What I’ve been reading

1. Andrea Wulf, The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt’s New World.  Haven’t I read too many recent books about him already?  Well, this is the best one and will make my “best of the year” list.  Now if we could only have a renaissance of interest in his brother, Wilhelm von Humboldt…

2. James Shapiro, The Year of Lear: Shakespeare in 1606.  What was the political and social setting in which Lear was composed?  Recommended, substantive throughout with hardly a wasted page.

3. Pallavi Aiyar, New Old World: An Indian Journalist Discovers the Changing Face of Europe.  I’ve been waiting for a book like this to be written, and now it exists.  It’s fun, and full of good humor.

4. Eka Kurniawan, Beauty is a Wound.  It’s been called the Garcia Marquez of Indonesia, and it is one of the country’s classic novels, newly translated into English.  Here is a good NYT review.