W.H.I.R.L. Yes, that’s right. WHIRL. It stands for “What Have I Read Lately”–and I aim to be “whirling” every so often. That is, I’ll be sharing what I’ve read lately with you. And I would LOVE it if you would WHIRL back to me!!!

A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka. Loved it. Funny. Poignant.

Midaq Alley by Naguib Mahfouz. Liked it but not my favorite from him.

The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng. Liked it A LOT. Very atmospheric. Learned some history–disturbing history, I must say. Malaysia in WWII.

The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje. Stunningly beautiful. One of my favorite books.

Too Much Happiness by Alice Munro. Short stories, some masterful, some good but weird. Worth reading, though–Munro always is.

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout. Short stories by someone whose writing reminded me of Alice Munro. Loved it!

The Story of a Marriage by Andrew Sean Greer. Started out sort of gripping but then became kind of trashy. (If you’re in the mood for trashy, you might like it.)

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga. Loved it! A page-turner!

Between the Assassinations by Aravind Adiga. Didn’t love it. In fact, put it down half-way through and then returned it to the library unfinished.

The Thief and the Dogs by Naguib Mahfouz. Liked it a lot. Mahfouz is terribly readable, and I always feel as if I am IN Egypt while reading his books.

In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje. Didn’t love it, but feel like I have to re-read it at some point to “get” it.

Sieze the Day by Saul Bellow. Liked it. Liked it better when I read it years ago. I don’t know why.

Lord of the Flies by William Golding. Deeply thought-provoking book. A must-read.

The Comfort of Strangers by Ian McEwan. A bizarre and disturbing story from one of my favorite authors.

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. Liked it A LOT although the author’s use of “he” for Cromwell became intensely annoying after a short time. This is one long book.

In the Kitchen by Monica Ali. Forced myself to finish it. This book needs an editor–with a large pair of scissors.

The Spare Room by Helen Garner. Very readable and moving. You have to be able to handle a book in which a character is dying from cancer, though.

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri. Wonderful. What a craftswoman Lahiri is.

Blame by Michelle Huneven. Quite good. Very readable. Thought-provoking for a light to medium-dense read.

Anil’s Ghost by Michael Ondaatje. Gripping. Disturbing. Wonderful.