Asymmetry by Lisa Halliday

... because of his association with Edward Said, who of course before he died wrote an essay on late style-- the notion that an awareness of one's life, and therefore one's artistic contribution coming to an end affects an artist's style, whether by imbuing it with a sense of resolution and serenity or with intransigence, difficulty, contradiction.

Crane: an artist is nothing but a powerful memory that can move itself at will through certain experiences sideways.

The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne

The Twelve by Justin Cronin

Part two in his trilogy.  I took a LOT of time off between reading the first monumental installment, THE PASSAGE.  And it was nice returning to the time of the Virals.