Perilous Admission: Feeling Slightly Nauseous
So...after more than nine months of reading for The Weird, Steampunk Reloaded, and other projects, I'm officially sick of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Some parts of it make me more physically ill than others. I can still read weird, or certain types of it, but at the moment, I can't read steampunk without feeling nauseous. For real--like, I feel ill. It's just a function of being force-fed so much of it, and it'll fade, but it's clearly time for a change.What am I reading over the rest of the year, beyond what I need to check out for the Amazon book blog?Well, the Europa editions are gonna help a great deal. I bought most of them at a bookstore on the Sunset Strip last year on my Finch book tour, because they'd thoughtfully put all the Europas in the same place. This stuff is a nice blend of noir, nonfiction, and mainstream literary fiction. It'll stop that barfy feeling for sure.There's also something truly marvelous and cleansing about their approach to cover design.They're kind of the antithesis of another translation line I like a lot--the books put out by Dalkey, which take a minimalistic approach to their covers. But one thing about Europa I love that trumps Dalkey--their spines stand out on bookstore shelves. And they're not afraid to take some pulp-lit and publish it.In addition to the Europa editions, I was thrilled to discover a newish collection by Claire Keegan in our used bookstore today. I think she's a terrific short story writer.Never read any of Jane Smiley's fiction, so I thought I'd give it a go. Never read any Anthony Powell, either. That there is also the last Robertson Davies I haven't read, so I thought I'd uncork it this fall and finish him off.Lots of other stuff will doubtless enter the mix, but that's some of it.Please tell me I'm not alone in being omnivoracious?