Very happy to see The Painting and the City on Locus magazine’s 2009 Recommended Reading List. Nothing of mine has made the list since In Springdale Town in 2003.

I would have liked to see some other books on there, Marly Youman’s Val/Orson for novella, and Sebastíen Doubinsky’s The Babylonian Trilogy under one of the novel categories…is it fantasy…science fiction…? The list is put together by Locus staff and reviewers “with inputs from outside reviewers, other professionals, other lists, etc.” A work has to receive at least two nominations to make the list. Reviewers generally only have time to read the books that they are reviewing, so if Locus gives a book one review, and the staff and other reviewers don’t read a particular book (or some read it and don’t find it worth recommending), then it takes the outside input to provide the other recommendations. Paul Witcover recommended The Babylonian Trilogy on his blog (and presumably in the magazine as well), but there obviously wasn’t a second vote, which is a shame because it’s a book that deserves more attention.