Hitting a rich vein

It happens every now and then; my ten-books-at-a-time reading habit throws up a really good bunch, driven both by recommendation as well as randomness:

• Absurdistan: Gary Shteyngart (recommended by the bookstore I visited in San Francisco a month ago)
• The Ice Palace That Melted Away: Bill Stumpf (discovered as part of my interest in Max De Pree and Herman Miller, lying await for its second read)
• Designing Interactions: Bill Moggridge (whisked away from my boss before he had the chance to take the shrinkwrap off)
• The Lost: Daniel Mendelsohn (gently savouring a mint signed copy after seeing it reviewed by someone whose opinion I trust)
• A Movable Feast: Kenneth Kiple (ordered as a result of looking for The Cambridge World History of Food)
• Understanding Knowledge As A Commons: Hess and Ostrom (bought a while ago, awaiting its first read)
• Volk’s Game: Brent Ghelfi (Debut thriller bought as a “spare” airplane read)
• Body of Glass: Marge Piercy (Recommended by serial colleague Gary Casey)
• Indian Summer: Alex Von Tunzelmann (thoughtfully and generously sent on to me by someone for whom I did a small favour)
• Simon Winchester’s Calcutta (acquired a while ago and awaiting its second read)

An odd collection, yes. Pure serendipity. And very pleasant indeed. Incidentally, I  tend not to write too many book reviews, on the basis that I read a great deal and therefore would not be providing any real filtering service. Recommendations, on the other had, may be of value to some of  you. If readers would like me to comment or review the books I read, then please let me know by writing to jobsworth@mac.com or commenting on this post.

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