Book Recommendations - Fiction and History, for 2009's Reading List...Thus Far

Below is a list of books I recommend from my reading list thus far for January to July 2009. I pared the list to books with popular appeal. The genres are mostly literary fiction, science fiction, historical fiction, and history. 

I rated these books on scale of 1 to 5 that includes coverage of the subject (if non-fiction), ability to hold the reader's interest, original ideas, plot, and technique.

1=bad

2=poor

3=mediocre

4=good

5=recommended

Everyone won't agree with my opinions, I'm sure. Feel free to tell us why you disagree.  If you've read one of these books and have a recommendation for a similar good read, please post it. Thank you!

The Plague Tales - Anne Benson (Jan)
Rating = 3
An impending catastrophe in the near future sets a medical researcher looking for the origins of the Black Plague. Interesting premise but the outcome is predictable. Some of the plot devices are not quite believable. I only gave this a fair rating because in order to move the plot forward, Benson sometimes resorted to coincidental events. There were just too many, "what are the chance that would happen at that exact moment and at exactly that time and that place" scenarios.

The Gravedigger's Daughter - Joyce Carol Oates (Jan)
Rating = 4
Oates is undoubtedly one of the greatest living writers. Gravedigger's Daughter is another wonderfully, subtle story about our ability to adapt our identies to fit a situation and the unforeseeable consequences of male violence as our heroine Rebecca is pursued by a hateful common-law husband.

Deeper - Jeff Long (Feb)
Rating = 5
Spelunkers found a strange staircase leading into the earth in the first novel of this series.  Exploration and a vengeful kidnapping reveals unlimited beauty, sulfurous landscapes, and a mutated, pre-biblical civilization hidden within the world inside ours. Where does the devil live? Gripping supernatural/historical horror. So many interesting questions were posed that I'll have to read this book again.

Inferno - editor E. Datlow (Feb)
Rating = 3
Datlow is another well-respected anthology editor who can usually be relied upon to compile an entertaining collection. However, when the anthology is of narrow scope, filling the collection with top-notch fiction is that much more difficult as is evidenced by Inferno. This horror anthology had a couple of really engaging stories that are must-reads, but other entries were only mediocre. Inferno is still worth checking out for those few gems that you won't find in any other anthology.

The Good Soldier - Ford Madox Ford (Feb)
Rating = 4
In this classic, an unhappy pair of couples engage in infidelities of the heart and of the body while examining their pasts.  Examines our need to maintain appearances and how we settle for less than we want and less than we're capable of.

Random Family - Andrian LeBlanc (Feb)
Rating = 3
Straight journalistic reporting on a poor, Puerto Rican family from the Bronx. Random Family is a little difficult to get into. It reads like case files but becomes more interesting as you get to know the chaotic lives of the people involved. Nearly every person in this book makes bad choices leading to drug addiction violence and criminality. It's easy to judge from the outside, but following how these lives unravel makes one realize how difficult it is to escape one's cultural upbringing.

Strange Piece of Paradise - Terri Jentz (April)
Rating = 5
Fascinating true story about a 40 year old woman who goes back to Oregon to investigate what really happened the night she and her college friend were attacked by a stranger while on a cross-country bicycle trip.  Both girls were severely hurt. Her friend sustained life-changing injuries.  During her search for an explanation, Jentz discovers an ad-hoc cover up that helped her attacker go free. 

The Last Days of the Incas - Kim MacQuarrie (April)
Rating = 5
The best book on the Spanish conquest ever written. Very detailed and accurate but it reads like an adventure novel. History buffs and readers who just like a fast-paced tale will enjoy this one.

Wreck of the Medusa (April)
Rating = 4
Gripping account of the mistakes (bureaucratic, vain and otherwise) that led up to the wreck of the ship Medusa, the ordeal of those who lived and died because of the wreck, and the political and personal aftermath. The story is tied together through the biography of the painter of the famous canvas, Wreck of the Medusa. Some of the historical background requires readers have knowledge of French history to fully appreciate the points made.

Deep Survival (May)
Rating = 5
Lorenz Gonzales uses accounts of real survival situations, personal and group psychology, chaos theory and complex systems theory to illuminate why some live and some die in emergency situations. Loaded with both theoretical information and practical information that may save your life!

Slave - Mende Nazer (May)
Rating = 4
This is the true story of the capture and enslavement of a young tribal African Muslim girl.  Mende is sold as a domestic servant to a wealthy Arab family where she is verbally, physically, and emotionally abused and kept in isolation within their home. When the family moves to Britain she is able to escape and obtain asylum from English authorities. I was shocked to learn that this goes on rather frequently today. 

25th Annual Best Science Fiction - editor Gardener Dozois (June)
Rating = 4
I look forward to the newest issue of this anthology each year. Gardener Dozois is probably the best SF anthology editor in the business.  As usual, the 25th collection is full of thought-provoking, well-written SF.  If you're one those people that skips the introduction to books, don't skip the one in the 25th Annual Best Science Fiction. It includes an exhaustive list of the best SF short stories, novellas, novels, graphic comics, movies, and etc. published that previous year. Use it to build a fantastic reading list.

Atonement - Ian McGowan (June)
Rating = 4
I enjoyed but Atonement but felt it was slow in some places. The most gripping parts were the "imagined" scenes about the English army's retreat from France as told by Robbie.

The Falls - Joyce Carol Oates (June)
Rating = 4
Loosely based on the Love Canal scandal, Oates tells the story of the private attorney who first went against Big Business on behalf of his blue-collar clients living in the polluted factory areas around Niagra Falls. Later these same areas would spur events that led up to the monumental Love Canal trials. 
 

A House for Mr. Biswas - A. Naupil (July)
Rating = 4
An award winning, black comedy about an Indian business man looking to make it big and get the respect he craves. Often hilarious but also unsettling and sometimes heartbreaking.