Upcoming plans

I've been rather quiet on the review front the past couple of weeks, but expect a few reviews in the coming weeks, including at least one and probably two that will be links only. Also, if things fall according to plan, there might be a Spanish-language review of a highly-anticipated release as well (don't worry, there'll be a link to the English-language version if I have the time to pull these off).

In addition, there are a few books that I want to comment at length here and perhaps I'll do so in a more relaxed, less formal format. These include Toby Barlow's Sharp Teeth, a dual review of Isamu Fukui's Truancy and Cory Doctorow's Little Brother, as well as a look at Scott Bakker's upcoming Neuropath, which I first read as an electronic draft over two years ago. And if I'm lucky, I'll have some comments on Michael Chabon's Nebula-winning The Yiddish Policemen's Union as well as a brief look at the Clarke Award finalists that I will have read by next week (Steven Hall, Ken MacLeod, and perhaps Sarah Hall).

Plus there'll doubtless be a few capsule reviews and commentaries and maybe a few surprises as well. Oh, and that giveaway I was contemplating...I'll start that next week, I hope (or whenever my refund deposit is made).

But in the meantime, let me just reiterate a prior conclusion of mine: Italo Calvino is a damn fine novelist and satirist and reading his The Nonexistent Knight/The Cloven Viscount after reading Ariosto's Orlando Furioso the week before was just serendipitous in its timing. I cannot recommend this book high enough, especially for those who are burned out on the hero spake this and/or slew that. Good shit, that.

Also, I am currently reading Isabel Allende's memoirs, La suma de los días, and her mixture of brutal honesty in the face of familial stress and storytelling ability is making for a read that is near the equal of her finest novels. It was just released in English earlier this week as The Sum of Our Days and I highly recommend this to those who are fans of her writing or those who are curious to know more about this wonderful author. I'm aiming to finish it tonight, so time to hit Publish Post and go do just that.