Cindy, I'm only about 150 pages into Fingersmith, but it seems more open in how it handles the subject of sexuality and morality. Affinity is a much darker and brooding work, more psychologically penetrating. I've also heard from friends who have read both that Fingersmith is just a bigger sort of novel, more epic in its scope. Hope that helps. It's hard not to say too much. Both books, though, contain Waters' wonderful historical detail and lush descriptions.

Finished "House of Sand and Fog" Due to a bureaucratic mistake Kathy Lazaro sees her house take
away and sold in an public auction. The buyer is Massoud Behrani, former colonel in the Persia Shah
army.
In this novel none of the characters have a real guilt, but may be litlle sins. Massoud with all his pride
and regrect for the richness lost and above all the consideration he had at his home land, Kathy with
her superficial behavior in throwing away the letters the county sent her without opening them., and
Lester a deputy officer who falls madly in love to Kathy and tries to help her.
The characters are well delineated and I liked all of them. I thought Massoud has the right to defend
what in a futur , may be will be able to give to his family a little of dignity, but also Kathy has the
right to fight for having her house back. The only one to blame was the county office tax.
While I was reading this novel , I got nervous every time the story was about to smoothe the situation
, but each time, due to a one kind of cultural incommunicability the story keeps turning worse.
Anyway I liked it and I think itÂs worth reading

Now I selected from my TBR

Ken Follet The Third Twin
Roddy Doyle Play that Thing
Michael Chabon The Final Solution
Philph Roth The Plot Against America
Graham Greene The Man Within
and I donÂt know what I Âll single out tomorrow or the day after tomorrow

grelobe

I liked House of Sand and Fog as well, Grelobe. It seemed that all the characters were victims in one way or another. It was one of those books that stayed with me for a long time after I finished it.

I've been reading like a mad woman this month since I have a huge stack of books from the library. So far I've finished:

March - Geraldine Brooks
Promise Me - Harlan Coben
CorelliÂs Mandolin - Louis de Bernieres
The March - E.L. Doctorow
At Risk - Patricia Cornwell
Dead Watch - John Sandford

And I just started The Hard Way by Lee Child, an author I truly enjoy.

I just finished Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson and enjoyed it thoroughly. It would be more accurate to say that I could scarcely put it down. There is nothing like a non-fiction book that tells a story more riveting than any novel. As usual, I discovered this book from my fellow RPers. I used to be an avid scuba diver, although I never did anything remotely resembling the dives these men did. I liked to hang out at 40-60 feet and watch the pretty fish swim by, not wriggle myself into decades-old wrecks at 200 feet. The idea of finding, exploring and literally rewriting history in order to identify ruins and remains that had lain in a wrecked submarine for 50 years is completely incredible to me - yet it really happened. Terrific book, it will be hard to follow up this one.

colorme, both March and The March were on the Pulizter short list, with the former winning. Now that you've read both, comments?

globe, I had to read Sand and Fog for a book group and it was one of the most maddening books I have ever read. The whole premise was based on faulty understanding of what would have happened in the case of the house. Then the characters actions leading to tragedy. The police officer's actions were beyond appalling and totally out of character. The writing was lovely, and it did keep my attention. But the whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth.

>The only one to blame was the county office tax.

No - they had no idea that Kathy hadn't read her mail, and it took her forever to contact them. By that time, the deal was done, with Kathy and the Iranian going at it alone.

siobhan, I have a fear of swimming since early childhood (I know how, but I rarely do), but the ocean has always fascinated me. I love books about exploring whats beneath the waves, and that one might just have to be on my summer list. BTW did you ever read Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea? Fascinating stuff.

>Both books, though, contain Waters' wonderful historical detail and lush descriptions.

georgia, that is enough to make me read the other one. And I like psychologiclly penetrating - which made Fingersmith, with its twists and turns into dark alleys, esp rewarding to read. If Affinity is even more - well, thats fine for me! Thanks. I'll be interested in what you think about Fingersmith when you finish.

