I finished The-Well Educated Mind: A Guide to the Classical Education You Never Had by Susan Wise Bauer.
I appreciated her tips to study literature although I still cannot bring myself to write in a book's margins.

At present she is writing a four volume history of the whole world. Norton is publishing the first volume in February 2007 titled The Story of the Ancient World. I provided a link to her blog below.

Susan Wise Bauer's Blog

Just finished The 5Th Horseman by James Patterson-a fast read with very short chapters!

Now reading The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult, but not enjoying it very much, not sure if I will finish it even though it is for a book club discussion...maybe I will give it a bit longer before I decide.
Picoult seems to choose very difficult subject matter to write about....although I suppose it is timely.

Pat

>Picoult seems to choose very difficult subject matter to write about

She does, and in the hands of a better writer, the subject would be part of the whole story. With Picolt, it is the whole story, and she hits you over the head with it. Plus her writing is chunky, at least in my estimation.

Still on Music and Silence. Its been busy this week so I've come home not wanting to read something heavy. But bit by bit - I am liking it very much, and hope I can spend more time with it this weekend.

I started The Tenth Circle a few days ago because I liked My Sister's Keeper. I was not enjoying The Tenth Circle at all, and it wasn't because of the subject matter. It was more that her writing style made it difficult for me to give myself over to the story, if that makes any sense. I quit reading it and picked up Corelli's Mandolin instead. So far, so good.

I started 98 Reasons for Being by Clare Dudman, but haven't gotten very far (lots of interruptions and a semi-sick whiney child doesn't make for productive reading). It's a fictional story about a German, Jewish girl who is institutionalized in 1850s Frankfurt and treated by Dr. Heinrich Hoffmann (real-life author of a rather scarey children's book -- or so I'm told -- called Strewwelpeter. After this, I plan to read Affinity by Sarah Waters for a book club. I'm looking forward to it. I guess you could say I'm plunging into the Victorian era a bit.

omg...just at the part where Flora had just been found after her little "boat ride" my daughter (who's 4) ran into the bathroom (I was in the tub) shrieking with excitment because she wanted to jump into the jacuzi tub with me. I just about had a HEART ATTACK!!!

They had been to the store picking out Mother's Day cards and such, and I didn't even know they were home yet. I think my heart is still skipping some beats. haven't gotten back to the story yet....

Decided to read The Blue Sword, because I liked The Hero and The Crown so much. Not very far into the book, but I'm enjoying it.

Well, been struggling to be interested in "The Jewel and the Crown" by Paul Scott (first in a trilogy, I think, about colonial India back when it was a part of the British Empire). I really enjoyed the book, Staying Home, by the same author, but goodness me - had to give up on this one after 141 pages. Just couldn't do it anymore and didn't care about the characters or the story. So back to the library it goes...

Now on to one called "The Final Solution" by Michael Chabon. My mum sent it to me (very kindly) from England for me to read so she must have thought it very good... It's not too long so will fit into my reading plans for this week.

Finished The Sunne in Splendor even though I knew the ending it was still teary.
For a change, I am now reading The Saltmarsh Murders by Gladys Mitchell, circa 1938. Never heard of her, but last Sunday night happened upon a "Mystery" dramatization of one of her books on PBS-between the wars English village murder! Found out she wrote 66 books all with the same central character, so the hunt begins-the library only had 9 or 10 of her titles.
I find Picoult to be manipulative-as cindy says, she beats you over the head. I rebelled when my book club wanted to read a 4th.

I just finished The Judgment of Paris by Ross King, he of Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling. Always a pleasure to read one of his narrative histories. He's one of those that I wish never dies and never stops writing.

I picked up Stuart: A Life Backwards at the library, and two pages in I'm hooked. It won the Guardian First Book Award, and on the basis of those two pages read, I can say it has a very strong central character and is somewhat reminiscent of The curious incident of the dog, although this book seems to be a biography.

Am very very keen to read David Mitchell's new novel, but I put all my money into clothes and not books, and the library hasn't received it yet so I have to wait a little longer. I did not like number9dream, especially the ending! The book just seem to fall apart at a certain point, although there is a pretty vivid gangster scene (the imagery of which I could have done without - I will never see bowling balls the same way again) somewhere in the middle.

