Henry, what a perfect pre-holiday guide to book gifts! Your reviews are thoughtful, and I have come to appreciate your clarity, discernment, and really plain old good taste!
Thanks much for this remarkable list and descriptions.
Thank you for this interesting list. "Super Infinite" sits on my bedside table, thanks to your earlier mention. "The Medieval Mind of C.S. Lewis" is on its way there, again the result to your recommendation. And "God's Architect" will soon follow. The book on African-American sonnets intrigues me. Consider Faulkner's "Absalom, Absalom!" for your next year's list. Paired with the less magnificent "The Great Gatsby," it is a primer on understanding the American mind. A pair.
I also read Harriet Jacobs this year, as part of the excellent *Norton Anthology of African-American Literature!* I would not have read it if it hadn't been part of a college class, but I'm really glad I took that class. Other selections in that anthology (in particular Harriet Wilson and Hannah Crafts) resonate with *Incidents* in very interesting ways.
The books I enjoyed most this year
Thanks to you I got to know Rundell's book and I can't thank you enough. Wonderful.
Henry, what a perfect pre-holiday guide to book gifts! Your reviews are thoughtful, and I have come to appreciate your clarity, discernment, and really plain old good taste!
Thanks much for this remarkable list and descriptions.
Daniel
Thank you for this interesting list. "Super Infinite" sits on my bedside table, thanks to your earlier mention. "The Medieval Mind of C.S. Lewis" is on its way there, again the result to your recommendation. And "God's Architect" will soon follow. The book on African-American sonnets intrigues me. Consider Faulkner's "Absalom, Absalom!" for your next year's list. Paired with the less magnificent "The Great Gatsby," it is a primer on understanding the American mind. A pair.
Would highly recommend Lewis' Discarded Image and Weight of Glory, especially the essay "The Inner Ring."
I also read Harriet Jacobs this year, as part of the excellent *Norton Anthology of African-American Literature!* I would not have read it if it hadn't been part of a college class, but I'm really glad I took that class. Other selections in that anthology (in particular Harriet Wilson and Hannah Crafts) resonate with *Incidents* in very interesting ways.