Though I spend a lot of time doing art, I also make time to read, fiction and non-fiction. Yesterday, I made a list of all the books I finished in the last 3-4 months. I have also rated them, five stars being the highest.
1. Perumal Murugan: Seasons of the Palm (English translation from Tamil)*****
2. Hari Kunzru: White Tears ****
3. Akhil Sharma: Family Life ***1/2
4. Stephen King: On Writing ***1/2 (non-fiction)
5. Walter Mosley: Charcoal Joe ****
6. Jesmyn Ward: Salvage the Bones ****1/2
7. Joe Ide: IQ ****1/2
8. Rahul Mehta: No Other World *** 1/2
9. Kathleen Collins: Whatever Happened to Interracial Marriage ****1/2
10. Rakesh Satyal: Nobody Can Pronounce My Name ***1/2
11. Lisa Congdon: Art Inc. **** (non-fiction)
12. Austin Kleon: Show Your Work ***1/2 (non-fiction)
On my desk:
13. John Farrell: Richard Nixon (non-fiction)
14. Elizabeth Strout: Anything is Possible
As you can see, my taste in fiction runs towards either those written by non-white authors or about non-white lives. It was not always so. When I first started reading English fiction, there were only books written by whites and almost all men. Thankfully, in the last two decades, the world of book publication has expanded significantly to include Black, Asian, Latino and gay voices. More importantly, the local libraries are also stocking them in greater numbers. In the list above, all but three were borrowed from my local library. It is my guess that my town library relies on the New York Times Book Review and its best seller list to help determine its purchases and that works out fine for me.
What have you been reading in recent times? Any from my list? Please share in the comment section.
Linked to Paint Party Friday.
