More Top Books of the Year, from The Washington Post

I divide my interest in the Washington Post Book World into before and after they ended print subscriptions. I like printed stuff (shockers), and even though I can read it online, I am often forget. I believe it's still stand-alone, but who would know as you have to go to at least Baltimore to see it? I still consider it important, however, and note the list and link here.

The link here goes to their review, not the Boswell website.

Fiction first...

American Rust, by Philipp Meyer. Reviewed by Ron Charles. It's Steinbeckian! The paperback comes out on Tuesday, January 10th.

A Gate at the Stairs, by Lorrie Moore. Reviewed by Ron Charles. This is a mix of regular critics and guest reviewers.

The Museum of Innocence, by Orhan Pamuk. Reviewed by Marie Arana, a critic at large who used to work for the Book World. I like their bottom-of-the-review links, which look like a sort of Olympic literary flag.

The Stalin Epigram, by Robert Littell. Reviewed by Patrick Anderson. Anderson writes the Monday Thrillers review.

Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel. Reviewed by Wendy Smith. Much said elsewhere. Embarrassed not to have read it, but at this point, can quote enough recs and prizes that I do not have to.

Now nonfiction...

Family Properties: Race, Real Estate, and the Exploitation of Black Urban America, by Beryl Satter. Reviewed by David J. Garrow.

Oddly enough, though the book is mostly set in Chicago, and the author appeared at the Chicago Printer's Row Book Fair, it doesn't look like the Chicago Tribune reviewed it.

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. Reviewed by Carolyn See. Oops, this reminds of something I have to follow up on...no comment.

Pop: A Life of Louis Armstrong, by Terry Teachout. Reviewed by Louis Bayard. We did very well with this, and both my brother-in-law and my friend-customer Eric are reading it (or since I haven't talked to either of late, they might have read it already).

Stitches: A Memoir, by David Small. Reviewed by Michael Sims. Many fans at Boswell.

A Strange Eventful History: The Dramatic Lives of Ellen Terry, Henry Irving, and Their Remarkable Families, by Michael Holroyd. Reviewed by Michael Dirda.

Here is the full list. Did each editor get a pick or was this consensus? If the latter, how many folks had to read the Holroyd? It seemed a bit obscure to me.