"Say You're One of Them" by Uwem Akpan

It took me years to finish this book of short stories because it was an emotionally difficult read. It gives a realistic account of the misery and the atrocities experienced by children in modern Africa. The writer is now a Jesuit priest in Africa, and as far as I can tell, this is the only thing he has written. I bought this book in a sales bin, because I remembered that it had been chosen by Oprah Winfrey for her book club. I'm glad I read it.

"The Manganese's Inheritance" by Brian Moore

This was definitely an odd book, and for the most part, I'd say it wasn't a good book. It was filled with so much useless exposition and description, that I ended up skipping over much of it. I did enjoy the final part, where the "loser" poet met his incestuous look-alike uncle and saw his own sad future, .... obsessing over a poet ancestor, who was really not that great. Much of the book takes place in Ireland, but not from an enjoyable point of view.

"Come Along with Me" by Shirley Jackson

This collection contains an unfinished novel, and Jackson's famous short story. "The Lottery." I enjoyed the book, though sometimes one gets tired of her grimness. The comical stories about her home life were a welcome relief. A fair number of stories made me quite grateful I wasn't a homemaker during the 1950's. I would have died of boredom and a feeling of imprisonment.

"The Redbreast" by Jo Nesbo

These Harry Hole books are definitely improving as they progress in the series. I took a pause of several days in reading this one, because I was very sad about the murder of Ellen, Harry's great friend in the police force. I figure Nesbo got rid of her to make way for Rakel, Harry's love interest.

"Beloved" by Toni Morrison

I guess I'm glad I read this book, but it wasn't the gothic horror story I expected. It was more a story about the horrible mistreatment of slaves in the US and the psychological toll it took on them. Thankfully for readability, it also described their coping mechanisms for survival.

"House of Seven Gables" by Nathaniel Hawthorne

I enjoyed this book, probably more so because it was not what I expected. I thought it would be a dark and gloomy gothic novel. Instead, I found Hawthorne to have a light touch, and to be quite modern in his thinking. It is never explicitly stated in the novel that the ghosts actually exist. They are described more as flights of fancy. As far as I can tell, the movies based on this book have been overwrought.

"Norse Mythology" by Neil Gaiman

This was an enjoyable book which, in a few instances, made me laugh. The Norse gods are finally becoming concrete to me. It's amazing. Gods and Giants and structures are described in unbelievably huge proportions, and yet, in my mind, they're totally believable. I guess that’s the magic of myths.