A Language Older Than Words, by Derrick Jensen
I don't know quite how to describe this book—it's disquieting, uncomfortable, and eminently worth reading.
Catwings and Catwings Return, both by Ursula LeGuin
I listed them together because they're short juveniles, with charming illustrations. James, Thelma, Harriet and Roger were born with wings, and they flew into adventures.
Firebird, by R. Garcia y Robertson
Takes the firebird legends of Russia and Eastern Europe and adds several new twists—a heroic heroine, for one, who rescues her knight . . .
World Made By Hand, by James Howard Kunstler
American life in the aftermath of the long emergency, when lack of oil and climate change have put industrial civilization out of business. Not bad, but I've read better; specifically, I have problems with his characterizations of women (the proverbial madonna/whore and nothing else). However, I didn't buy this, so I got what I paid for . . . .
The Three of Swords, by Fritz Leiber
A three-volume book club compilation of Swords and Deviltry, Swords Against Death, and Swords in the Mist. Leiber's epic fantasy stories and novelettes, featuring his heroes Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser. These were one of my first sword-and-sorcery readings, and I've never quite gotten over them, I suppose.
A Sand County Almanac, by Aldo Leopold
This edition also contains Sketches Here and There, and some essays—I loved the Almanac part! The sketches were enjoyable, but not essential to me, and I'm afraid I got bogged down in the essays and didn't finish them.
The Penelopiad, by Margaret Atwood
The story of Penelope, the long-suffering and constant wife of Odysseus, as told by herself and the twelve maids hanged by Odysseus upon his return.
Crossing Open Ground, by Barry Lopez
Nature essays, on various subjects—I highly recommend this. In fact, I ordered his Of Wolves and Men, which has moved to the top of the "read this next" pile; and I have Arctic Dreams here *somewhere* . . . but I can't find it!
The Dispossesed, by Ursula LeGuin
I've read this twice now, and I still don't "get" it. There doesn't seem to be much point to the story, though LeGuin is always a good writer. It's probably some lack in me, but there you are.
The Hounds of the Morrigan, by Pat O'Shea
Comic fantasy set in the world of Irish mythology (and Faery)—the heroes are Pidge and his sister Brigit, who are chosen to thwart the Morrigan. This was O'Shea's first novel; I need to see whether she's written anything else . . .
The Pilot's Wife, by Anita Shreve
I read this in one long evening—it's that good. Learning to live with the unthinkable.
The Iron Dragon's Daughter, by Michael Swanwick
Very, very strange, even for a fantasy novel "Industrial Darkness and Magick" says the dust jacket—the story of Jane, a changeling stolen to toil in the dragon factory in Faery.
The Killer's Tears, by Anne-Laure Bondoux
A very strange and thoughful little book that explores guilt, innocence and the nature of love.
The Left Hand of Darkness, by Ursula LeGuin
Another of my periodic re-reads. The story of the Terran Envoy to Winter, a planet whose inhabitants are androgynous and may chance sex every 26 days (but there's a lot more to it than just that).
The Spiral Dance, by R. Garcia y Robertson
I first read this ten or fifteen years ago, and have been searching for a copy ever since (thank you, Alibris!)—set in Elizabethan Scotland, it is the story of Anne Percy, Countess of Northumberland, and the conspiracy (one of them) to restore Mary Queen of Scots to the English throne—and of a madwoman, the Virgin Mary, witches, a werewolf, the lands of Faery . . .
The Moon Under Her Feet, by Clysta Kinstler
A feminist retelling of the conception, birth, life and death of Christ, as told by Mary Magdalene, High Priestess of the Great Mother in Jerusalem.
Kitchen Literacy, by Ann Vileisis
An account of how we as a culture have become disconnected from the sources of our food, and why we need to return.
The Death of Innocents, by Sister Helen Prejean
An eyewitness account of wrongful executions, this is the followup to her stellar Dead Man Walking. Must reading, in my not-so-humble opinion.
The Last Girls, by Lee Smith
Another fine story by the author of Fair and Tender Ladies, Black Mountain Breakdown, Oral History, and so many more—all evoke The South beautifully, and this is no exception. A reunion-riverboat trip down the Mississippi is the setting, and the "girls" are now women looking back.
Feasting the Heart, by Reynolds Price
52 essays originally aired on NPR, plus a couple that never made in onto the air—varying subjects, but always beautifully done.
The White Witch, by Elizabeth Goudge
A yearly re-read—Cavaliers, Puritans and Gypsies in the time of Charles I in her tale of love and subterfuge in the English countryside. And Froniga, one of my favorite of all her strong women . . .
Pucker, by Melanie Gideon
Thomas, horribly burned in a childhood fire and burdened by a 'crazy' mother, has always been an outsider—but now he must return to his birthplace, the world of Isaura, to save his mother and to face possibility and temptation. Fascinating and well-written.
The Scent of Water, by Elizabeth Goudge
Begins with a death and ends with a birth in the tiny village of Appleshaw—and in between there is life, love, friendship, faith, and the enchanting cabinet full of 'the little things." As always, a portal into a way of life long gone. . . and one that I miss, though I never knew it.
A Swift Pure Cry, by Siobhan Dowd
The story of Shell, who finds herself pregnant at 15—the baby is stillborn, so she and her brother and sister bury it in the back garden. Then the Garda arrive . . . based on a true story, and very well done.
The Dean's Watch, by Elizabeth Goudge
I'd never read this one; the characters aren't nearly as sympathetic as in most of her books, and it was difficult for me to finish. But it was worth it—there are lessons here, and things don't end well, but they do end rightly.
Book of a Thousand Days, by Shannon Hale
A shimmering retelling of the Grimm's fairy tale 'Maid Maleen,' reimagined on the Central Asian steppes. I read until 3 a.m. because I couldn't bear to stop until the end. . .
Tistou of the Green Thumbs, by Maurice Druon (trans. by Humphrey Hare)
A strange and pleasant little book: Tistou, an only child with remarkable powers of growing plants simply by sticking his 'green thumbs' into the dirt, takes on the wrongs of society. A French juvenile, ex-library, my brother found it at Goodwill and passed it on.
A Country Year, by Sue Hubbell
About life on the land in the Ozarks, and a woman finding herself in middle age—I recommend it highly. And she keeps bees, too.
Losing Moses on the Freeway, by Chris Hedges
The 10 Commandments in America—Hedges explores the challenge of living according to these moral precepts.
In Defense of Food, Michael Pollan
An Eater's Manifesto—Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. (and nothing with over five ingredients, ingredients you don't recognize and can't pronounce, and nothing your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food.)
Maggie and Widget (and me, too).
