A very short list, as I was busily entertaining a semi-permanent houseguest (and former roommate). Not much time for reading, as it was mostly devoted to talking and being ridiculous.

The Age of Innocence, by Edith Wharton The first Wharton I’ve read. I was expecting a mannered, kind of fussy detailing of upper-class twits, but was delightfully surprised by Wharton’s ease with language and sly jabs at the moneyed classes of Manhattan. She, like Austen, is very good at the the highly literate backhanded compliment. Beautiful, perfect ending as well.

Lightning Rods, by Helen Dewitt I was anticipating this book somewhat eagerly, after having heard so much praise for Dewitt’s Last Samurai. I was a little disappointed—it didn’t seem as sharply satirical, or as funny, as I wanted it to be. There needed to be more muscle behind those cuts, and more jokes in general to make it pop.