Gathering Yiddish Bridges

The Yiddish Policemen's Union, by Michael Chabon
This alternative history noir set in a Jewish Alaska on the verge of passing back to US hands (think Hong Kong in 1999) was very yummy indeed. I'm still waiting for Chabon to surpass The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, and he hasn't quite, but this book's inventive use of language, vivid characters, and absorbing plot were a solid effort in that direction. Plus it did have one up over AAKC in that it wasn't dead slow for the first 50 pages.
(133/250)

Burning Bridges, by Laura Anne Gilman
In this contemporary fantasy with a strong romantic throughline, Wren Valere has to, um, more or less save the world (or at least NYC) while simultaneously trying to keep her own life under control. This latest book in the multivolume series foregrounded a lot of stuff that was ongoing subplot in previous novels, which was satisfying in itself but made the book kind of meta, maybe. I still gobbled it up. (As an aside, there were a few v. exciting and clearly written fight scenes - a hard thing to do well.)
(134/250)

Hunting and Gathering, by Anna Gavalda
A whimsical novel about three unlikely Parisian roommates learning how to appreciate each other's differences; it had just enough grit to keep it from being treacle and it was so very very charming. Kind of like the movie Amelie, I suppose, but rougher around the edges. I may reread it in its original French some day, because as I was reading it in English I could hear French echoes in the margins.
(135/250)

Stray Fantasy Watch

Fantasy: The Best of the Year 2006, edited by Rich Horton
I thought Rich Horton showed excellent taste in selecting these stories; I had read several of them before but they were so good I didn't mind rereading them... Unfortunately, it has been weeks since I finished this so specifics sort of fail me, but if you enjoy fantasy, I definitely recommend this collection.
(136/250)

Stray, by Rachel Vincent
A surprisingly intelligent paranormal thriller featuring panther-like werecats. Liked the sexual-dynamics stuff, liked the cat stuff, liked the plot stuff, loved the narrative voice. There's a lot of what I like about Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake books in this one, and almost nothing of what I hate. Excellent fluffy novel, will read more by this author when possible
(137/250)

Day Watch, by Sergei Lukyanenko
The second installment in Lukyanenko's brilliant modern fantasy trilogy. I was very worried about reading this one, because the setting created in the first book, Night Watch, - a world much like our own, but filled with magic users bound by a treaty between Light and Dark - was so fully realized, and the stories-within-the-story so completely absorbing, that everything felt deeply, deeply true. And that's hard to live up to. But I shouldn't have worried because not only is the second book just as good, it actually transcends the first by pulling together all sorts of little subplots that seemed disconnected (except thematically) into one big overarching plot. I cannot wait 'til I have an excuse to buy the third one.

Best American Dead Well

Deja Dead, by Kathy Reichs
People have been telling me for years that Reichs' forensic thrillers are smart, exciting, and hard to put down, but I sort of blew them off. Then eeyorerin reiterated it and reminded me that they are set in Montreal, my much beloved ex-hometown, and I finally caved. Yay! All those people were right. Not brilliant literature, but more than enough fun to keep me reading them for the foreseeable future.
(139/250)

The Well of Shades, by Juliet Marillier
I was mildly disappointed by the predictability of the romance angle in this conclusion to Marillier's historical fantasy trilogy, but it was well played-out - and the rest of the story was very tasty indeed. She handles so many different aspects of history and mysticism so deftly, sort of like several different favorite authors rolled into one delicious bundle.
(140/250)


The Best American Essays 2005, edited by Susan Orlean and Robert Atwan
This anthology series has never done me wrong, but either this was a particularly good year for essays or Susan Orlean has particularly impressive taste. I don't remember disliking any of these pieces, and there were several exceptionally strong entries that I'd never seen before from authors that I make a point of reading. Excellent.
(141/250)