Last year around the beginning of January, I decided to start to write down all the books I read in the coming year. Partly I did this because I always forget the titles of the books I read or start reading something only to realize halfway through that I already read it (and probably didn’t love it if it was so unmemorable), and partly I was curious to see how much and what I read in a year. In this particularly tumultuous and anxious year, I discovered that I had a preference for books that were short and to the point. For example, I got about halfway into a copy from the library of Your Brain on Music by Daniel Levitin from the library but never managed to finish it. Maybe this year. Recently, I happened to see another blog in which the author had included his own book lists of the last few years. I thought this was a lovely idea, so, I’m doing my own. Here are my books from 2011, some excellent, some not so, but certainly all things that have reflected and affected my mindset in this past year. I have only included books that I have read cover to cover. Books that I read in Italian I list with their Italian titles and English in parentheses where appropriate.
1. Arrivederci Piccole Donne (So Long, Little Women) by Marcela Serrano
an excellent book, sort of a modern interpretation of Little Women (by Louisa May Alcott) set between Chile and Europe, with a lot of this wonderful Chilean author’s style thrown in.
2. Ruth St. Denis by Vito De Bernardi
biography of this fascinating grandmother of modern dance. A little dry, but very informative. This Italian publishing house (L’EPOS) has earned my respect by having a line of very reputable and necessary biographies dedicated to the great choreographers of the 20th century.
3. Fango by Niccolò Ammaniti
not one of my favorite books. In my opinion, Ammaniti’s viewpoints on life are that of the nearly suicidal/homicidal, and in fact many of his characters are. One story (fango is a collection of short stories) talks of a serial killer who uses knitting needles as the murder weapon. I recently took up knitting, and unfortunately, have trouble keeping this story out of my head as I look at my needles.
4. La Zia Marchesa by Simonetta Agnello Hornby
I purchased this book on a trip to Sicily as a part of my foray into contemporary Italian literature. It is historical fiction, set in Sicily in the second half of the 19th century as power shifted from the aristocrats, the Borbons, and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies to the new country of Italy, and as a result, the mafia was created. Fascinating for its historical backdrop, and emotionally satisfying as the poignant tale of the fall of a particular aristocratic family.
5. Martha Graham e la Modern Dance by Chiara Vatteroni
6. Marcovaldo by Italo Calvino
Since I have moved to Santa Cruz I have found myself thinking of this book and its images of the seasons in foggy industrial era Milan through the eyes of its goofy protagonist, Marcovaldo, with nostalgia. Almost like a cartoon written by Dante.
7. Oceano mare (Ocean Sea) by Alessandro Baricco
8. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
Very good, and not much like anything I’ve ever read before, without being too abstract either. I felt that I knew the main character, the nine-year-old boy, Oskar probably because he reminds me of a member of my own family. I’m looking forward to seeing the film adaption.
9. Ladro contro Assassino by Giorgio Scerbanenco
I bought this book on another trip, to the town of Orvieto in Umbria, and it was truly a stroke of luck. I fell in love with the style of this 1960s era author of murder mysteries. Perhaps more than mysteries they are really more of social commentary and commentary on human nature. This novel is set partially in Orvieto, but most of Scerbanenco’s books take place in Milan and speak of things specifically Milanese.
10. Bar Sport by Stefano Benni
11. L’alchimista (The Alchemist) by Paolo Coelho
an excellent guide to life.
12. Traditori di Tutti by Giorgio Scerbanenco
13. Maisie Dobbs by Jaqueline Winspear
14. Night Flight by Antoine De Saint Exupéry
a touchingly tragic short story about mail carrier planes in South America in the early 1900s by the author of The Little Prince.
15. Julie & Julia by Julie Powell
A big part of my inspiration to start a blog, and perhaps also my blogging role model. Also just a fun story about life and transformation, and food!
