Monthly Reading: May 2009

Cover of When We Were Orphans

Good month of reading, with two 4-star books! As always, click the link for my review or reading notes.

When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro — crime

The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist — dystopian

The Night Country by Stewart O’Nan — horror

Guided Tours of Hell by Francine Prose — literary fiction

Up in the Old Hotel by Joseph Mitchell — abandoned

My rating scale:

• 1 star: Abandoned before finishing. Don’t waste your time.
• 2 stars: Poor. Avoid with extreme prejudice.
• 3 stars: Average. Read it, have a good time and move on. Or not.
• 4 stars: Great. Push it on your friends and family.
• 5 stars: Excellent. Keep it, treasure it, reread it.

Disclaimer: My ratings are very personal and may have little to do with the book’s artistic or commercial merit, or its place in the literary canon. Rather, the rating reflects how the story, characters and writing spoke to me and augmented my understanding of the world.

And here are some reviews of favorite reads from around the blogosphere:

• The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (AzureScape)
• The Road (Book Addiction)
• Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (Bloody Hell, It’s a Book Barrage!)
• The Witches (Things Mean a Lot)
• The Years of Rice and Salt (Tor.com)

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