>but I put all my money into clothes and not books

Ack! Where are your priorities! :)

I finished Music and Silence, and love it. I went quickly through the last 100 pages; now that I know what happens, I'm going to read those again. I love her language, her sense of humor, and her ability to make even evil characters interesting (the Almost Queen is actually rather complex despite her incredible selfishness and cruelty) It had the feel of a fairy tale - and I say this in a good way. I'll have to read Restoration now (I saw the movie and loved it)

I just finished Woman's Best Friend - Women Writers on the Dogs in Their Lives edited by Megan McMorris. As it says in the introduction, it is not a collection of my-dog-is-so-cute stories, but stories about the many ways dogs affect our lives, how they change us, how they teach us. The introduction by Pam Houston is worth the price of the book. I am so glad I bought it, as I am sure I will return to it time and again. Despite the title, the book is peppered with men, children, families, a cat or two. I have already read several of the stories more than once. I think my favorite is by Marion Winik, "Seven Reasons Not to Get a Dog. I laughed so hard my neighbors walking by in the hallway heard me. Other stories will make you cry, which is not a bad thing at all.

If you have any liking for dogs or animals at all, you might enjoy these stories.

OH NO!

The library called. The books I requested are ALL in. I am reading, simultaneously:

Nine Men Dancing - Kate Sedley (I cannot read Prodigal Son, the latest in the series, until I read the two I missed. This is the first of those two.)
Crompton Hobnet - Barbara Pym (Thanks again for the list, Sheriz6!)
A Superior Death - Navada Barr (Thanks to Chris in the Valley for motivating me to continue with this series. She said they get better, so I shall carry on! Chris was right on the money in regard to learning a bit about our great National Parks.)

PAM

I stayed up most of last night finishing Dunant's "In the Company of the Courtesan." This book was just my cup of tea and I could not put it down. I liked it far better than "Birth of Venus."

Has anyone read any other of Dunant's novels, apart from the above? Are they just as good?

I've ordered Rose Tremain's "Music & Silence" thru ILL at the Pub. Lib.

Cindy and Mary, Music and Silence is one of the best books I have ever read, but it is not a 'page turner'. I found I enjoyed it best by just reading a chapter or so a day.

I'm reading Great Expectation and it's amazing how much one can forget in 20 years! Every chapter is a cliff hanger; I can't wait to get home and read it.

I recently re-read all of Joan Aiken, and am starting to feel that I really am living in England....

My daughter is finally old enough to enjoy Baum's OZ books (I don't care for the other OZ authors) so we are having a great time reading the series together.

I go away for a weekend (to visit my folks over Mother's Day) and when I get back, you have all added so much to this list that it's taken me several minutes to go through since my last posting. But... I am glad I did, for I have discovered several more books to add to my TBR list.

vtchewbeca, Robin McKinley is one of my favorite authors. I absolutely loved both The Hero and the Crown & The Blue Sword. I have no doubt you will like TBS as much as THatC

Siobhan, I have enjoyed the Mma Ramotswe series too. I'm on hold for the latest one (I think it's called The Blue Shoes, or something like that). The library called while I was gone and left a message that it's ready and waiting for me to pick up.

>Music and Silence is one of the best books I have ever read, but it is not a 'page turner'. I found I enjoyed it best by just reading a chapter or so a day.

Actually, I think if I had the time, I could have made this into a page turner and finished it in a few days. But RL intervened and you are right, just reading a few chapters was a perfect way to enjoy it. And the more and more I think about the book, the more I like it, and the more I want to reread it.

Now reading Unfinished Woman, by Lillian Hellman. I've been a fan of hers since I first saw Little Foxes at my sister's college. Read Pentimento several times even tho I know parts may have been embellished. Happened to see this one and thought I'd give it a try. I am hard on memoirs, but I am liking the tone of this one. Shes not making herself as an angel, but is showing all of her quirks with the stories she tells. I suspect it has the same problems as Pentimento, but I plan to have a large shaker of salt nearby as I read.

rouan, so far I am enjoying The Blue Sword - still haven't had time to really delve into it, though I hope to enjoy it some more today (I'm free from subbing for the day). I bought Beauty by McKinley, because the premise fascinates me. Are there any others of her books that you would recommend?

Last week I finished The Turn of the Screw and the seventh in the Alan Gregory series by Stephen White, Manner of Death. They just keep getting better and better. I'm starting on the eighth one now, Cold Case.

TTOTS was not as scary as I expected based on all the comments (expectations are everything!), probably because I didn't read the book after dark. It was interesting to see where the breaks in the story took place when it was initially published in serial form. There was always a cliffhanger!

