My own reading lately has been a little more mainstream. Even though they may not fit into the mandate of the SF Site, here are a couple of books I can highly recommend, both touching on the theme of the ineffability of reality:

• The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana by Umberto Eco (Harcourt, illustrated hc, 469 pages, May 2005, USA & Canada)
      The narrator of this novel has suffered some kind of incident (presumably a stroke) which has robbed him of his memories. But only the memories pertaining to his own life; he still remembers everything he's read. When his family and friends tell him about himself, it's like they're speaking of a stranger. In an effort to find out more about himself, he tries to reconstruct his life by the books that influenced his former life. He secludes himself in his childhood home and re-reads everything he finds there -- comic books, war propaganda, novels, letters -- in an effort to find out who he really is. But how far can words and pictures go towards replicating a life? And how different are they from actual memory? Which is more valid? This novel merits some serious meditation; I think it's one of Eco's best.

• Arthur & George by Julian Barnes (Jonathan Cape, cloth hc, 360 pages, 2005, UK)
      This is a fictionalized account of historical events that took place about a century ago. The Arthur of the title, you will soon discover (so this isn't much of a spoiler) is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and George is someone you'll probably only have heard of if you know a great deal about Doyle's life or a fair bit about British legal reform in the early part of the 20th century. The lives of these two men are radically different and only entwine briefly, but in such a way that neither man could ever forget their encounter. The story is laid out is clean, elegant prose, showing the stories of the two protagonists in alternating chapters. The many complex issues in this novel -- belief, reality, justice, racism, to name a few -- are handled and presented with seeming ease and true grace. It isn't hard to understand why Arthur & George has been shortlisted for the Booker.

(Books are listed alphabetically by author. Only books received are noted.)

SF Site Review of Book 2, Prisoner of the Iron Tower

Rabid Transit: Menagerie edited by Christopher Barzak, Alan DeNiro, Kristin Livdahl
Velocity Press (perfect bound chapbook, 92 pages)
Publication date: May 2005, USA
    Original stories by Vandana Singh, Matthew Cheney, Dean Francis Alfar, James Allison, Rudi Dornemann, and Eric Rickstad.

Numbers Don't Lie by Terry Bisson
Tachyon (trade, 176 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): December 2005, USA

War Surf by M.M. Buckner
Ace (mm, 375 pages)
Publication date: 6 September 2005, USA & Canada

Alone With the Horrors by Ramsey Campbell
Tor (trade, 448 pages)
Publication date: 10 September 2005, USA & Canada
SF Site Review

The Ghost From the Grand Banks by Arthur C. Clarke
Gollancz (mm, 275 pages)
Publication date: August 2005, UK

Dark Adeptus by Ben Counter
Warhammer 40,000, Black Library (mm, 416 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): 2 January 2006, USA & UK

The Shadow City poems by Gary William Crawford
Naked Snake Press (chapbook, 30 pages)
Publication date: July 2005, USA

X and Y and Other Like Stories by Heidi Cyr
RedJack (mm, 180 pages)
Publication date: September 2005, USA

Fantastic Companions edited by Julie E. Czerneda
Fitzhenry & Whiteside (trade, 406 pages)
Publication date: 2005, Canada & USA
    Original stories by Daniel Archambault, John C. Bunnell, Janet Elizabeth Chase, Doranna Durgin, Sarah Jane Elliott, Jim C. Hines, Catherine Dybiec Holm, Mindy L. Klasky, Jay Lake, Fran LaPlaca, John Mierau, Devon Monk, Ruth Nestvold, Jane Carol Petrovich, Kent Pollard, Wen Spencer, Matt Walker, K.D. Wentworth, and Janny Wurts.

Migration: Species Imperative, Book 2 by Julie E. Czerneda
DAW (hc, 453 pages)
Publication date: May 2005, USA & Canada
SF Site Review of Book 1, Survival

Pilgrim: The Wayfarer Redemption, Book 5 by Sara Douglass
Tor (hc, 544 pages)
Publication date: 30 September 2005, USA & Canada
SF Site Review of Book 3, Starman

Galileo's Children: Tales of Science vs. Superstition edited by Gardner Dozois
Pyr, Prometheus Books (hc, 346 pages)
Publication date: 23 August 2005, USA
    Stories by Ursula K. Le Guin, Keith Roberts, George R.R. Martin, Robert Silverberg, Edgar Pangborn, Chris Lawson, Brendan DuBois, James Alan Gardner, Arthur C. Clarke, Paul Park, James Tiptree Jr., Mike Resnick, and Greg Egan.
SF Site Review

A Wizard Abroad: Young Wizards, Book 4 by Diane Duane
Magic Carpet Books, Harcourt (trade, 356 pages)
Publication date: 2005, USA & Canada