Cindy, if I had been the one in charge of the Pulitzer, I would have awarded it to The March. I enjoyed March, too, but I really did feel that Doctorow's novel was superior. Geraldine Brooks does have a wonderful writing style, there's no doubt of that, but I just don't feel she deserved the Pulitzer over Doctorow.

Just finished THE DISTANT LAND OF MY FATHER. What a wonderful book. It`s story told through the eyes of the daughter, and is about her family`s life in Shanghai, and then, later, their lives Calif. Her father is her hero, but he selfishly refuses to leave China, which he loves. He lets her down many times. Later in life, after he has been expelled from China, he tries to reconcile with the daughter. He has done a lot of harm to the family, and she doesn`t trust him. It concerns her relationship with him later, when he suddenly reappears. After that, she has to deal with his death. It`s written by Bo Caldwell, and is a novel. Her characters are so vivid, it`s hard to believe it`s a fiction. I highly recommend it!

I haven't read Ship of Gold and I see the library has it - I will be sure to check it out. I think Shadow Divers would make great summer reading. Although I love swimming and water and used to love to dive, I cannot imagine doing anything remotely like what those men did.

colorme, I totally agree. The only thing I can think of is that the voters on the committee confused the titles of the books. Thats the only way I figure they would have picked hers.

Picked up Snobs by Julian Fellowes. What a fun book! I read it last summer at a friend's house, and just happened upon a copy of my own today. Started rereading, and its just as fun, even tho I know what happens in the end.

I finished The King of Lies, a remarkable first novel by John Hart. I recommend it to anyone who likes a bit of depth in their mystery stories. It was a real page-turner that kept me up until 1:30 in the morning on a weekday. Next up will be The Memory KeeperÂs Daughter by Kim Edwards, which I was able to pick up at a used bookstore today.

IÂve never been keen on audio books, but IÂm commuting a lot longer than I had before so I thought IÂd try one from the library. IÂve been listening to A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby. Wow, what a treat! The actors who are reading the story are phenomenal. Despite being a story about four people who start off wanting to commit suicide, it is a hilarious story. If youÂre at all interested in this book, I urge you to give the audio version a try. My only complaint is it the F-bomb is thrown out a bit too freely, so I have to keep my car windows rolled up when IÂm listening. I do look loony though, driving around laughing when there's no one else in the car.

I have just finished reading the latest Peter Robinson book, Piece of my Heart and I enjoyed it a lot more than the couple I read before it. I was getting fed up with DCI Banks's love life (the reason I stopped reading Patricia Cornwell) but this one had two stories which were intertwined very well and both had satisfactory outcomes.

I am now reading Death of a Red Heroine by Qiu Xiaolong. This is a police procedural set in the early 90s in Shanghai, and is interesting for both the mystery and the setting. I am having a little trouble with the rhythm of the writing, which may be a consequence of the translation, but I will certainly be finishing it. The Chief Inspector in charge of the case is a poet, but unlike James's Dalgliesh, we actually get to read some of Chen's poetry.

Venusia, I enjoyed greatly the recent Pompeii, but make no claims to its merit as literature. I liked that we had an engineer as hero, and I found fascinating the system of aquaducts and reservoirs the Romans developed. I also liked the look at their class system.

The Woman at the Washington Zoo was a book club discussion this week and I enjoyed revisiting Marjorie Williams. She was an essayist for the Washington Post and Vanity Fair who had a wonderful eye for D.C. characters and a non-judgemental wit. Recommended if you are at all a political junkie - although most was not about politics.

An email exchange between Williams and another writer in Slate years ago encouraged me to pick The Man Who Loved Children for this same bookclub - most of whom hated, hated, hated the novel. A couple of whom thought it ws the best book they had ever read. Some of that email exchange was exerpted in this collection and it was fun to remember and discuss.