Lots of McKinley fans here - RP is where I learned about her, as well as so many other of my favorites. I have her Sunshine on my hall-of-fame shelf. Does anyone know when she has another book coming out? I have her on my notification list with Amazon, but I haven't heard anything.

I'm halfway through The Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima, a young adult novel. Really enjoying it, although I don't quite know why. It's not very well written IHMO, and the story is fairly trite, but it is holding my interest. Perhaps a fantasy novel is just what the doctor ordered during these gray days and nasty floods in Massachusetts.

I discovered the short stories of Ambrose Bierce from a newspaper article about the tv show Lost, of all things. Although I have not watched it, the article intrigued me with references to the show's literary allusions. I am finding the stories intriguing, morbid, enigmatic and bizarre. I wonder if TimL has read Bierce? I think he would enjoy this writer.

Finished The Blue Sword, which I highly enjoyed.

Now onto The Secret Life of Dust, which has an interesting blurb, so I picked it up.

so that's what the reporter was doing under my bed...interviewing the dust!

loving the Gladys Mitchell mysteries, but feeling like I need a little meat to balance the potato chips-Jar City and the first Cazalet are waiting in the lib pile.

I finished two light reads, Meg Cabot's Every Boy's Got One (which I read because Netla reviewed it on her book blog -- and it was cute and clever, but just not my cuppa tea) and an old OOP Richardson Wright book, A Small House and Large Garden which was just OK. I love his writing, but this just didn't hang together well as a book of supposedly garden-themed essays.

Three library books arrived yesterday, and TOTS is still waiting for me. Not sure what's next, though.

Cece, I hope you enjoy the Cazalet books as much as I did, I thought they were wonderful!

vtchewbecca, I'll second the recommendation for McKinley's Sunshine, I thought it was terrific, though she left a lot of things hanging -- I keep hoping for a sequel!

I finished Josephus. He comes down hard on the rebels in the War of the Jews characterizing them as marauders who victimized their own people more than the Romans did. But he may have been prejudiced since they killed his mother and father.

After that, I read The Odes of Horace translated by David Ferry. Horace was a poet patronized by Maecenas, Augustus's cultural minister. He fought in Brutus's army at Philippi after Julius Ceasar was assasinated and was in bad odor for awhile, but his talent got him into the good graces with the new emperor. The odes are poems about everyday life.

Then I read Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes. Hobbes is mainly known nowadays for his statement that "the life of Man [in a state of nature] is nasty, poor, brutish, and short." The thesis he seeks to prove is that a peaceful life is possible only under a commonwealth that establishes civil laws and a sovereign that enforces them. I didn't care for his reasoning since he doesn't allow for the rights of political or religious dissent. Also, he did too much reasoning from Biblical sources.

Right now, I'm reading Omeros, an epic poem by Derek Walcott. Walcott is from the Antilles in the Caribbean and won the Nobel prize a few years back. His poem looks at the life of the residents of the Antilles through the lens of European and American history.

vtchewbecca,

I think the only book by Robin McKinley that I did not really care for was her version of Robin Hood. It's been years since I read it, so my memory of it is not good, but I seem to remember that I thought it improbable that all the events that occurred could happen in the course of just one year. It may also have been that she had to work around the known legends of RH instead of creating her own history and characters.

Of her two Beauty & Beast tales, my preference is for the first, Beauty. (which is probably because I read it first, long before she wrote the other version). Rose Daughter is good, but I still prefer Beauty.

Siobhan referred to Sunshine in a post above. (as did Sheriz6) I agree, I like it too and would definitely appreciate a sequel, but with Robin McKinley, you never know what she's going to write next. I'm still sort of hoping for another Damar novel. I say sort of, because, (as with many authors)there is always the chance that a sequel will be tired or will take the series to a level that ruins the original tales for me.

Thanks for the recs rouan, Sheriz & Siobhan - I will definitely check out Sunshine.

Rouan, I feel the same about novels for which I would love to see a sequel...I want more, but view a new addition with a bit of trepidation that it might ruin that which I love. I think both of the Damar novels are excellent and will definitely put them on my re-read list for the future. I'd love to read more, but don't want to mess up that which I have already grown to enjoy.

cc - those reporters do get everywhere, don't they?!? Actually, its a very fascinating concept - following dust from the cosmic formation to the dust around us now and its consequences for earth in the past, present, and future. The author is apparently a well-known science journalist. I'm enjoying the book so far, though I'm not that far in (earth has been formed by this point, though). Maybe next time I dust, I'll see it all a little differently. Very interesting stuff.

