The Koran

#1026
Title: The Koran
Author: Anonymous
Translator: N. J. Dawood
Publisher: Penguin
Year: 621/2004
456 pages

This is not a review of the text, but of the Audiobook reader. This is a person who cannot pronounce many words, including these frequently repeated ones: Scourge, respite, Job, God ("Gaaawd").

Season of Mists (The Sandman #4)

#1025
Title: Season of Mists (The Sandman #4)
Author: Neil Gaiman
Illustrators: Kelley Jones, Malcolm Jones III, Mike Dringenberg, Matt Wagner, Dick Giordano, George Pratt, P. Craig Russell
Publisher: Vertigo
Year: 1991/2011
192 pages

Morpheus must acknowledge and correct an old wrong, and Lucifer makes a surprising decision with entertaining ramifications.

A pissy little intro by Harlan Ellison, without whose commentary one might arguably be better off.

The Conference of the Birds

#1024
Title: The Conference of the Birds
Author: Peter Sís, Farīd al-Dīn ʻAṭṭār
Publisher: Penguin
Country: Czech Republic
Year: 2011
160 pages

Lovely use of the poem, lovely artwork, beautiful production. A great pleasure.

The typeface used, and some of the smaller illustrations, give it at times a strange resonance with Edward Gorey's work. 

The Crimson Crown (Seven Realms #4)

#1023
Title: The Crimson Crown (Seven Realms #4)
Author: Cinda Williams Chima
Publisher: Hyperion
Year: 2012
598 pages

A satisfying wrap-up of most elements in the series, though at times a little neat and convenient. Highlight for spoilers: For example, wouldn't it be better to keep a little tension at the end of the story by keeping Fiona alive?

Among Others

#1022
Title: Among Others
Author: Jo Walton
Publisher: Tor
Year: 2011
Country: Wales
302 pages

Quite a fine, funny, poignant novel that begins after the end and ends at the beginning, though the chronology is not at all disrupted. It's about development and individuation and emotions, kinds of love, and the worlds one inhabits simultaneously, including the world of books. I was pleased that the protagonist and I share some Delany in the Ace double tête-bêche editions.

The audiobook is delightfully narrated. Do yourself a favor and don't read anything about this book--the plot summaries and jacket copy misrepresent where the dramatic tension lies and spoil any number of story points that are otherwise enjoyable surprises

The Buddha and the Borderline: My Recovery from Borderline Personality Disorder through Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Buddhism, and Online Dating

#1021
Title: The Buddha and the Borderline: My Recovery from Borderline Personality Disorder through Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Buddhism, and Online Dating
Author:  Kiera Van Gelder
Publisher: New Harbinger
Year: 2010
248 pages

The author does a very good job of explaining borderline states from the inside. I enjoyed reading about how she experienced the different therapeutic approaches she tried, and hope Buddhist practice in any tradition has brought her peace.

The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice

#1020
Title: The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice
Author: Christopher Hitchens
Publisher: Verso
Year: 1995/1997
98 pages

I don't have good ways to evaluate the claims here independently, but this has the flavor of 2/3 useful and 1/6 picayune, and 1/6 churlish. I found it helpful in its elaboration of Mother Teresa's stated positions and goals (which I could verify elsewhere), which aren't what most people seem to think they were.