15. Jane Eyre-- Charlotte Brontehadespussercats wrote: 1. Her Fearful Symmetry- Audrey Niffeneggar
A good read, if a touch derivative. Not as good as The Time-Traveler's Wife, but then, few books are.
2. Solaris- Stanislaw Lem
A fascinating scholarly review of books and studies that never existed. Borges in the future. Thoughtfully and convincingly written, though the dialogue suffers in translation.
3. Sleepwalker- John Toomey
Meh. Gen-X blankness from an Irish perspective. Preachy towards the end.
4. Orlando- Virginia Woolfe
Delightful use of language, though plodding/dense at times. Sumptuous. Thoughts on gender, identity, sexual politics still fresh after the better part of a century.
5. Pale Blue Dot- Carl Sagan
Beautiful language, lucid and educational. Message still current, particularly considering recent commentary on the state of the Earth/space travel by Stephen Hawking.
6. An Object of Beauty- Steve Martin
A history of modern and contemporary art, set in fiction, spun by someone who knows and loves it well. A quick, interesting, but emotionally reserved read.
7. The Book of Joe- Jonathan Tropper
Augusten Burroughs loves this novel-- wishes he´d written it himself. It´s not hard to understand why he´d say that. Synopsis: a writer with a wildly successful first novel under his belt has to go back to the small New England town where he grew up, and face the townspeople he outraged with his thinly-veiled autobiographical depiction of them. Hilarity and life affirmation ensue.
Solid, enjoyable. Not great literature.
8. The Mismeasure of Man- Stephen Jay Gould
I want to give my dad, the I.Q.-respecting, devoted genetic determinist, a copy of this history of intelligence studies. Gould explores how racial, social, gender, and class bias can influence scientific findings-- even, perhaps especially, in the absence of conscious fraud. He provides a compelling account of the disastrous results of applying such biased studies to social policy, and does much to debunk the very notion of ranking people according to perceived intelligence.
9. Devil's Cub- Georgette Heyer
This is a re-read-- I can't resist Heyer's giddy re-creation of the life of the haut ton in Regency England, and she's been a favorite of mine since childhood. This particular one is a sequel of my all-time favorite Heyer, These Old Shades, and features sword fights, dueling with pistols, abductions, French elopements, and romance. Heyer's novels are well-researched and great for anyone who loves a sensuous description of sprigged muslin dresses and Hessian boots. Light reading. A real treat.
10. On Beauty- Zadie Smith
This is my first venture into Zadie Smith's writing-- I was irrationally turned off by the ubiquity of her earlier White Teeth, which I'm now thinking I should give a go, since I enjoyed On Beauty quite a bit. A tale of binaries: two families, England/America, academia/street life, black/white, representational/abstract, etc., etc., told with great humor, an enviable ear for the gamut of English speech, and warm sympathy for her characters.
11. The Ascent of Money- Niall Ferguson
I was somewhat familiar with this book before I read it-- saw some of the television programs developed concurrently with the writing, as well as some articles in Newsweek, comments for the LongNow Foundation, etc. So I didn't get the pleasure of encountering some of his big ideas for the first time. I definitely have a far better understanding of the history of finance-- but then, since i went in with a knowledge base of close to zero, that wouldn't have taken much. Ferguson is a lively writer, entertaining on a subject that could be deadly dull in the hands of someone less passionate. However, his frequent footnotes and parenthetical comments, though elucidating, really harm the flow of the narrative-- I often had to read pages several times through to get their whole intent. And the closer his history came to the current time, the less effort he spent explaining technical terms so the layperson could understand (What do these percentages MEAN? What the hell is a credit spread? etc.)
A bit of a slog at times, but worth it.
12. Exposure- Kathryn Harrison
Not surprising this author is able to write with utter credibility about a creepily sexualized relationship between a father and a daughter. Three generations of photographers, two generations of mental illness-- a downward spiral of character portraiture that is compelling, subtly drawn, and, as I've noted, entirely believable. Well done.
13. Black Elk Speaks-- as told through John G. Neihardt
Joseph Campbell notes this book as one of his most important reads-- an autobiography of a Lakota warrior/medicine man, which tells the story of his people, from the days of Custer to the tragedy at Wounded Knee. A heartbreaking first-hand account of one of the most shameful aspects of United States history, and a useful resource for those interested in understanding totemic imagery. The chapter describing Black Elk's great vision was, for me, a bit of a slog-- but the book as a whole was well worth reading.
14. The Children's Book-- A.S. Byatt
Hm. Hm.
Not sure what to say. Enjoyed it. Lots of great details about Art Nouveau, English pastorale, Liberty dresses, anarchy, socialism, Fabianism, women's suffrage, uber-puppets, the Aesthetic Movement at large, and late-Victorian/Edwardian sexuality. But after 500 or so pages, I'm left with soup.
I like soup. But it was a bit of a narrative let-down.
There's little I can say about this book that you haven't already heard-- it's a re-read, anyway. All I'll add is that if you're only going to read one book by C.B., I'd recommend Villette over Jane Eyre, any day of the week (Villette is one of my all-time favorites.) The emotional depth and breadth of Villette is far greater than J.E., and I suspect, closer to C.B.'s life experience. When she writes about an actual, realized love affair, her ear for language seriously suffers-- people speak in extended, florid perorations that fail to convince. I suspect she was depending more on imagination than experience for these intimate scenes, and her imagination failed her.
16. Monkeys- Susan Minot
A short series of vignettes about a large, semi-Catholic family living in New England in the 60's and 70's. Truthful, spare, and melancholy.
We will allow you a lot. 
much better since the last time I posted (only two books read then!)
