The best and worst of what I have read this year, by Kara Martin

In my opinion, the best fiction books I read this year were:

Home by Marilynne Robinson, her follow-up to Gilead with a wonderful mix of faith and the everyday. One reason why I love this author is because she is unapologetic about writing about people of faith, and theology. It is affirming to read about Christians who are not stereotypes, or pathetic, or too good to be true; and to hear discussions of theology, not in textbooks, or popular non-fiction, but in the midst of everyday conversation. All of this is done so intelligently and clearly (without dumbing down) that non-Christian readers have also bought and loved her books. In fact, it is marketed to a general audience.

The Boat by Nam Le, a collection of short stories by a great new Australian author, guaranteed to stimulate and surprise.  There are stories that amaze in their ability to capture a sense of place and culture in contexts as varied as Iran, Japan, Australia and Colombia. He speaks equally convincingly across genders and ages, dealing with the whole spectrum of emotions and relationships: romantic, father-daughter, mother-son, friends…

In non-fiction the best books I read were:

Shrinking the World by John Freeman; an expose of the menace of email, with some great tips for overcoming it. While Freeman did not touch on the spiritual, there are clear lessons from his message. As the speed of information transfer has sped up, so has the pace of life. Our expectation is to receive things fast, in juicy chunks, and the focus is on me. Spiritually, this can lead to a shallow relationship with God, focused on my experience of God.

Thomas Keneally's part 1 of his narrative history of Australia, Origins to Eureka. He explores history through telling stories, and has deliberately chosen stories of everyday people, like convict Sarah Devonport whose son was killed accidentally when hot gruel was poured on him on the ship coming over. She had a miscarriage, probably brought on by her grief, but rallied and went on to serve the women around her, often as a midwife. He does include significant people, like the governors, but he likes to tell stories not often reported elsewhere.

While I am aware of the enormous effort and courage that goes into writing books, in my opinion the ‘biggest waste of time’ award would have to be shared by:

A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz and The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown, since both could have been half the size and refrained from arbitrary church/God bashing. In saying this I acknowledge that many of the male web readers enjoyed Toltz. It is a reminder that appreciation of any work of art is a matter of personal taste.

And for holiday reading I suggest:

Open House 2, while acknowledging my involvement in doing book reviews for this national radio program, this is a collection of Sheridan Voysey's interviews with significant thinkers, Christian and secular. It is a great way of starting a conversation about faith and life.

I also have a copy of the Griffith Review's fiction issue: Stories for Today, perfect for the beach, with stories by luminaries such as Kate Grenville and Rodney Hall. I'm also looking forward to reading Chris Tsiolkas' celebrated The Slap.

This Friday my Reading Group is meeting to plan our selection for 2010, and I will let you know what we choose next week in my blog.