16. Mapping Human History by Steve Olson
Fascinating account of our history and who we are as humans created by following the path of our genes. Surprising insights on the ideas of race and culture.
17. The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey
18. The Dogs Who Came to Stay by George Pitcher
19. A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters
20. Off the Beaten Path: Northern California by Mark R. Williams
Though probably intended to read more as a reference and, obviously, travel guide, I found myself wanting to devour the whole thing. In the process, I learned a lot of things about California, in particular the eastern areas, that I never knew or never considered. Now I want to explore it all!
21. The Arabian Delights Cookbook by Anne Marie Weiss-Armush
Another book that was probably intended more as a reference than for light reading, Ms. Weiss-Armush’s accounts of her story as an American bride in Syria were almost as good as the recipes! (I also learned how to make dolmas, an accomplishment that I’m very proud of, but got no success with the yogurt. I might need to spend some more time in the Middle East to perfect that one.)
22. One Corpse Too Many by Ellis Peters
23. Monk’s Hood by Ellis Peters
24. All Aboard: The Complete North American Train Travel Guide by Jim Loomis
I loved riding trains before I read this book. Now I feel that my love for trains has become politicized. Not to say that Mr. Loomis’ book is political, it’s more a loving account of anything and everything train related: from planning a cross country trip to train jargon to the (tragic) history of the train in America.
25. Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater
26. Le Divorce by Diane Johnson
27. My Love Affair with England by Susan Allen Toth
28. The Pianist by Wladyslaw Szpilman
I have yet to see the movie version of this book, despite the fact that I have a huge crush on Adrien Brody that I imagine would only worsen after seeing him play the piano. However, the book is incredible. It’s incredible because it’s well written, but mostly because of the relatability of the story even as the surroundings become increasingly horrific and incredible. I have read and seen many holocaust stories in my life, too many I often think, but perhaps this is the most complete, showing the progression, not just of a man but an entire city through the progressive stages of denial and finally, implosion.
29. The Group by Mary McCarthy
A gem from the 1960s. Better as an incredibly complete social commentary on 1930s era America, the characters are sometimes overshadowed and weighed down by the themes they represent. Nonetheless, some of the observations on human relationships portrayed in the dynamics between characters ring bitterly true.
30. The Piano Tuner by Daniel Mason
31. Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow
Another great novel that manages to sum up the feeling and main characters of the time it represents, this time set in New York from the turn of the century up into the late teens.
32. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Part of my horror trilogy (with Dracula and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde), this was not at all what I expected. Much more about human nature than big scares, I found that it had moments of great lucidity (for example, the entire passage in the mountains), even if lost in a sometimes unnecessarily complicated and meaningless plot line.
33. The Iron Ring by Lloyd Alexander
34. Dracula by Bram Stoker
35. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and other stories by Robert Luis Stevenson
I was disappointed with the centerpiece of this book, feeling that the secret was revealed too soon, leaving the final part weak and unnecessary. However, I enjoyed some of the other stories, in particular the concept of the suicide club, despite another unsatisfying ending.
36. Women of the Four Winds by Elizabeth Fagg Olds
This made me want to become a woman explorer, although I’m fairly certain that I will never be as tough as the four women in this book. I was not familiar with any of these great early adventurers (Annie Smith Peck, Marguerite Harrison, Delia Akeley, Louise Arner Boyd) before reading these accounts, but afterwards felt that some gaps in my head had been filled. And I certainly know more about mountain climbing, big game hunting, Greenland, and Russian prisons. I am also thrilled to have had the opportunity to discover the existence of the Society of Women Geographers, the still-active association of female explorers in which these women took part and that is behind the creation of this book.
37. The Happy Prince and other stories by Oscar Wilde
38. Slaughterhouse Five or the Children’s Crusade by Kurt Vonnegut
an excellent, insightful surprisingly light-hearted and comedic account of very real and terrible things, viewed with philosophy. And aliens.
somewherebetweenmilanandsantacruz 