The Wizard's Dilemma: Young Wizards, Book 5 by Diane Duane
Magic Carpet Books, Harcourt (trade, 422 pages)
Publication date: 2005, USA & Canada

A Wizard Alone: Young Wizards, Book 6 by Diane Duane
Magic Carpet Books, Harcourt (trade, 334 pages)
Publication date: 2005, USA & Canada

Wizards at War: Young Wizards, Book 8 by Diane Duane
Harcourt (hc, 552 pages)
Publication date: 2005, USA & Canada

Flight of the Night Hawks: Darkwar, Book 1 by Raymond E. Feist
Voyager, HarperCollins (hc, 420 pages)
Publication date: 17 October 2005, UK

Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
William Morrow (hc, 336 pages)
Publication date: September 2005, USA & Canada

Mirrormask by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Dave McKean
HarperCollins (hc, 80 pages)
Publication date: 2005, USA & Canada
    For readers 10 and up.

Mirrormask: The Illustrated Film Script of the Motion Picture from the Jim Henson Company by Neil Gaiman & Dave McKean
William Morrow, HarperCollins (hc, 335 pages)
Publication date: 2005, USA & Canada

The Ordinary by Jim Grimsley
Tor (trade, 368 pages)
Publication date: 7 October 2005, USA
SF Site Review

Stamping Butterflies by Jon Courtenay Grimwood
Gollancz (trade, 425 pages)
Publication date: October 2005, UK
    First published in hardcover in 2004, this novel made my personal Top 10 list for last year. -- nw

9Tail Fox by Jon Courtenay Grimwood
Gollancz (hc, 336 pages)
Publication date: 20 October 2005, UK

Knife of Dreams: The Wheel of Time, Book 11 by Robert Jordan
Tor (hc, 784 pages)
Publication date: 11 October 2005, USA & Canada
SF Site Review of Book 10, The Crossroad of Twilights

Freedom's Apprentice: The Dead Rivers Trilogy, Book 2 by Naomi Kritzer
Bantam Spectra (mm, 357 pages)
Publication date: May 2005, USA & Canada

Pure by Karen Krossing
Second Story Press (trade, 245 pages)
Publication date: October 2005, Canada / February 2006, USA
    A YA novel about illegal genetic experiments.

Flaming London by Joe R. Lansdale
Subterranean Press (cloth hc, 177 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): 29 December 2005, USA

Talyn by Holly Lisle
Tor (hc, 524 pages)
Publication date: 25 August 2005, USA & Canada

The House of Cthulhu: Tales of the Primal Land, Book 1 by Brian Lumley
Tor (hc, 254 pages)
Publication date: 1 September 2005, USA

Harry Keogh: Necroscope and Other Weird Heroes by Brian Lumley
Tor (trade, 319 pages)
Publication date: 16 September 2005, USA & Canada
    Short fiction, new and old, featuring Harry Keogh, vampire killer, Titus Crow, psychic detective, and David Hero & Eldin the Wanderer, formerly men of the waking world, now agents for King Kuranes in the Dreamlands.

Screaming Science Fiction: Horrors From Out of Space by Brian Lumley
Subterranean Press (hc, 166 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): 6 February 2006, USA

Tides by Scott Mackay
Pyr, Prometheus Books (hc, 340 pages)
Publication date (forthcoming): November 2005, USA

The Dark Mirror: The Bridei Chronicles, Book 1 by Juliet Marillier
Tor (hc, 512 pages)
Publication date: 17 August 2005, USA & Canada

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
Megan Tingley Books, Little, Brown & Co. (hc, 498 pages)
Publication date: September 2005, USA & Canada
    YA vampire romance.

Silverheart: A Novel of the Multiverse by Michael Moorcock & Storm Constantine
Pyr, Prometheus Books (hc, 485 pages)
Publication date: 20 September 2005, USA

Haunting Fireside Stories: Ghostly Tales of the Paranormal by A.S. Mott
Ghost House Books (trade, 200 pages)
Publication date: September 2005, USA & Canada

Scary Movies: Behind the Scenes Stories, Reviews, Biographies, Anecdotes, History & Lists by A.S. Mott
Ghost House Books (trade, 200 pages)
Publication date: September 2005, USA & Canada

Splintered Icon by Bill Napier
St. Martin's Press (mm, 360 pages)
Publication date: September 2005, USA

Arts Unknown: The Life & Art of Lee Brown Coye by Luis Oritz
Nonstop Press (hc, 175 pages)
Publication date: September 2005, USA

Thud by Terry Pratchett
HarperCollins (hc, 373 pages)
Publication date: 1 October 2005, UK

The Life of Sigmar: Being the Epic Tale of the Warrior-God Sigmar, and the Founding of the Empire by Matt Ralphs
Black Library (hc)
Publication date (forthcoming): December 2005, USA & Canada

Dogs of Truth by Kit Reed
Tor (trade, 286 pages)
Publication date: 1 September 2005, USA & Canada

Wired for Chaos by Brett L. Renwick
Creation Books (trade, 288 pages)
Publication date: 2005, USA & UK

The Snow by Adam Roberts
Gollancz (mm, 360 pages)
Publication date: August 2005, UK
SF Site Review

The Child Garden by Geoff Ryman
SF Masterworks #61, Gollancz (trade, 388 pages)
Publication date: September 2005, UK
    First published in 1989.

