Best fiction and nonfiction at The Middle Stage

I should be writing about what I am doing in Mexico - as I vaguely promised - but I really haven't had the time. A part of me insists strongly : "When you are traveling, focus on the travel, observe, talk to as many people as possible, and worry about collecting your thoughts later." And so I haven't gotten down to writing anything. But just to orient readers, I am in the southern state of Chiapas, which borders Gautemala.

Let me also use this opportunity to say Happy New Year to all my readers.

I do have something else to share. I've written earlier about Chandrahas Choudhury of the The Middle Stage earlier. Chandrahas is an exceptional interpreter of books and literature. And nowhere is the scale of his effort and the diversity of books he writes about more evident than in his end of the year list of best books. This year, his readers get an extra reward: a separate list for fiction and non fiction. This a great collection, and contains many books that you may not have heard of. But as you pause to read Chandrahas' notes on the books, you'll realize why they are good and how, especially in the case of non-fiction, they tell us something new.