Post-apocalypse stuff is almost always a no go (I only made it through half of season one of Battlestar Gallactica, and while I loved World War Z, I almost couldn’t do it. I KNOW. ZOMBIES. Sigh.).

Well, I’m through four of them so far, and while I do wish there were some less sad books on the list, I’ll probably read most of them but the ones I mentioned.

What does your friend read in non-fiction? Sometimes I find that more depressing than dark fiction. Elizabeth Kolbert’s three parter in the New Yorker on the environment (The Climate of Man) a couple of years ago put me in a bad funk that winter. I pretty much never read her bylines anymore.

Kate, if you only are going to read happy books, which on the list are you going to read; most of them look pretty dire. In addition to Everything Ravaged, Lowboy was very dark.

I have a good friend who, after the birth of her second child, no longer could tolerate sad books and movies. She reads mostly non-fiction and Wodehouse. I think it comes and goes in waves for me. I’m feeling pretty resilient now, but we’ll see after I finish some of these. Why are downer books more often deemed better than upbeat ones, ditto dramas and comedies in the movies. A good comedy is a rare gem, and they should be more widely celebrated.

Maybe I’ll read the ones you don’t plan on reading and then I can just read your reviews of the ones you read and I don’t!

But yes, for sure read Let the Great World Spin. I bought that one and was glad I did. It’s no Wolf Hall, but it was very good.

Speaking of which…book exchange soon? I’m done with Gate at the Stairs and nearly done with Anthologist (which I’m really enjoying). I hesitate to say I can get Wolf Hall to you before the Tournament opens; it’s a long read. So maybe we should exchange the ones I’m certain of while I tackle Wolf Hall? I’m also trying to finish up the Virginia Woolf read-along I’ve been involved with; one book left. And you know Woolf–she’s a quick snap of a read. Not.