Good Reads- Fall 2012

When I was a kid, I read voraciously. I would read a book under my desk during class in grade school or read while walking in single-file line. (Do they still make kids do that?)  In high school I would get busted for staying up late into the night reading, when blocking the light in the door crack didn't work so well. Fiction is and has always been an escape for me. A good story might be the only place my singular attention can be captured, and I can be fully absorbed. Since moving back to Cincinnati, I've had the luxury to have more time and more brain energy left to read on a consistent basis, and a kindle that makes it possible for me to get a book while sitting on the couch. I've also had some family drama that probably contributed to my desire to block out and escape. Plus the Cincinnati Public Library system is the bomb. It seems silly that I would make lists and not include one about books. So here it is, my current top book recommendations in no particular order, with a short description, to answer the commonly seen Facebook post: "Any book recommendations?" Enjoy!

1. Last Night in Twisted River, John Irving: A dense, richly detailed novel about a cook and his son, who at the age of 12 mistakenly thought the local constable's wife was a bear. The two become fugitives, and the story tracks their progression from town to town and city to city. One of my favorite Irving books.
2. American Salvage, Bonnie Jo Campbell. Gritty meth country short stories.
3. The Devil all the Time, Donald Ray Pollack. A dark look into the lives of rural Ohio serial killers...
4. Chemistry and Other Stories, Ron Rash. Great short story collection, very poignant. 
5. The Art of Fielding, Char Harbach
6. In One Person, John Irving. A book about sexuality: transgender transformations, bi-sexuality, and relationships. 
7. Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern. Very beautiful and imaginative book about magic and the circus. 
8. Waiting, Ha Jin. A Chinese doctor caught between his wife and another woman, who exist in vastly different worlds- painfully beautiful book about betrayal, action and inaction... 
9. Lowboy, John Wray. A story following the journey of a mentally ill teenaged boy in New York. 
10. A Visit from the Goon Squad, Jennifer Eagan. Collection of intersecting short stories of characters in the music industry.
11. 1Q84, Haruki Murakami. Bizzarely wonderful Japanese crime/mystery novel. Worth the long read.
12. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Diaz. Another book that is worth the long read- rich in Dominican political history- follows the life of poor, overweight, hapless Oscar Wao. One of my favorite contemporary authors. 
13. The Bayou Trilogy, Daniel Woodrell. Amazing writing, amazing stories. Think The Wire set in Louisiana.