Chris, are you talking about Pompeii by Robert Harris? If so, I read it last year and enjoyed it. It seems that it took a few chapters to get going, but it was a decent read and I did enjoy reading about the aquaducts. Plus, I'll never forget what happened to the one servant who didn't live up to his master's expectations. *shiver*

Re Pompeii. I'm looking more into nonfiction for this subject matter. A book published last year looks quite interesting: Pompeii: The Living City. And Rubicon, by Tom Holland, a history of the Romans which was apparently a bestseller. It's in paperback, how often does it happen that a history sell enough to get published in paperback?

Of course I've got In the Company of the Courtesan which just came in at the library and which I must pick up tomorrow. So I'll probably set aside 1599: A Year in the Life of Shakespeare to attend to it. And now I'm intrigued about Shadow Divers. It's on the shelf at the library too.

Meanwhile I read two short books this weekend, again from Hesperus Press: The Last Day of a Condemned Man by Victor Hugo and Carmen by Prosper Mérimée.

>IÂve been listening to A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby. Wow, what a treat!

I suspect listening to it might be much better than reading it. The first few pages were fun, but after that it really went down hill. I stopped reading when it suddenly turned into a group session.

Ok, I have picked out the books I want to read for my trip, but probably need to put aside a few. Comments on the following, please

>Skystone by Jack Whyte

>Socerty and Cecelia The Enchantment of the Chocolate Pot by Patricia Wrede

>Never far from nowhere by Andrea Levy

>Every light in the house burnin by Andrea Levy

>Suttree by Corman McCarthy (I've never read him. This is for a book group.

Any favs?

A great summer read is the Sigrid Undset trilogy, Kristin Lavransdatter. Facinating Nordic background

I'm reading Basta*d Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison. Seems like many of these "great" reads I've been going through lately have a certain shock value? Would these stories have been as great without these added incidents? To name a few: A Good Man is Hard to Find, Mayor of Casterbridge, Invisible Man and I'll even add Life of Pi and The Lovely Bones. Just wondering.

I've been contemplating picking up Freakonomics, so Martin let us know what you think of it.

Kathy

Blair1410, I read those books a couple of summers ago and loved them, and I wondered if anyone else had read them. I especially like the newer translation, although I can't remember the translator's name.

I found Freakanomics fascinating. One of his observations of interest to this group is that reading to one's children does not make any difference. In fact, he claims that little of what one does makes any difference, it is who one already is that influences children. Highly recommended.

I finally finished Fingersmith today, which I thought was excellent. I'll be looking for Sarah Waters' other books to read later this summer. I love how intricately she weaves her story and how you forget you are even reading because the people and places in her books seem so alive. We've talked on this board before about interesting and strong female characters in fiction (and the lack of in some cases). Waters has created some really interesting female characters, and not just because of their sexuality. These are really good books, but I think Affinity will resonate with me longer. A truly haunting novel. I'm at a loss as to what to read next these were so good.

I agree - just reading to your child will not creat instant readers. However, I disagree that parents should do nothing. Even a child who will not tend to read gets enjoyment out of being read to. If nothing else, he learns the pleasures of a book, so when he has a child who does like to read, he can be supportive. I do think, more important than reading to a child, is for the child to see the important people in her life reading, often. Is that what he means by 'it is who one already is?' Does sound like an interesting book, may need to pick it up.

Finished Black Swan Green and loved it. So different from Cloud Atlas (with an interesting connection between them)

Oh, I tossed aside Suttree from my pile. Tried to read the first few pages and realized that it just wasn't for me, esp after I glanced at a few later on and realized that the writing style is the same - overly descriptive and as gloomy as hell.

Talk about translations. I picked up Eugene Onegin, translated by Walter Arndt, in paperback last year. After a few months, the book was falling apart so I bought an Everyman's Library edition translated by Charles Johnston. In comparing some of the passages verse for verse, the meaning is often very different. That, I'm sure, is inevitable in translations of rhyme. I now wonder how "off" the translations of Pushkin's other poems, which I love, have been.

