I managed to read three more books before the clock turns over to a new year:

Sam Savage has taken an actual event in Boston’s history – the demolishing of Scollay Square in the 1960s, and salvaged bits and pieces of that period to create something unbelievable – a believable world with a rat as its narrator. Firmin is the story of a rat who, thanks to being the runt of the litter, is forced to wean himself on the pages of books from a old used bookstore, where his alcoholic, overweight mother has taken residence to birth her litter. I wouldn’t expect a rat to instill much empathy in me, but Firmin does. His loneliness is so all-encompassing at times, the daydream lives he creates to allay the boredom and loneliness, his inability to belong in either the rat world or the human one, gives him a humanity that eclipses his rodent body. An original, evocative work with a unique antihero.

When I was a kid, one of my favorite books was Bluenose Ghosts. When I stumbled across a similar-sounding book for my home province of Newfoundland several months ago, I was reminded of that earlier book and managed to get my hands on a copy via BookCrossing. Wonderful Strange is a collection of stories from around Newfoundland and Labrador dealing with ghosts, fairies, phantom ships and more. I was disappointed in the quality of the stories; however, hoping and expecting that Newfoundland’s rocky shores would offer up much more tantalizing and spooky fare than this book delivered. But, I think that’s the fault of the writer – and my expectations for the book – not the province. I was interested in hearing about parts of the province with which I’m familiar, like Holyrood, Heart’s Content and Witless Bay, and such creepy and new-to-me topics as Cressie and the Old Hag, but I felt most of the stories were too superficial, and did not live up to the title of the book. I think perhaps the problem lies in that the author is a professional ghostwalk tour operator, not a folklorist, and that is how the book reads, as one after another of those hokey bits of story that the tour guide divulges with a wink and a nod. A disappointment, but I’m still keen to get his other book, Haunted Shores and see how it compares. And this gets one more book off my Canadian Book Challenge, Eh? list.

Lying Awake by Mark Salzman is the first selection for my church book club for 2008, and I deliberately chose the shortest book for our first month, since the holidays keep everyone so busy, and in fact, I was able to read the book in its entirety last night in less than two hours. It’s the story of a nun in a California Carmelite monastery who experiences wonderful visions from God. Or so she believes, until a medical diagnosis shatters all that she had come to know as true. In short, simple prose, Salzman cuts to the heart of this woman’s pain and turmoil, as she must decide which path to take. It is not only Sister John’s thoughts, her doubts and fears, that make this book so compelling, and such a rich reading experience, but also the devotion of the other nuns, to God and one another. It’s amazing that in so few pages, Salzman can give such a powerful glimpse into these women’s lives.

And with that, my book tally for 2007 is 50, almost half of what I read in 2006. Here’s the rundown, with links to the original posts for each. I’ve bolded my ‘top ten’ which I expected to be easier since I didn’t read that many books this year, but it wasn’t!

Come Closer ~ Sara Gran
The Book Thief ~ Markus Zusak
Shooting the Boh ~ Tracy Johnston
Slammerkin ~ Emma Donoghue
The Last Days of Dogtown ~ Anita Diamant
The Ruins ~ Scott Smith
The Stolen Child ~ Keith Donohue
The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop ~ Lewis Buzbee
Minotaur ~ Barbara Vine
Maisie Dobbs ~ Jacqueline Winspear
Eclipse and New Moon ~ Stephanie Meyer
A Brief History of the Dead ~ Kevin Brockmeier
In the Forest ~ Edna O’Brien
Grayson ~ Lynne Cox
My Year of Meats ~ Ruth L. Ozeki
The Changeling of Finnistuath ~ Kate Horsley
The Kitchen Boy ~ Robert Alexander
The Keep ~ Jennifer Egan
The Uses of Enchantments ~ Heidi Julavits
Road Song ~ Natalie Kusz
The Night Watch ~ Sarah Waters
Praying for Sheetrock ~ Melissa Fay Greene
The Devil in the White City ~ Erik Larson
Behind the Scenes at the Museum ~ Kate Atkinson
A Gracious Plenty ~ Sheri Reynolds
Ecology of a Cracker Childhood ~ Janisse Ray
The Mermaids Singing ~ Lisa Carey
In a Sunburned Country ~ Bill Bryson
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows ~ JK Rowling
The Glass Castle ~ Jeannette Walls
Keeping House ~ Ellen Baker
Alias Grace ~ Margaret Atwood
The Water Will Hold You ~ Lindsey Crittenden
Sixpence House ~ Paul Collins
Waiting for Daisy ~ Peggy Orenstein
Jane-Emily ~ Patricia Clapp
Speak Softly, She Can Hear ~ Pam Lewis
Eat, Pray, Love ~ Elizabeth Gilbert
Evensong ~ Gail Godwin
Pope Joan ~ Donna Woolfolk Cross
Eclipse ~ Stephanie Meyer
The Ghost Orchid ~ Carol Goodman
Triangle ~ Katharine Weber
The Tea Rose ~ Jennifer Donnelly
The Year of Living Biblically ~ AJ Jacobs
The Long Run ~ Leo Furey
Firmin ~ Sam Savage
Wonderful Strange ~ Dale Jarvis
Lying Awake ~ Mark Salzman

Here’s to a great 2008 – surrounded by friends, family and books! Happy New Year, Everyone!