As an interesting side-note, I was thinking about my reading choices of late. I remember a while back many of the readers older than myself preferred non-fiction or read about 50/50 fiction/nonfiction. At the time, I read essentially all fiction. In the past year, however, my non-fiction reads have been steadily increasing (all are related to science in some way). I find that my forays into non-fiction increase my knowledge and make me thirst for more. Perhaps one has to gain some experience to learn the true value of reading for knowledge...or perhaps it is because I am done with my formal schooling that my brain is not overtaxed with information and is more receptive to non-fiction reads.

It's the end-of-the-semester crunch for me. I have mountains of sewing to finish by next week at this time, so I'm not reading much except 15 minutes here and there to relax. It's hard to sew and read at the same time (though I have on occasion tried).

I did manage to finish Collapse as of last night. I thought it well worth reading. The author Jared Diamond rejects both the extreme nothing-can-save-us-now point of view and the science-can-solve-anything approach as well. He thinks we have big environmental problems, any of which will bring about disaster if not solved, but he thinks it is possible we'll get our act together.

Next week today I'm going to immerse myself in an orgy of reading, just what I don't know. Or maybe by then I'll feel the need to work in the garden again. Who knows?

Rosefolly

>In the past year, however, my non-fiction reads have been steadily increasing. I find that my forays into non-fiction increase my knowledge and make me thirst for more.

chewbecca, I find myself reading more non fiction as well, and have also noticed friends in my age group doing the same. I've always been curious and so have always read some non fiction (history and travel). Now tho, it seems as if I need more non fiction than I used to. Whats fun is that I often after reading one or two, I'll find the same concepts or information in the novels I read later - probably because I am aware of it and notice it, and so then enjoy the fiction even more.

The opposite has happened to me as well - I'll read a novel that jump starts me on a non fiction binge. Far Pavillions and Kim got me reading everything by and about India, Here Be Dragons got me hooked on early Welsh history and culture, Once and Future King eventually led me to a love of Brit history in general.

Finished number9dream. Bit disappointing - but I suppose one of his four books has to be the worst! I'm surprised that it was Booker short-listed.

Though I'll never be able to look at a bowling alley in quite the same way.

Now reading English Passengers by Matthew Kneale. Excellent so far. Though it has a candidate for the award for "Most Pretentious Tosh Written about a Book" award on the back. I quote - "Extraordinary....it has moral purpose and the power to change." - Daily Mail. What arrant nonsense! It's a novel, not a life-changing event.

Just finished "Never Let Me Go" (I jot down my two cents in the proper thread).
Now I'm going to start "House of Sand and Fog" by Andre Dubus III

grelobe

Cindy - I tend to read non-fiction as a break between fiction...what I read in non-fiction is often unrelated to my fiction, but I can definitely see how knowledge gained in non-fiction can make fiction all the much better. I did read one book that caused me to increase my interest in Atlantis, a legend that I never paid much attention to until lately. I also had a book inspire my interest in sea monsters and other legendary animals.

Martin - I'm interested to know what you think of English Passengers, as its on my TBR shelf.

I find that more and more nonfiction can be as gripping as fiction, especially in the hands of excellent writers like Ross King and Tim Parks, who both also write fiction and structure their nonfiction like novels.

I just finished Stuart: A Life Backwards , and it was very good. The true story of a jailbird/homeless person, it is completely unsentimental and sometimes quite funny and yet we end up rooting for Stuart, despite it all.

I'm now on to Sorry, I don't speak French, a commentary on the Canadian linguistic crisis. It has been said that language is to Canada what race is to the States and class is to Great Britain. The latter I don't quite understand: it is that people from different classes don't associate with each other, and how do you know what class you belong to, since it's unspoken (compared to a place like India, for example)? There's lots of references to class in Stuart. The fact that Stuart thinks that people on the council estates (what's that?) are posh seems to explain things for the author, the power of a good accent (when the author manages to get out of a situation that frightens the homeless man he's with), these are things I had trouble relating to.