>Waters has created some really interesting female characters, and not just because of their sexuality.

Oh, I so agree. And I need to read Affinity, you are the second person who've told me that its as strong if not stronger than FS. Have you read her new one yet?

Just returned from travelling (so lots of reading time or would have been if I hadn't sat next to some very nice chatty people)... Ended up reading "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker - wow, what a book!! Powerful and extremely well written (once you get the hang of the accents).

Then read a medical autobiography about a young resident's journey to become a physician (interesting stories about the cases she worked with) and now on to "The Electric Michaelangelo" by Sarah Hall about an English tattoo artist who moves to Coney Island in the 1950's (I think). Hard going, but well written. Hoping it will pick up in the near future.

And CindyDavid - you'll have to let us know how you like the Andrea Levy books. I adored "Small Island", but haven't read any of her other works...

I finally finished the Lymond Chronicles last week, and between making a better effort on translating the various languages that are "thrown in", and having a better handle on keeping track of names/characters, found the books even more enjoyable than I remembered.
I then had to break with some lighter reads - a couple of Laurie King's Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes books. Fun, but starting to stretch the theme....
My most recent reads are more of Alan Furst's books - "Dark Voyage", and " Kingdom of Shadows". More of the short novels of the early days of WW II. Somber but absorbing stories, especially on our Memorial Day weekend.

Rosefolly - the "$64 Tomato" has been a running joke with a few friends and I - we've taken plots in the new local community garden. It's native (ie clay/lake bottom) soil - never worked, never amended. We've tilled and added bag after bag of manure and compost, and have gone for various semi-elaborate tomato enclosures...We may be up to a much more expensive harvest than we ever would've imagined!! And between that work, and laying bricks to extend a side-yard patio, my poor hands are swollen, bruised, stained and scabbed. This is the first day all weekend that I've felt that they're up to typing...

take care all
Litlbit

I just finished books 2 and 3 of the Nevada Barr series, A Superior Death and The Ill Wind. As promised, the series is getting better and better as the author "gets her sea legs". I am getting worn out of the "quick 15 minutes of reading at the kitchen counter between tasks" routine and with that comes the realization that I am ready for something more substantial to read. I'm in the mood for another Shadow Divers but I don't think that will happen. Maybe Ship of Gold will be the one. I once read a great book about living onboard a wooden sailboat called A Gypsy Life by Clare Allcard that was really really good. Again, a whole way of life I will not experience as I tend to shy away from rotting wooden boats that we repair whilst under way across the Atlantic.

Death of a Red Heroine was fascinating for me. AstroKath, I hope you enjoy it. The descriptions of everyday life in Shanghai were great. I read this book about two years ago so I don't remember all of the details.

Freakonomics was an interesting read. I don't think I'll find much need for the info on sumo wrestlers, but the book taught me that cause and affect may not be as obvious as one first thought. Fascinating. They have a second book out but I don't remember the title.

PAM

While I've been through a number of books this month, many forgettable, "A Lesson Before Dying" by Ernest Gaines was quite good. It is a fictional account of a black man in 1940's plantation-style Louisiana who is accused of being involved in the murder of a white storekeeper and is then sentenced to death. The defense attorney, in trying to keep the man from the electric chair, likens him to a hog in terms of his understanding. The protagonist, a black schoolteacher, is involved by the aunt of the condemned man in her effort to make him see his own humanity in the face of dying. Wonderful, thought--provoking reading **but ignore that this was an Oprah's pick.

Honorable mentions this month include "The Doctor's Wife" about a doctor targeted by unhinged anti-abortion activists, the afore-mentioned "The Memory Keeper's Daughter" which then turned into the book for which I am leading the discussion for my bookclub this year, and Ian McEwan's "Saturday" which has me thinking about the war in Iraq.

I have a fond spot for "The House of Sand and Fog" since that was THE book which finally spurred a friend and I to begin "our" book club nearly five years ago. We were afraid noone would attend, and instead, we've 12-14 members with very little turnover and an informal waiting list. I agree that Kathy and the Colonel were victims in their own way but Kathy's failure to open her county mail was irresponsible and incredibly irritating.

