Good Books

Since my summer reading list is getting long, I thought I'd point out which books I'd recommend reading. I have no interest in serious literature right now or even emotional literature. I think that because I'm working on the diss, I just want really light reading. So even though I love Emma Donoghue's work, I didn't love The Sealed Letter. But I think it has far more to do with my frame of mind than it does the novel, so keep that in mind with my recommendations. Also, I seem to be spending most of my time in the mystery section of the library, so lots of mysteries here.

Kim Harrison's Rachel Morgan/The Hollows series. Dead Witch Walking is the first. I'm really enjoying this urban fantasy series. Tough heroine, good mystery and fantasy mix, great characters (I love Jenks the pixy). I'm getting a little tired of the she-sabotages-herself-by-being-attracted-to-danger plot line as it came off as whining in the last book I read, but I'm really enjoying it otherwise. I'm kind of surprised it's not a tv series, actually.

Nancy Atherton's Aunt Dimity series. Aunt Dimity's Death is the first. These are super fluffy cozy mysteries, the kind where every one expects murder most foul, but really it's just all a misunderstanding. I prefer mysteries that focus on the solving of the crime, not the crime itself, so I don't do thrillers much, and these are a great read at bedtime as there is no risk of bad dreams. Aunt Dimity is a ghost who helps the protagonist solve crimes. She's also helped by her stuffed bunny, a childhood gift from Dimity. It's a very sweet series and very light.

Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs series. Maisie Dobbs is the first. Also mysteries. These are incredibly well written and deal a lot with the psychological aftermath of war. Maisie is a young woman in post-WWI London. She's brilliant and opens an agency as a psychologist and investigator. Solving the crimes is about bringing peace to all those involved as much as it is bringing the murderer to justice. The best way I can describe these books is "thoughtful." They are quite good.

I also enjoyed Elizabeth Ironside (mystery), Guy Gavriel Kay (fantasy), Terry Prachett (fantasy), and Shirley Jackson. But these three series are the ones that I'm hooked on right now. If I didn't recommend Lisa Lutz (quirky mystery) from last year's list, I should have.

Right now, I'm rereading The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde, first in the Thursday Next series. I do love all things Fforde. This is a hard series to describe. It's an alternate history where literature is serious business, cheese is contraband, and you can by a dodo cloning kit at the drugstore. Thursday Next is a literary detective and discovers that she can jump into books. It's a dizzying series, and Fforde is probably a mad genius. Very funny and engaging. You really just have to read it.