Over the past week or so the audio version of Zeitoun by Dave Eggers kept me company on my travels. This non-fiction book tells the story of Abdulrahman Zeitoun, a resident of New Orleans who chose to stay in the city during Hurricane Katrina to look after his home and business. Six days after the storm hits he suddenly disappears and his wife, who has evacuated the city desperately works to piece together what happened. It’s a gripping and disturbing story, which I highly recommend.

At the same time that I was listening to Zeitoun I was reading a short story anthology. At first glance a non-fiction book and a science fiction anthology, might seem to have very little in common, but Wastelands edited by John Joseph Adams collects a 22 outstanding post-apocalyptic tales, and there was something about these survivors living in these wildly altered and often hostile landscapes that reminded me very much of Zeitoun’s own real life story.

It’s a truly impressive anthology. Sometimes themed anthologies can be a bit iffy, but Wastelands doesn’t really have any duds. The stories in this collection range from good to great. If you like science fiction or short stories in general, you’ll definitely want to read this one.

In light of this, I think instead of trying to post a weekly summary, going forward I’ll just try to highlight what I’ve been reading one book at a time.

In the past two weeks I’ve read . . .

two very different graphic novels: French Milk by Lucy Kinsley which is a sort of travelogue done as a graphic novel and (Tammy Pierce is) Unlovable by Esther Pearl Watson which was based on a teenager’s diary from the 1980s that was found in a gas station bathroom, and that description alone was enough to make me pick this one up – I was glad I did;

two very different young adult novels Stop in the Name of Pants by Louise Rennison part of the ongoing Georgia Nicolson series which is loaded with hilariosity and Handcuffs by Bethany Griffin which is a much more serious novel about love and obsession that would make for a great book discussion. I also thought the bit about the blogger who bullies her classmate was very topical and lends itself to additional discussion questions.

Right now, I am in the midst of reading a short story anthology filled with post-apocalyptic stories, Wastelands edited by John Joseph Adams and listening to the audio book of Zeitoun by Dave Eggers.

Most of the reading I’ve done this week has been off of a computer screen, and it’s been stuff that I’ve written as well as the revision notes on what I’ve written, none of which really lends itself to a book review.

The only books I made it through were Jeff Vandermeer’s wonderful guide for authors, Booklife: Strategies and Survival Tips for the 21st -Century Writer which was filled with all sorts of helpful advice and wonderfully strange graphic novel called Percy Gloom by Cathy Malkasian.

I began and was quickly sucked into Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick, which has provided some much needed escape from things.

Booklife: Strategies and Survival Tips for the 21st -Century Writer

I’ve read some books with marketing tips before, but they either seemed too dated or not something that would help much with my own journey as a writer, but Jeff Vandermeer (it’s always nice to reading a writing tips book by an author I actually know) has succeeded in writing a book filled with relevant advice. The section covering the writing life in general was less helpful perhaps, but did give me a you are not alone sort of feeling. I love the fact that in order to get writing done he would have his wife hide the phone and the internet router in the morning before she left for work. Anyway, for anyone who is at the stage in their writing journey where they are starting to think about book marketing do yourself a favor and get your hands on a copy of Booklife.

Percy Gloom

This graphic novel by Cathy Malkasian was both bizarre and beautiful. The title character is a strange, little man who goes off to follow his dream of being a cautionary writer, but then gets sidetracked by a few different adventures along the way. It’s all set in a world that is a bit off from our own world and has the feel of a modern, though very weird, fairy tale. It was a quick one-sitting sort of read.

What’s next?

I hesitate to commit myself to anything because I’m not sure what my reading week will hold. I do plan on being on the road a bit so will probably get through an audio book or two in the next week, and, of course, I am expecting to finish up Hush, Hush soon.

What about you, what have you been reading?

I’m cheating this week. I was on the road last Monday, and didn’t get around to participating in the group blog. So, today’s post is actually what I’ve been reading over the past two weeks. I read both of my Christmas gift books The Devil’s Eye by Jack McDevitt and The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett. I also listened to the audio version of Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld, read The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell and an all ages sort of picture book by Jon Muth called Stonecutter. My quick reviews on each of these books are listed below.

The Devil’s Eye

Jack McDevitt writes the sort of science fiction novels that are perfect for escaping into, especially during the dead of winter. The Devil’s Eye is part of the series chronicling the adventures of far future antiquities dealer Alex Benedict and narrated by his loyal assistant and pilot Chase Kolpath. These novels combine mystery and space-faring science fiction and remind me a little bit of Sherlock Holmes with spaceships, though Chase is far cooler and prettier than Watson. At the start of The Devil’s Eye, the pair are contacted by a bestselling horror writer with a cryptic message and zip off across the galaxy to try and solve the mystery. Although Alex and Chase figure out what’s going on well before the conclusion of the novel, they then find themselves in a race against time to try and avert certain disaster. The Devil’s Eye like everything I’ve ever read by Jack McDevitt is a wonderfully entertaining novel.