Ho! I started reading In the Company of the Courtesan yesterday and I'm finishing it tonight! I hadn't read a historical novel in ages. At first I wasn't sure because it was all about "he wants to dip his pr*ck in her ink" and the like, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to go there, but finally it's all just talk, no action (from those quarters). I'm a bit mad at myself that I peaked at the inside flap blurb and now I'm wondering where the book is going; I'm just hoping it's like Birth of Venus where the blurb was misleading.

I'm trying very hard to whittle down my TBR pile, so...

I've picked up Jeffrey Ford's The Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque which continues my reading trend in the Victorian age -- this time the setting is the artist scene of 1890s New York society, but I have a feeling it will be full of the seedier elements of society as well.

Cindy - no, I haven't read Waters latest (just FS and A so far), but I hope to later this year.

I'm reading the very pleasant Gardening Letters To My Daughter by Ann Scott-James, a new-to-me writer. To this amateur gardener, she's quite inspiring and chatty and fun to read despite flinging about loads of Latin plant names that leave my head reeling.

As my DD starts middle school in the fall, I'm also reading Queen Bee Moms and Kingpin Dads and Queen Bees and Wannabes by Rosalind Wisemen. The first book has a wonderfully fear-inducing sub-title -- "Dealing with the parents, teachers, coaches and counselors who can make or break your child's future." Yup, can't wait for middle school, lol. IMO it seems a little paranoid on the whole as it assumes that a rather Lord of the Flies pecking order exists for both the adults and children in middle school and that bullies of all stripes are plentiful and unavoidable, but I guess it's a good be-prepared sort of book.

I'm still working my way through a pile of library books, and there's another library book sale this weekend ... I may never get the TBR pile whittled down.

I finished Turn of the Screw over the weekend-thought the library would be open on Saturday but it wasn't and of course it was closed yesterday-so I turned to the pile of unfinished books and decided to finish the last 300 pages of the final Dark Tower book by Stephen King-nearly done with it.

Bookmom - I read The Doctor's Wife a few weeks ago-although the plot was ok-the 4 main characters were very 'unlikeable' which affected my pleasure of the actual reading-you have to like at least one characer-don't you? LOL!

Pat

Sheri, I once thought all the Latin used in good gardening books was pretentious. Then I spent a couple of years looking for a plant called "False Dragonhead" because the description made it sound perfect for my rarely sunny garden. When I finally tracked it down, I discovered it was also called "Obedient Plant" and I'd been growing it for years successfully. So now it is Physostegia virginiana, forever and ever, amen.

Returned reluctantly to Fitzgerald's The Beautiful and The Damned because I want to have it under my belt. It really is a silly novel. The problem is that I don't feel free to go on to something more substantial until I've checked it off.

Chris, I'm starting to realize I need to know some Latin plant names if I'm ever going to get beyond beginner status. I'm hoping if I keep reading garden writers, some of the terminology will just sink in through osmosis.

Middle school bullies are unavoidable. I think It's the nature of the beast, manifestations of all those youthful teen insecurities. We can control the overt transgressions but they speak their own language and manage to communicate in ways foreign to others. If you really want nightmares about classroom issues, revisit To Sir, With Love, a little extreme but the "attitudes" were nailed.
twobigdogs - If you liked the wooden sailboat book you might like Woodswoman by Anne Labastille, sort of a non intellectual Walden.

blair,
Thanks for the recommendation. I'll have to look it up as I really enjoy the apparently more intellectual Thoreau: Walden, Cape Cod, Maine Woods, for example. Intellectualism isn't as much a factor as gleaning insight, knowledge and enjoyment. Something can be learned from every book.

PAM

Our book club, GRINS, just finished reading A Maiden's Grave by Jeffery Deavers. Our meeting to discuss the book was tonight and everyone really enjoyed the book. We had a very good discussion about it.

