I picked up my pace a bit, though I’m definitely not breaking any records this year. I had several DNF (did not get past the first page or two), which is rare for me. Those shall remain unnamed. Still, here are some of the notable things I read between April and June.

FICTION

Kalpa Imperial, Angelica Gorodischer, Translated by Ursula K. LeGuin. A short book of stories about a fictional (and very odd) empire. I loved the prose style and the sheer fantastical imagination of it all.

The Time of the Ghost, Diana Wynne-Jones. I’ve been listening to the “Eight Days of Diana Wynne-Jones” podcast and this book was mentioned. I figured I’d better read it before I listened to the hosts discuss it. It’s apparently very autobiographical, though that doesn’t prevent there from being ghosts, ancient goddesses, and a good deal of family weirdness. I quite liked it.

Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte. (Audio version, read by Janet McTeer and David Timson). I read this in my late teens and bounced fairly hard off it at the time, so I thought I should give it another chance. As far as I can tell, adolescence is the time to read this book and if you don’t like it then, you won’t like it later. From my ancient vantage point, I just found it incredibly frustrating. I wanted to smack all the characters over the head and say “Snap out of it!” My favorite thing about WUTHERING HEIGHTS is the Kate Bush song.

Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh One of my dear friends looked at me in horror when I admitted that I’d never read this, so I remedied that. And yes, I’m very glad I did and I probably should have done it years ago. Now I just have to watch the BBC version with Jeremy Irons and I’ll be back in the good books again.

Appleseed, Matt Bell I read Bell’s book about writing, REFUSE TO BE DONE, and I found it useful (though I am never, ever, ever finishing a first draft and then writing the next draft from scratch), so I thought I’d try his novel. It’s quite good, though not at all what I was expecting.

NON-FICTION

Self-Portrait, Celia Paul Yet another in the series of books I’ve read about women artists. Paul talks about her relationship with Lucien Freud, but it is by no means the main topic of the book and she is refreshingly clear-eyed and candid about her life and work.

London Falling, Patrick Radden Keefe The latest from the author of EMPIRE OF PAIN, about the evil Sackler family. This focuses on the mysterious death of a young man in London and his parents’ discovery of his life on the fringes of the Russian mob. There are no clear answers but it’s a gripping read.

Iran: A Modern History, Abbas Amanat This should really count as TWO books, because I had to take it out of the library twice to finish it. Appalling editing/proofing aside, it’s an interesting overview of the history of Iran from the 17th century onwards, and provides a good deal of context to what has happened in the last 60 years there.

Uneasy Street, Rachel Sherman Sherman interviewed a number of wealthy families in New York City, with a focus on how they defined themselves in terms of class and financial situation. I found it a fascinating depiction of how, well, uneasy the money and privilege makes many of them, and how often they define themselves as “not like those other rich people who just spend their money on handbags and private jets” – while spending their money on handbags and private jets.