Julián Rios, Larva: Midsummer Night's Babel (1983)

Julián Rios (1941- ) is a Spanish novelist, but that is also the name of a prolific pornographic actor. I find this extremely appropriate and great, given the concerns here. One of novelist-Rios' other books is called La Vida sexual de las palabras (The Sex Life of Words), which...yup.

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Toni Morrison, Song of Solomon (1977)

I was wondering, somewhat guiltily: is this really the first book I've ever read by a black female author? And then I remembered, no, there's Their Eyes Were Watching God. But somehow, the fact that I've read one other almost makes it worse--like, it really emphasizes the limits of my reading. The same way having a single person sitting in an auditorium for an event makes it seem more deserted than if literally no one was there. I mean, there's no point in denying it: ethnic and gender diversity is a real weak spot in my reading habits. I'm honestly not sure I'm actually going to do anything about that, but it's still to be deplored.

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