I also just finished reading The Bridge by Doug Marlette and it was an awesome book! I couldn't put it down!

I finished Almost French by Sarah Turnbull a few days ago and sent it off to another PaperBackSwap member. What a delightful book, full of insight into how France and the French are "different!" At the same time the book is very funny. Turnbull is Australian and ended up marrying a Parisian.
I am nibbling bit-by-bit at another wonderful and humorous book, The Dead Beat, by Marilyn Johnson. It is about--brace yourself--obituaries! It is, as the jacket says, "sly, droll, and sompletely winning." I read it during TV commercials.
Last night I finished Little Altars Everywhere, which was the first novel by the author of Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood. Easy to read and enjoyable enough, though it became pretty horrific towards the end. I wished I had read it before "Ya Ya."
I have just begun Anne Tyler's Digging to America, which looks like another enjoyable and very readable book.

Finished Freakonomics. Entertaining, but to be take, I think, with a pinch of salt. But certainly more convincing that a lot of books which claim to show why things happen!

I tried to read A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby. I thought Fever Pitch was a marvellous book, and High Fidelity was a terrific first novel. But he hasn't delivered since. I gave up half-way through A Long Way Down (for those of you who have read it, it was the angel which was the final straw), and I've given up on Mr. Hornby completely now.

Re-reading A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro. I need some decent literature after ALWD.

Sheri, I, too, have a DD off to middle school in the fall. She is
also moving from a private to a public setting and we've already had our share of the horrors described in "Queen Bees.." especially with Queen Bee Mothers! You could also try "Reviving Ophelia" by Mary Pipher which, again, needs to be taken with a grain of salt.

Sherwood, you nailed it--none of the characters were particularly likeable in "The Doctor's Wife." I liked the storyline, though, and was fascinated in a train-wreck kind of way with how quickly the doctor's wife (can't remember names) fell into the dalliance with the artist.

Bookmom, thanks. I read Reviving Ophelia a while ago, and it thoroughly scared me. Our middle school has six elementary schools feeding into it, so I'm sure the entire range of Queen Bee...-described parent and student personalities will be there. And added to this mix I have my own middle school baggage, too -- personally, I hated every minute of it, but I loved high school. I'm hoping for the best! If nothing else, these books have ensured that the Mom antennae will be on full-strength for the next three years. Any other books on the subject you'd recommend?

Biwako, Almost French and The Dead Beat both sound like books I'd like. More for the TBR list!

Martin, I liked About a Boy, but then Nick Hornby lost me with How to Be Good, which was ludicrously bad. I've given up on him ever since.

In the Company of the Courtesan was pleasant enough in the beginning, but then it faltered due to complete lack of plot. I'm currently reading a smallish book about the Colosseum. Apparently, Christian martyrs were never fed to the lions there. Where did I hear this?

MaryannTX, I was so glad to hear you mention Doug Marlette's "The Bridge". I read it ages ago, loved it, and wanted to discuss it, but no one else here at RP has ever mentioned it, so far as I know.

I have a special interest in this novel because some of my mother's family live right in that part of the south and may well have been involved in some of those mill strikes years ago. I think it is a little known part of southern history that ought to be of more interest to many.

I think I recall reading that Marlette got into a bit of trouble after he wrote this, as some prominent folks thought he had put them into his novel. He may have even been sued.... I hope not.

Finished The Secret Life of Dust, which was fascinating. Followed dust from the cosmic perspective to the earthly perspective and back again. Very interesting facts...and I'll never look at dust the same way again.

Read Rattle His Bones by Carola Dunn...needed a short quick mystery to fill in before tackling 1776, which my DH and I picked up this weekend (it was on sale). RHB was fun, and I just love Daisy, the amateur sleuth. Ate Ritz dinosaurs while reading it, which I found appropriate to the setting of a natural history museum.

