Highlights from my own reading pile over the last few months:
Libra by Don DeLillo
I’ve already posted about this one while I was reading it. I’m a DeLillo fan, and am closing in on completing his entire catalog. Libra, a novel about Lee Harvey Oswald in the years leading up to the Kennedy assassination, was marvelous. I’m calling it my second favorite DeLillo of all time, after Underworld. Recommended for people who don’t mind diving into the sort of dense, heady book you might get assigned to read in college.
Lacuna by David Adams
Sci-fi novel about the world fighting off an alien invasion with a fantastic geopolitical twist. The US military isn’t front and center in this operation. Instead, the author represents many cultures of Earth in the fight. It’s kind of the opposite of the Independence Day model, where Will Smith does everything, and then the rest of the world gets shown for a 1-minute montage. Recommended to people who like space opera and military sci-fi, especially to those who (like me) had a childhood fondness for Heinlein’s Starship Troopers. Sample for book 2 downloaded on my Kindle!
Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
This was a re-read of one of my favorite books. Still one of my favorites. Not easy to read though. This is one I turn to so I can crawl inside the head of a genius and see all the messiness, wacky humor, and huge ideas.
The Gauguin Connection by Estelle Ryan
Recommended in a comment on this blog by Girls Wearing Black super-reader Betsy, and now recommended for all fans of Girls Wearing Black by me! Who doesn’t love a great heist novel? If you enjoyed reading about Jill Wentworth sneaking around in vampire mansions so she could hack into their computers, you will love this one. AND…it holds a very special place in my heart because the protagonist is on the autism spectrum. As I type this, I am wearing an Autism awareness T-shirt. One of my little ones is on the spectrum as well. I love the way this writer zeroes in on the unique strengths of those with autism, because it’s true that someone on the spectrum would make a fabulous investigator! So many good things to say about this one. I’ve got the sample for Part 2 on my Kindle and am certain I will be clicking the Buy button when I get to the end of it.
