A very satisfying year in books. Below, my favorite reads. The Association of Small Bombs, by Karan Mahajan Characters linked by the devastation of a bomb set in a crowded marketplace. They grow up and old in surprising, unsettling ways.     Christodora, by Tim Murphy A sprawling read set in lower Manhattan, 1970’s to

Unexpected book grief. Ian McEwan’s “Solar” is that rare thing: a wickedly funny satire about science featuring a wholly unlikeable main character. I loved every page of it. When we first meet Michael Beard he’s 53 and fat, a Nobel-prize winning physicist riding the high-fee, high-calorie lecture circuit. His (fifth!) marriage is in shambles and

  Bliss: three weeks off the grid at our home within Club Lac Pythonga in Quebec. Few bugs, hot sun, lake water the perfect temperature for swimming. I kayaked, practiced yoga outdoors, gazed at stars, visited with friends. So much time and quiet, a good place to write and read. I finished the fourth and