Anyway, here's an extract from the first chapter:

Here is a link that might be useful: Stuart: A Life Backwards extract

> find that more and more nonfiction can be as gripping as fiction

No question there. Glancing at my shelves, I find such examples as Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea by Gary Kinder, In Thin Air by Kraknaur, Distant Mirror by Barbara Tuchman and Undaunted Courage by Steven Ambrose.

>I'm now on to Sorry, I don't speak French, a commentary on the Canadian linguistic crisis.

Mmm, wonder if I should bring this with me on our trip to Canada (Quebec) Let me know what you think as you get more into it.

>It has been said that language is to Canada what race is to the States and class is to Great Britain.

Interesting observation, but I don't think it necessarily follows that race issues are the turf of the States and that class issues only occur in Great Britain. But I am sure the language is a dividing line there, just as it is here in the SW with Spanish becoming so prevalent.

>I did read one book that caused me to increase my interest in Atlantis,

Hee, I am aging my self, but I first became interested when I heard the song Atlantis by ...mmm, Donovan? And its such a big part of many fantasy novels.

grelobe -- "House of Sand and Fog" was one of the most amazing books I've ever read. I'll be curious to hear how you like it.

I've finished "Little Women": I'd never actually read it before. I enjoyed it immensely, but it did feel a little syrupy at times. I'm looking for something light and fun to take on a two-week Hawaiian vacation. Any suggestions? I'd love a good Christopher Moore-type book. Or a good, meaty, but not-too-graphically-violent mystery, maybe.

Vicki

Venusia, re 'council housing' in the UK. I think it can be compared to the social housing or maybe the trailer parks of the US. Originally built country-wide after WWI to ease overcrowded slum conditions and increased after WWII to replace bomb-damaged/destroyed homes and for the huge 'bulge' in the young married population.
Over the years the original people have tended to move on and buy their own homes and the new tenants are the socially deprived, unmarried mothers, immigrants etc.
So for 'Stuart' to look upon these people as 'posh' shows how far down the hole he has fallen.

And yes we are still a class conscious society in the UK although not as bad as we were and a recent survey found that many more people consider themselves to be 'middle class' probably based on their disposable income . . .usually 'class' in the UK is seen as 'education' based rather than 'money'; perhaps unlike the US.

Difficult to describe a 'good accent' as you call it, to someone from another country. First it should be said that if you come from Scotland/Ireland/Wales it would be usual/natural for you to have the accent of that country but to use 'standard grammar'. In England, the accent thing is somewhat different. Rightly or wrongly if for eg you want to become a High Court Judge, a Top Civil Servant or the Governor of the Bank of England it is far more likey, even in these egalitarian days, you will speak Received Pronounciation (RP); what you may think of as 'BBC English'. It is accentless in as much as it doesn't give any clue to which part of the country you come from.
Listen to Tony Blair (but not for too long) He has lost his Scottish accent . . .if he ever had one. Listen to P's William and Harry. They are doing their best to lose their 'upper class' drawl. Listen to footballers, pop stars and so on for eg's of 'Estuary English' as spoken along the Thames Valley. A modern and sloppy English "Innit?".*
You say the author of the Stuart book got out of some situation because of his 'accent'. Yes, I suppose that is still possible, although being condescending and superior to someone you consider to be your inferior might earn you a good kicking round the back of the pub.

*"Is that not so?"

Here is a link that might be useful: A Recent 'Class' Report

Just finished "A Kingdom by the Sea" by Paul Theroux about his three-month walk around the coast of Britain. Interesting in most places, but went on a bit. Still, took me back to my holidays in England where I grew up, so that was nice.

Now on to "Breathing Lessons" by Anne Tyler....

I am half-way through Joanne Harris' Gentlemen & Players. It's definately a case of 'reading the right book at the right time' as I'm really enjoying it. I am finding all the characters engaging, and the book itself is a pageturner. It's not set in France like some of her other books, but in a traditional Boys Grammar School in the north of England. Plenty of mystery, and nicely written.

Next on my list is East of Eden, for another on-line reading group. Can't wait!

Jane
UK

Finished F. O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Find" for our upcoming discussion. Not my cup of tea, but I went on to read some of her essays and personal published letters which are often humorous and insightful. I like those far better than her short stories, which are obsessed with the Grotesque in all its forms....

Now I am into Rose Tremain's "Music and Silence." So far, so good, although I am finding it impossible to read this novel quickly....

Veer, an interesting commentary.
Ironically, I'm dipping into Catherine Horwood's latest, Keeping Up Appearances, Fashion & Class Between the Wars.

