Whew, I’ve read a lot in the past four days! I saw a copy of John Burdett’s latest in his series featuring Thai detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep titled The Godfather of Kathmandu. I couldn’t resist reading it right away. I think the first and third in the series are best, but this fourth is still worth reading. There was a finality to the end too that leads me to think the series is at an end. It’s another mystery which features the many ins and outs of mysterious Thai culture with dollops of otherworldlness tossed on top.

Then I finally sat down to read Stitches, David Small’s memoir of his awful childhood. I’d been avoiding it precisely because I didn’t want to read anything too depressing. Realizing how stupid that sounded, I gave it a go. I’m glad I did as it’s such a beautiful nuanced portrait of a truly troubled family. David Small’s website has a trailer and some of the artwork which you should check out. He captured his childhood memories with such precision, you feel like you are there. It’s truly an awesome book.

I finished this last book late last night. I’d been hearing some buzz about it from other booksellers, particularly Daniel Goldin. The book I’m talking about is Michelle Huneven’s Blame, which features Patsy, a sottish history professor who wakes up in jail one morning only to learn that she has struck and killed a mother and child while drunk driving.The accident changes her life forever. She spends several years in prison and spends the next decades seeking atonement. I found the novel incredibly compelling. What are the moral consequences of what Patsy did and how long does she have to feel to guilty about it? The story gets more complicated at the end with a twist tossed in but don’t let that put you off. It’s a remarkable novel!