Zanesville by Kris Saknussemm
Villard, Random House (trade, 485 pages)
Publication date: 18 October 2005, USA & Canada

River Rats by Caroline Stevermer
Magic Carpet Books, Harcourt (mm, 305 pages)
Publication date: 1996, reprinted 2005
    For readers 12 and up.

The Marriage of Virtue and Viciousness: Vampire the Requiem, Book 3 by Greg Stolze
White Wolf (mm, 288 pages)
Publication date: July 2005, USA

Premonitions and Psychic Warnings: Real Stories of Haunting Predictions by Edrick Thay
Ghost House Books (trade, 192 pages)
Publication date: September 2005, USA & Canada

The First Heroes: New Tales of the Bronze Age edited by Harry Turtledove & Noreen Doyle
Tor (trade, 368 pages)
Publication date: 16 August 2005, USA & Canada
SF Site Review

Onyalum Retribution by N.B. Van Yoos
Authorhouse (trade, 395 pages)
Publication date: 28 July 2005, USA

A Shadow Over Heaven's Eye: Exalted, Book 5 by Tim Waggoner
White Wolf (mm, 288 pages)
Publication date: July 2005, USA

Midshipwizard Halcyon Blight by James M. Ward
Tor (hc, 288 pages)
Publication date: 15 September 2005, USA & Canada

Science Fiction Quotations edited by Gary Westfahl
Yale University Press (trade, 461 pages)
Publication date: 10 October 2005, USA

Book of Enchantments by Patricia C. Wrede
Magic Carpet Books, Harcourt (mm, 235 pages)
Publication date: 2005, USA & Canada
    10 fantasy tales for readers 10 and up. First published in 1996.

The Pit Dragon Chronicles, Volumes 1-3 by Jane Yolen
Harcourt (3-volume mm in box set)
Publication date: 2005, USA & Canada
    Includes the titles Dragon's Blood, Heart's Blood and A Sending of Dragons.

Magazines

Cthulhu Sex, #21, Vol. 2, USA & Canada
Contributors to this issue include: Eric Pape, Wrath James White, Nancy Jackson, Alex S. Johnson, C.B. Calsing, Karen L. Newman, John Bruni, Arthur Cullipher, Dana Wakefield, Mark McLaughlin, Kurt Strouse, Greg Schwartz, Benjamin X. Wretlind, Carmine, David Hensler, Dominae, Baron Vanivar, Patrick Thomas.

Electric Velocipede, #9, Fall 205, USA
Contributors to this issue include: Hal Duncan, Mark Rich, Mark W. Tiedemann, Jay Caselberg, Jonathan Laden, Anna Tambour, Neil Williamson, Jason Erik Lundberg.

Fantasy & Science Fiction, September 2005, USA & Canada
Contributors to this issue include: Kelly Link, David Gerrold, Richard Mueller, Carter Scholz, Arthur Porges, Albert E. Cowdrey, Bruce Sterling, David Gerrold.

Fantasy & Science Fiction, October/November 2005, USA & Canada
Contributors to this issue include: Paolo Bacigalupi, Matthew Hughes, Peter S. Beagle, Esther M. Friesner, Joe Haldeman, Dale Bailey, Terry Bisson, Gene Wolfe, Jaye Lawrence, Steven Utley, Elizabeth Hand, Jeffrey Ford.

Fantasy & Science Fiction, December 2005, USA & Canada
Contributors to this issue include: Delia Sherman, Geoff Ryman, Sydney J. Van Scyoc, Allen M. Steele, Robert Reed, Gardner Dozois, Alan Dean Foster, Ron Goulart.

Interzone, #200, October 2005, UK
Contributors to this issue include: Jason Stoddard, Rudy Rucker, Will McIntosh, David Mace, Edward Morris, Alaya Dawn Johnson.

Not One of Us, #34, September 2005, USA & UK
Contributors to this issue include: Sonya Taaffe, Patricia J. Esposito, Patricia Russo, Mark Steensland, Harold Torger Vedeler, Lila Garrott, Eric Marin, Lee Clark Zumpe, Kristine Ong Muslim, Mike Allen, Kent Kruse, Jennifer Gomoll, Karen R. Porter.