From the cover..."The British have always been concerned about accent, appearance and class, but at no time during the twentieth century was 'keeping up appearances' more important than during the 1920s and 1930s."

I'm endlessly fascinated with the complexity and the rules governing dress. (Most of which have gone by the wayside, of course)

wood, one of the things that Tremain does that keeps us from reading Music and Silence too fast is her storytelling. Sometimes I felt like it was too slow and I'd go ahead a few pages, but then I was pulled back to read what I skipped. And isn't the Consort just the perfect 'love to hate' character!

>he does go on a bit

Hee, thats an understatment! But that one was my first of his, and I still enjoy it.

A good friend was in London last week and sent me three requested books - Twice a Stranger (veer, this was the one you suggested and I'm looking forward to reading it), the Weight of Numbers, and Old Filth by Jane Gardam

The latter is by a fav English writer of mine. I first became a fan when I read her novel Queen of the Tambourine and have enjoyed every book since. This one I could not find at all in the states, so friend kindly found it for me. Plan on reading this next.

I'm reading The Cowboy and the Elephant. It's about a former Marlboro man who adopts an elephant. I'm enjoying it.

Well, I've been well immersed in the courses I need to finish this summer. Therefore, all my reading as of late has been course related. I've read a good number of articles, journal entries and poetry along with The Odyssey and Antigone. The next unit of my Comparative lit. class will bring a lot more novels.

Thank you for that, Veer. With respect to British accents, I csn only detect the most blatant differences in accents, although, it does seem to me that Colin Firth and Rupert Everett don't quite speak in the same way. Ian McKellen's accent seems to me to be the same sort as Colin Firth, is that the RP? And Simon Cowell, is that estuary?

After my recommendation of Hesperus Press in the other thread, I grew curious and took out two books of that imprint from my library: Carlyle's House and Other Sketches by Virginia Woolf, and The Diary of Adam and Eve by Mark Twain. Both extremely short reads, the Woolf book was only 15 pages as such, but augmented with various intros, commentaries, and bibliographical notes to bring it up to 100 pages.

"Empire Falls" by John Russo, I'm thoroughly enjoying it so far. I'm from New England and I can relate to the characters and the regional characteristics as well.

Recently finished:

A Field of Darkness by Cornelia Read. A really good debut mystery, hindered only by an unlikable protagonist. She was a bit too snobbish while hypocritically feuding with her family for being too elitist. My other complaint would be a spoiler so I wonÂt post it.

Family and Other Accidents by Shari Goldhagen. ItÂs the story of two orphaned brothers and their relationship over almost three decades of their lives. I really wanted to like this book, as I love stories dealing with family relationships. But neither brother was particularly likable, and instead of a crafted ending, the author instead just seemed to stop writing.

Dead Center by David Rosenfelt. Another book in the Andy Carpenter series, which is a consistently fun read. This one was no less enjoyable, with Andy moving temporarily to Wisconsin to help out an ex-girlfriend.

Next up is a library book, The Art of Mending by Elizabeth Berg. IÂve never read her before but thought IÂd give this one a try. I also have another rave-reviewed debut mystery titled The King of Lies by John Hart, and IÂm looking forward to reading it.

Just finished The Soul Catcher by Alex Kava and am really trying to get interested (again) in Labyrinth as it is due back to the library in 5 days....it may go back unfinished 'cos it is not grabbing me so far!

Pat

Less than 100 pages left to go of Affinity by Sarah Waters, which I'm loving (almost don't want it to end). It should segue nicely into James' The Turn of the Screw as my next read.

Fingersmith is now being escalated in my TBR pile as a result of this book. Has anyone seen the BBC productions of Fingersmith and Tipping the Velvet? I noticed they are available via Netflix now and I wondered if they were any good and whether they do justice to the books?

>Empire Falls" by John Russo

(pedant mode)Richard(/pedant mode :) I loved that book, and went looking for more. Found Ship of Fools and thought, wow, he's doing sci fi as well! Um, no - this was by Richard Paul Russo....good book tho.

georgia, I have such visual image of that story that I dare not watch that on tv! I do want to read her other books, and have her new one in my Amazon cart, ready for a bonus check coming this summer....

The Intimate Garden Gordon and Susan Hayward
American Green: The Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Lawn Ted Steinberg
Watership Down Richard Adams (for the umpteenth time)
Maya Jostein Gaarder