Just finished a slew of books - all good ones. Here's the highlights:

Lost Mountain by Erik Reece. I first heard about Reece from Orion magazine and I was really back and forth on whether or not I wanted to review a book on coal mining in Kentucky. It's a very worthy subject but such a sad and depressing one and sometimes I just get overwhelmed by the intense nature of the books I read. (Afghanistan alone is enough to drive me insane.) But a responsible reviewer writes about responsible subjects and I'm so glad I requested this book. It is outstanding but very intense - you follow Reece as he watches a mountain (literally named "Lost Mountain"), be destroyed by strip mining. He also talks to a host of people in Eastern Kentucky whose lives have been made a living hell by the industry. I'm hoping to interview Reece and also Jeff Goodell (author of Big Coal) for Bookslut later this summer. Lost Mountain is a fascinating, very well written, and extremely important book. If you are using electricity then you must read it, period.

Come Closer by Sara Gran. I'm hoping to ask Gran a few questions about her book for Voices of NOLA. It is not set in Louisiana, but Gran lives in NOLA, so I'm reviewing the book for that site. It's about demonic possession, but not really a horror book. It's more a psychological study of one woman and the slippery slope she falls down on when a demon comes to stay. But who is worse in this story - who is more to blame - is a question left very much up in the air at the end. Very very interesting writing and it impressed me a great deal. (The publicist who sent it had a sticky note with "Read with lights on!" stuck to the cover!)

Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers. This came off my TBR pile and was a nice accompaniment to the YA novel, Gods in Winter. They both have that British thing going on, Sayers has it big time, and was so delightful to read. It was interesting in Gaudy Night how the questions about women and work vs family came up so much - especially when you consider that it was written so long ago. It's a big mystery/novel of manners and what a great read. I've seen it recommended absolutely forever and just enjoyed the heck out of it.

Right now I'm reading Leonardo Padura's Havana Black and planning to write about it in conjunction with Shaman Pass and the Fat Man's Daughter - they all have nailed down so effectively that sense of place that really good, well written mysteries seem to excel at. I have no idea "whodunnit" or why in Havana, but I'm enjoying the investigation a great deal. (And oh - do I ever have a soft spot for Cuban authors. It's all that childhood curiosity about the country finally having an outlet.)

Two new catalogs today and assorted other bookish fun. More on that later............