Voila - note my Library Thing library to the left. What a fun place for readers, and I have a sneaky suspicion I may start some compulsive list-compiling in the near future. My books were somewhat popular, except for the 2 brand new ones. Joanna Trollope's new one is just now out, and I sort of cheated with Patricia Wells' memoir because I had access to an advance reader's copy. So, OCL readers and Patricia Wells fans, keep your eyes peeled - 7 copies will be on order for the system after the pub date in May! Here's a teaser: I found out that Patricia is an avid runner and has had to really work to maintain a healthy weight. It's nice to know that it's not all daisies and second helpings for food critics/cookbook authors!
A few of my choices had discussions. I was interested in the discussion about The Archivist's Story, a tale about an archivist in Stalinist Russia whose days are filled with incinerating the works of authors unpopular with the state. He proceeds to save an unpublished work by Isaac Babel, only to come to the realization that his time is running out and he will soon be among those "seized." One reader complained that the narrator of that story was too emotionally detached to draw in the reader. For me, the detachment only served to magnify the random but stark horror of being plucked right out of an ordinary life for probable execution, and having almost no chance of stopping this inevitable fate. If you like fiction set in Russia, you might also enjoy The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean and/or The Kitchen Boy by Robert Alexander.
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