Now officially onto 1776, which I hope lives up to the wonderful things I've heard about it. My DH, who isn't much of a reader, is picking up The Secret Life of Dust. I may turn him into a reader, yet. :o)

Well, the month is about over and I have been busy reading. I live near the Willa Cather Museum and I've been rereading some of her things (One of Ours, Early Stories, Obscure Destinies, Sapphira and the Slave Girl, and A Lost Lady).
Other reading this month was Take the A Train by Michael Blankfort, The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler, Summer Sisters by Judy Blume (she should stick to kids books), Sure Signs by Ted Kooser (poetry), Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh, The Gang that Couldn't Shoot Straight by Jimmy Breslin, Death of an Addict by M.C. Beaton (I love Hamish MacBeth), The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder, and Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolfe (I was not as impressed as people seem to think I should be). I've also been reading the books in the library by Pearl S. Buck. I had read The Good Earth several years ago and I knew she wrote a lot about China but I was surprised at some of her other books. So far this month I've read Come My Beloved (set in India), Command the Morning (about the development of the atomic bomb), Dragon Seed, and The Hidden Flower (the story of a Japanese war bride in America).
I went to the Library yesterday and got The Old Rugged Cross-Eyed Bear by Wes Sumpter (a local author), and a biography of Alexander Hamilton by Willard Sterne Randall. I am a big reader of biographies and am anxious to start on that one.

Martin, regarding A Long Way Down, I know exactly what youÂre talking about with the angel. I almost packed it in there myself once my eyes stopped rolling. But the episode turned out to be brief and was over quickly, so I persevered. Part of the reason is that I get really bored on my long commutes, and thereÂs really nothing else besides radio. Also, the voice actors are truly wonderful on this audio version. But mostly I just think the characters are hilarious. These are perhaps the most unlikable, unsympathetic, argumentative, self-involved and unsupportive people in fiction. ItÂs really anti-group therapy.

Shari, I don't know of any other books like those. As for me, those two gloom and doom reads are enough! I will say that I had a long conference with my daughter's teacher yesterday about the switch from a tiny private elementary school to our big public middle school. The teacher's children went through the same public system and her husband is a GC in the high school. She basically said what you did about keeping your mother antennae on full alert-- know your child's friends, keep reinforcing your own morals and values even if the child does not appear to be listening and get the child involved in at least one club/school activity which the child enjoys. Also, keep a box in the child's room for all their school papers--don't throw anything away till the end of the year. She said middle-schoolers often think they don't need something anymore, it turns out they do and it will save having to redo work or missing something valuable. Finally, try the book "The Organized Student" by Donna Goldberg which was recommended by a librarian friend as having good tips for getting middle and high schoolers in shape.

I have on my TBR pile the book Hold on to your kids: Why parents need to matter more than peers, by Gordon Neufeld and Gabor Mate. It's been lavished with critical praise and even got a starred review from PW.

The authors suggest that kids are more susceptible to peer pressure and more affected by their relationship with their peers because parents are conditioning them to value peers over family, by placing too much of an emphasis on social skills, playdates, and after school activities. This leads to kids who value being part of a group and conforming to the group's code; they go to school to socialise, not to learn, and if their friends are not into learning, neither are they. The authors give advice on how to make the family the center of a child's life again. It rather goes with my own personal philosophy on childrearing. I've just glanced through it so far, but I'll get to it soon enough.

Bookmom and venusia, thanks for the recommendations, I've put both books on my list.

Venusia, thank you for that recommendation which I am putting on my TBR list. While I am not a homeschooling mother (nor do I intend to do so) I find that some of the loveliest children and teens that I know have been homeschooled and I suspect that their family-centered child-rearing is a big part of this.

Pardon my ignorance but what is PW?

Publisher's Weekly. I find it a reliable gauge when Publisher's Weekly, Kirkus Reviews and Library Journal give starred reviews to books.

BTW, this book is not a pro-homeschooling book per se, more pro-parents. It's just that in it, homeschooling parents find a lot of arguments that validate their choices.