reading fiction

Over the past several years I’ve read a lot of books, almost all of them nonfiction. In the past several months I have really returned to the novel in a big way. It all started with The Last Enchantments. After reading the review I couldn’t resist the prospect of a book set at Oxford. That was followed with Where’d You Go, Bernadette, a novel that had fun with the stereotype of the Seattle lifestyle and mindset, but which ended on a serious note. I then read The Interestings, the story of a group of friends over a period of years.

There have been some nonfiction books mixed in, but I have also recently read Putting Away Childish Things, another novel in an academic setting, but with themes of religion and faith, Old School, a prep school story, and Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore, a novel that incorporates a laid-off graphic designer, a used book store, a secret society, and the culture of Google.

It’s good to be back in the world of the novel.