I read this collection with the unlikely title because it is the first published work by Yann Martel, the author of the very popular The Life of Pi. The four stories were originally published 15 years ago, and have now been somewhat revised.

The second story is very good. The third and fourth stories are harmless experiments. The first story overwhelmed me with its layers of meaning. Two young men in college – good friends – learn that one of them has AIDS, contracted from a blood...

We spent two weeks in Florida, very quiet (and warm!), lots of reading.

Martin Cruz Smith, Wolves Eat Dogs - one of the Arkady Renko series, mostly set in Chernobyl

Georges Simenon, Maigret and the Killer - the French inspector prevails by using psychology

Michael Chabon, The Yiddish Policemen's Union - Israel does not succeed and the surviving Jews are settled in Sitka

Qiu Xiaolong, Death of a Red Heroine - Chinese detective seeks to unravel...

Plenty of cold, snow and ice - especially ice - in Connecticut this January. Some recent years we have had almost none, but I still believe that global climate change is happening.

Molly Ivins, Who Let the Dogs In? Collected writings of the late and great political commentator.

Haruki Murakami, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. Long, involved, dreamlike.

Evelyn Waugh, Vile Bodies. Wow! Decadence and smart young things in 1920s England.

Orhan...

Subtitle: The Hidden World of Islamic Women

When Australian-born Geraldine Brooks was assigned to the Middle East in the 1990s, she was frustrated by the limitations placed on her travel in some Islamic countries and the difficulty of interviewing important males in these societies. So she did what Margaret Mead did years ago, when she experienced similar difficulties, -- she talked with the women.

Nine Parts of Desire is her account of visiting and joining in the experiences...

I never saw worse television, or rather, I didn't see the worse television, but read instead.

Laura Lippman, What the Dead Know - the series with the Baltimore private investigator. The plotting was a bit strained in this one, but the characters continue to be interesting.

Leo Tolstoy, The Death of Ivan Ilyich - one man lives and dies, and the world goes on its way.

Vladimir Nabokov, Speak, Memory - our book of the month. This memoir is not about his...