I had too many library books, so I returned a few to the library unread. They were all books that I might like to revisit someday. They were…
- Under the Harrow by Mark Dunn: Dunn wrote Ella Minnow Pea, which I enjoyed. I think I would also enjoy this story about the society formed when orphans are abandoned in a sheltered village with only books–encyclopedias, an atlas, the King James Bible, and the works of Charles Dickens–to guide them. But, the tone didn’t match my mood and, at a hefty 550 pages, it was just too much for me right now.
- Dark Quartet by Lynne Reid Banks. I’ve enjoyed other works by LRB, and the subject (the Bronte family) was intriguing. But, before tackling this book, I think I’d like to reacquaint myself with the Brontes’ work. I read Jane Eyre such a long time ago that it’s not even listed on my blog, and Wuthering Heights was even longer ago, back in high school.
- Louise Gluck: Poems 1962-2012: I read a few random poems from this tome, and I liked them. But, as I’ve mentioned before, large books of poetry are intimidating. This is the kind of book that’s good to own if you’re familiar with a poet and want to have the complete collection. If you’re trying to get to know them, though, this kind of collection is simply too much of a good thing. I should get something smaller to start with.
Currently I am reading Mindwise: How We Understand What Others Think, Believe, Feel, and Want by Nicholas Epley and The Dark Shore by A.A. Attanasio. The Epley book is an easy read that is, essentially, about how little we are able to see past the bridges of our own noses. The Attanasio book is an interesting challenge. Attanasio is a sci-fi author who never met an adjective he didn’t like. He packed them into The Dark Shore so densely and in such odd ways that when I try to read normally the story is nearly incomprehensible. But if I just let it wash over me with the assumption that I will understand it in the end, it conjures up rich mental images. So I’m not sure yet if it’s a great book or a horrible one. It might be both.