September Books Read

After a whirlwind trip to Chicago and trying to get caught up for a couple of days, here's my (very late) list of September Books Read. (Sorry, no pictures this time.) Here we go....

Too Many Women (1947) - Rex Stout
Archie goes undercover investigating a murder, working for a Wall Street firm that's filled with, of course, women. One of them knows something about the murder. Maybe all of them do. Continuing my second expedition through the Nero Wolfe books.

Notes from Underground (1864) - Fyodor Dostoevsky
A great (and not terribly long) introduction to Dostoevsky for those (like me) intimidated by the size of works like Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov. Possibly the first novel of Existentialist fiction, Underground Man's story of trying to fit into and understand the society around him is fascinating reading. And terrifying - I saw myself in him more than a few times.

Everyday Apocalypse: The Sacred Revealed in Radiohead, The Simpsons and Other Pop Culture Icons (NF 2002) - David Dark
Cindy picked up this one for me, thinking I would enjoy it. I did, but I was expecting a light read, which this is not. Can Dark really find examples of sacred thought in The Simpsons? Very thought-provoking, highly recommended.

The Outsiders (YA 1967) - S.E. Hinton
Talked about briefly here.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1974) - John le Carre
This has been called one of the best spy novels of all time. I must confess I can't make any judgment on that statement and probably shouldn't even include it in this month's Books Read; I made the mistake of listening to this on the iPod, sometimes with several days between listens. But I was amazed at what le Carre could pull off largely without explosions, chases and the typical Cloak & Dagger stereotypes we see in the genre in its worst moments. Instead, we get from retired spy George Smiley lots of essential backstory, examination of documents and hours spent in silent speculation. Again, I should probably read it again and probably in as few sittings as possible.

Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations (NF YA 2008) - Alex & Brett Harris
This book codifies many of the concepts I tried to stress during my years of teaching band. The majority of young people will meet your expectations, whether they be high or low and when they are high, you can witness some amazing things. These brothers Alex and Brett know this and know that most adults expect very little from teens. Even worse, many teens expect little from themselves.

Both boys are Christians and while their Christian message may prevent some teens from picking up the book, I advise them to at least sample the first few chapters.

The Scarlet Letter (1850) - Nathaniel Hawthorne
Lately I've read (and enjoyed) several of Hawthorne's tales, so I'm somewhat used to his writing style. Yet I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this novel. I suppose I had a preconceived notion of what was going to happen in it; everybody knows what the book is about, right? Maybe not. I really had a tough time putting this one down. Lesson: Read more Hawthorne.

The New York Trilogy (1985, 1986) - Paul Auster
Another book I really enjoyed and hope to read again soon. More about it here.

Coronado: Stories (2006) - Dennis Lehane
In a word: bleak. This one is a real toss-up. I think the collection's final story "Until Gwen" is a definite home run. I also like the tale of class resentment "Gone Down to Corpus," but most of the characters in the other stories are so unlikable that I just found myself not caring for them or their stories. Lehane's novels are also a mixed bag for me: I loved A Drink Before the War, but wanted to throw Shutter Island across the room. To each his own.

A Welcome Grave (2007) - Michael Koryta
My pleasant surprise of the month, recommended by my book-savvy niece Erin. (Thanks, Erin!) If you like Michael Connelly, give Koryta a try. He's not as well known as Connelly, but this crime/detective novel is smart, intriguing and a true page-turner. Highly recommended.