Best of September
We debate long and hard every month to decide what books to call best, but September (and October!) are always the heavyweights. It's all about the fiction this month, and a wide range of it too, with Scarlett Thomas's Our Tragic Universe in the spotlight. Have a look at our Best Books of the Month reviews below and let us know what else is on your reading list for September.
Our Tragic Universe by Scarlett Thomas: Scarlett Thomas is a nimble writer, joyfully unseating and upholding cozy fiction conventions as she builds a story around Meg Carpenter, a writer who--as a genre fiction ghostwriter, book reviewer, and writing coach--has immersed herself in every nook and cranny of her craft to keep herself afloat... and to stay at arm's length from the "real" novel she just can't get her head around.
Skippy Dies by Paul Murray: Seabrook College is an all-boys Catholic prep school in contemporary Dublin, where the founding Fathers flounder under a new administration obsessed with the school's "brand" and teachers vacillate between fear and apathy when faced with rooms full of texting, hyper-tense, hormone-fueled boys. It's the boys--and one boy in particular--that give this raucous, tender novel its emotional kick.
To the End of the Land by David Grossman: To the End of the Land is a book of mourning for those not dead, a mother's lament for life during a wartime that has no end in sight. At the same time, it's joyously and almost painfully alive, full to the point of rupture with the emotions and the endless quotidian details of a few deeply imagined lives.
Fall of Giants by Ken Follett: Welcome to the 20th century as you've never seen it. At over 1,000 pages, Fall of Giants delivers all the elements that fans of Ken Follett have come to treasure: historical accuracy, richly developed characters, and a sweeping yet intimate portrait of a past world that you'll fully inhabit before the first chapter is through.
The Golden Mean by Annabel Lyon: In mathematics, the principle of the Golden Mean refers to a system of numbers in which each new number is the sum of the previous two, poetically illustrated by the chambers of a nautilus shell. And so Annabel Lyon’s debut novel refers to lives that grow bigger as they unfold--in this case, two of the most notable lives to ever be lived, those of Alexander the Great and his tutor, Aristotle.
Room by Emma Donoghue: In many ways, Jack is a typical 5-year-old. He likes to read books, watch TV, and play games with his Ma. But Jack is different in a big way--he has lived his entire life in a single room, sharing the tiny space with only his mother and an unnerving nighttime visitor known as Old Nick. For Jack, Room is the only world he knows, but for Ma, it is a prison in which she has tried to craft a normal life for her son.
The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund De Waal: At the heart of Edmund de Waal's strange and graceful family memoir is a one-of-a-kind inherited collection of ornamental Japanese carvings known as netsuke. The netsuke are tiny and tactile--they sit in the palm of your hand--and de Waal is drawn to them as "small, tough explosions of exactitude." He's also drawn to the story behind them, and for years he put aside his own work as a world-renowned potter and curator to uncover the rich and tragic family history of which the carvings are one of the few remaining legacies.
SimplyForties on 09/04/2010 at 11:18 AM
What a great list! I'll definitely be checking some of these out. I do wish you would spotlight some of the less expensive offerings too!
JD on 09/04/2010 at 09:59 PM
You should make it a point to highlight titles who don't have ridiculous publisher prices. The days of paying more than $9.99 for an e-book are over -- it's especially ridiculous when the hardcover price is within pennies of the kindle price, and the paperback price is cheaper than the kindle price.
Can't wait for the days when publishers are gone and authors sell direct.
Sharon on 09/05/2010 at 08:29 AM
I am tired of everyone harping on the cost of e-books. Amazon use to have the best prices around, then with the advent of iPad, and the deals Apple made, amazon was forced to go along with the publishers. I know the economy is rough; but if all you do is look for cheap or free reads, then you are cutting yourself off from a world of enjoyment. E-books are still cheaper than hardbacks. I still say that if you went to all the trouble to purchase this wonderful reader.....?
Chuck on 09/06/2010 at 06:39 PM
Oh, I agree with Sharon. Before I got my Kindle I would pay hardback prices for new releases from my favorite authors without blinking. Now I will pay Kindle prices. But JD also has a good point in that the publishers are being excessively greedy in selling a product that costs them next to nothing at inflated prices. But then, corporate greed is very high on the list of what's wrong with our economy. Government greed is right up there too!
clay on 09/06/2010 at 09:00 PM
I don't mind paying the 12 or 14 dollars for a new kindle book. I used to pay many times 18 dollars down the street at barnes and noble for a trade paperback. Sure you can wait for the book to go to 9.99 like in 4 or 5 years, but come on, I'm not going to wait that long!
I think the bigger deal is that so many books aren't on the Kindle yet... like thousands and thousands. I don't actually want to buy an actual book anymore... there... I've said it!
lol