Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey

This book is about the improbable romance between the son of a dissenting minister and an Australian heiress who invests in a glass factory. Oscar Hopkins believes in gambling of a certain type--but won't allow himself to profit from it--at a very young age. Indeed, he uses a game of chance to determine that his father is incorrect on certain religious tenets and therefore becomes an Anglican minister. Lucinda Leplastrier is also a gambler of a sort--she invests half of her inheritance in a glass factory despite no background in the industry. They meet while traveling from England to Australia, and together concoct a plan to construct a glass church in the heart of the Outback. I really enjoyed this book--I thought the character development was superb--both Oscar and Lucinda are quirky, flawed individuals. Despite the improbabilities of the plot, Carey has constructed two characters who feel human. Winner of the 1988 Booker Prize.

Sweetness and Power: The Place of Sugar in Modern History by Sidney W. Mintz

This book presents a history of sugar. While in some ways I found it to be somewhat Anglo-centric, it was a really fascinating account of the rise of sugar as a form of food. It's Mintz's contention that sugar and the patterns of consumption that surround it are not accidental or arbitrary, but instead the result of larger economic patterns. I found the production and eating and being chapters particularly helpful--Mintz talks about the way that sugar's chemical properties (especially in preserving food) and its historical circumstances have changed the way we eat--and thus the way that we relate to each other. This book is really remarkable.

Linthead Stomp: The Creation of Country Music in the Piedmont South by Patrick Huber

This book contends that the relationship between the increasing industrialization of the South (through cotton mills) and hillbilly music, one of the forerunners of modern country music, has not yet been adequately theorized. Through readings of the careers (and notable songs) of five hillbilly musicians, Huber attempts to correct that picture and show the influence of industrialization and the cotton mill on music of this type. Huber provides both biography, some sociological background (although I suspect there are better places to turn for straight sociology on the mills), and some reading of the music itself. I think the book works pretty well. I wanted an accompanying CD so I could *hear* what Huber was talking about, but he did quote lyrics, and provide a lot of photographs. I really enjoyed learning more about this music, and have been looking up the songs on Youtube and iTunes.

New York: the Novel by Edward Rutherfurd

This book presents a long view of the history of New York by telling parts of the stories of several fictional families. I learned a lot about the city and a lot about various parts of history. I thought the book was especially good on the colonial period, the Revolutionary War, and the Civil War draft riots. While the city remains the main character, I thought the book spent too much time on upper class characters generally--they tended to be better developed and to occupy a greater part of narrative time. All in all, a book well worth the read.

Nice Work by David Lodge

This book gets at the differences between the academy and industry. Set in Rummidge, like Changing Places and Small World, and featuring a few returning characters, Nice Work also gives a great send-up of academia. Although this book is not as original as its predecessors, it's still funny and it has a great plot. Booker shortlisted, 1988.