The Short List

Here are a few books I've enjoyed lately, and none of them were on Steven's summer reading list.

Everyman's Rules for Scientific Living - Tiffany
This is the Australian fictionalized version of The Worst Hard Time. Having a story line makes it easier to read and not quite as depressing. Who knew they were having their own dust bowl while ours was going on? It's a first novel, not very long, made more interesting by the author's background as an agricultural reporter. Lots of quirky stuff about farming.

The Living - Annie Dillard
A couple of generations of pioneers in the very north west of Washington state. Think Puget Sound and environs. The geography is so totally unfamiliar as well as the problems the first settlers encountered. No time wasted on how they got there (wagon train), but a lot about how they managed to survive when they settled down. I enjoyed the characters and how the story flowed from one generation to the next.

Fingersmith - Sarah Waters
This was my favorite. Set in Victorian England and beginning (quite literally) in a den of thieves. The main character, Susan, grows up knowing how to pick pockets, fence stolen goods, and take care of abandoned babies for the chance to sell them. The plot has so many twists and turns I could never guess what would happen next. It's a long book, but worth it because it's hard to put down.

Oh, and one I did not like: Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Zafon. When will I learn not to try the books my friends recommend?

I'm looking forward to the one with the Dragon tattoo...