exuberance and obsession with information that often make up for a little immaturity in his novels.

Jose Saramago, Baltasar and Blimunda

José Saramago, Baltasar and Blimunda. 18th century Portugal, still baroque. Peasant couple survives inquisition and builds period flying machine.

Greg Bear, The Forge of God

Greg Bear, The Forge of God. A decent science fiction read, enjoyed the Von Neumann machines, and good characters with some believable relationships. But such a terrible, terrible translation to digital with lots of mistakes, wonky font, and page problems; I don't know if my basal irritation was with the format or the book.

Michael Chabon, Mysteries in Pittsburgh

Michael Chabon, Mysteries in Pittsburgh. Much less polished than Chabon's later work, but nice to see a male's bisexuality taken seriously and explored in a matter-of-fact and believable way.

Sherman Alexie, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven

Sherman Alexie, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. Intense, concentrated stories.

Alison Lurie, Foreign Affairs

Alison Lurie, Foreign Affairs. Alison Lurie is a new author to me, and one I think I will really appreciate. An American professor of folklore and children's literature on research. She's middle aged, solitary, interesting. I loved the scenes where she stews over an unfair critical review of her work - so realistic to academia, so funny and true, She's the sort of character who is rare. really really rare, in my reading. I will read more of Lurie.

Ruth Ozeki, A Tale for the Time Being

Ruth Ozeki, A Tale for the Time Being. I am a sucker for an epistolary novel (even a not-quite epistolary novel like this one). A transoceanic correspondence between a lonely 16 year old young woman and an isolated middle-aged writer who can't write. Mystical/mythical/metaphysical and disjointed in time without stupidity or bullshittery. Comic and touching, without irritating or soggy sentiment.

Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote

Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote. When I read this as a kid, I read it as a straightforward comedic adventure story - I was alternately frustrated with/ amused by/ sorry for the poor knight and horrified/ amused /sympathetic toward Sancho. That's all still there, but after 20 more years loving novels, wow, everything else is there. The line from Quixote to Tristram Shandy continues straight through to every self-aware, playful book I've ever loved.

Haruki Murakami, Sputnik Sweetheart

Haruki Murakami, Sputnik Sweetheart. Another lovely, surreal, lonely book. Sumire and "K" are more sympathetic and human than most Murakami protagonists and narrator. And I just love, really I do, I love the title.

Alice Munro, Dear Life

Alice Munro, Dear Life. Lean stories. Felt odd to have read some and not others in periodicals.

Jane Smiley, Private Life

Jane Smiley, Private Life. Solid story - interesting: early 20th century - marriage - constrainment of a single woman's role - passivity in private life -  WWI & WWII - Japanese culture in Pacific Northest - paranoia & internment camps - astronomy.

Alice McDermott, Someone

Alice McDermott, Someone. It took me about eight chapters to confirm that, no I had not actually read this particular book before, because I kept thinking 'Oh god, not this book again'.

Karen Joy Fowler, We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves

Karen Joy Fowler, We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves. Gave this book to my mother based entirely on the title. Not what I expected, but funny. And timely, as my youngest has a non-human primate obsession at the moment.