The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective and a World of Literary Obsession

It will probably come as no surprise that I love books, and I have a soft spot in my heart for books about bibliophilia and book collecting. I do make a small amount of extra money dealing in used books and find the used book world to be a strange and fascinating place. In The Man Who Loved Books Too Much Allison Hoover Bartlett takes readers into that world, as she introduces them to a small time criminal obsessed with expensive books who lacks the means to acquire his books through legal means. Bartlett tells the story of John Gilkey the thief who stole thousands of books from used book dealers mostly by using stolen credit card numbers. He’s an interesting character, and the glimpse into the collectible book world is fascinating. It’s a must read book for anyone who loves books not only for the stories they contain, but also as wonderful physical objects.

Leviathan

Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan is a big change from his previous Uglies series. The novel is a steampunk tale set at the beginning of World War I in which the British travel the skies in huge living gas ships made of fabricated animals. Our two main characters are Deryn Sharp a girl posing as a boy aboard one of those British air ships and Prince Aleksander of Austria who is a devotee of Clanker culture and prefers to get around in huge machine walkers. The paths of our two characters cross and they become connected in an unlikely alliance. This is a quick-paced story with lots of action, and if I had one complaint it’s that it ends too soon. It is obviously part of a planned series, but the ending leaves far too many loose threads, and I will likely have to wait nearly a year before the next book in the series is published.

The Wordy Shipmates

Sarah Vowell has a gift for writing about history in an engaging laugh out loud style. Proof of that is that she is able to make even the dull drab Puritans she chronicles in The Wordy Shipmates entertaining and amusing. The book tackles not that first wave of Puritans that arrived on the Mayflower and that American school kids traditionally study right before Thanksgiving, but the next wave that came over on the Arabella and included the very wordy John Winthrop. Vowell describes the early years of the Massachusetts Bay Colony as well as Rhode Island and how the events of those Colonial years helped to shape the present day United States, which bears little resemblance to those early settlements. The sort of history that Vowell writes bears little resemblance to your boring high school history textbook. Vowell breathes new life into these musty old historical figures with her unique view of things and her sarcastic wit.

Stonecutter

I’m familiar with the works of Jon Muth from having read his picture books Zen Shorts and Zen Ties, books that kids will enjoy that also have a positive message. I found Stonecutter shelved in the children’s nonfiction section at my local library. Physically it resembles a small hardcover “chapter book” but inside it looks more like a picture book, with simple black and white illustrations each accompanied with one or two lines of text. The simple fable-like tale, however, is probably more geared towards adults than kids. It’s a beautiful and thought-provoking book that can be appreciated by all ages.

What’s next?

Right now, I am reading Makers by Cory Doctorow and listening on audio to Paper Towns by John Green. I’m not sure what’s on tap after I finish those.

What have you been reading?

Spin by Robert Charles Wilson

Pretty Monsters by Kelly Link

Or Else My Lady Keeps the Key by Kage  Baker

Startled by His Furry Shorts by Louise Rennison

The Ant King and Other Stories by Benjamin Rosenbaum

Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell

Dead Meat by Sue Coe

Eifelheim by Michael Flynn

Horses Blow Up Dog City & Other Stories by Richard Butner

Chiggers by Hope Larson

The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic Book Scare and How it Changed America by David Hajdu

Candy Girl: A Year in the Life on an Unlikely Stripper by Diablo Cody

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

Behind the Curtain by Peter Abrahams

Generation Loss by Elizabeth Hand

Sweet and Low: A Family Story by Rich Cohen

Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale

Robot Dreams by Sara Varon

Couch by Benjamin Parzybok

Candyfreak: A Journey through the Chocolate Underbelly of America by Steve Almond

Pig Boy’s Wicked Bird by Doug Crandell

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

The January Dancer by Michael Flynn

Storyteller by Kate Wilhelm

Adam’s Curse: A Future Without Men by Bryan Sykes

I guess 2009 was a pretty good reading year for me! May your 2010 be filled with happiness and great books!

So, I’m going to do this in two parts. Today’s list is my picks for the best books from this year. Tomorrow, I’ll be posting another list with some other really good books that I read this year, that just happened to have been published in years past.

Without further ado here are my top books for 2009 listed in the order that I read them:

The Scavenger’s Manifesto by Anneli Rufus and Kristan Lawson

Drood by Dan Simmons

Free: The Future of a Radical Price by Chris Anderson

Nobody Move by Denis Johnson

The Eternal Kiss: 13 Vampire Tales of Blood and Desire edited by Trisha Telep

The Dust of 100 Dogs by A. S. King

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Hound by Vincent McCaffrey

The Magicians by Lev Grossman

How to Rob an Armored Car by Iain Levison

Going Bovine by Libba Bray

What are some of your favorite books of 2009?

I did manage to score two of the five books I had on my Christmas list this year. The Devil’s Eye by Jack McDevitt and The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett were waiting for me under the tree.

The other books I had on my list were titles the local independent book store was unable to track down, even though I didn’t ask for anything especially obscure. Looks like I’ll have to do some post Christmas shopping.

Did Santa bring you any good books this year?