Christin, yes, I agree that "The Kitchen Boy" is better than "Rasputin's Daughter." If you want to learn more about the strange character of Rasputin and his bizarre relationship with the Romanov Tsar's family, there are plenty of good biographies out there. (I have one in paperback, but don't have it in front of me and have forgotten the author's name). There is just so much good stuff to read about the last Tsar and his tragic family. I highly recommend the translated works of Eduard Radnitzsky, a Russian who really delved deep into the fates of the Romanovs. Then there are the works of Peter Kurth, who writes at length of the missing daughter, Anastasia.

Gosh, I absolutely loved Lewis' "Main Street" and could completely identify with the female protagonist and her view of the dull, ugly towns she was plonked down into. It is a classic work because the ideas are so far ahead of its time. Years ago, I was in a Womans' group that discussed early feminist works. We all loved Carol Kennicott. In the same group, we also read Kate Chopin's "The Awakening."

I am currently reading "The Customer is Always Wrong: The Retail Chronicles" by Jeff Martin (editor). A collection of essays about working in retail whether it was as a kid in college/high school or later as a transitional job, each essay talks about his/her experience in the retail sector. Some are very funny and it's clear that they have worked in retail.

If any of you have ever done your bit in the retail environment from behind the counter, this is an entertaining book especially as we are about to enter the retail season of all seasons: Christmas.

Bookmom, I once was a note-taker. Books from my youth have references to other books, definitions, arguments.... I miss that. It is only the books with which I passionately disagree that get that treatment today.

Martin, the 1880s were a violent time in American history. Reconstruction meant very little law enforcement in the South, and frontiers always filled up first with people escaping their past and frequently the law. For a taste of the frontier, and some of the best television ever made, I highly recommend the HBO series "Deadwood" set in the 1870s in Deadwood, South Dakota. Violent, nasty, and astoundingly excellent. Not safe for kids.

I hated Mormons after reading Under the Banner of Heaven but I have to keep reminding myself that it is about a splinter group and not the LDS.

Dumas' modern interpreter is Arturo Perez-Reverte. His The Club Dumas plays with The Three Musketeers, one of my favorite books from youth. Queen of the South is The Count of Monte Cristo and the Captain Alatriste series parallels the Musketeer series.

My own reading continues with some strange synchronicity. I just downloaded a Linda Howard, Up Close and Dangerous and Peter Beagle's YA Tasmin, and wouldn't you know, the Howard had a character named Tasmin. Has that suddenly become a popular name when I wasn't looking? I don't know why I keep reading/listening to Howard. She has fun plots, but the characters are shallowly developed. I keep wanting to punch up the language - it is so pedestrian.

Beagle's Tasmin, on the other hand, was delightful. Young girls and ghosts of young girls. I became annoyed part way through that Judge Jefferys seemed to be used trivially. To my way of thinking that is like trivializing Hitler, but I liked the way it worked out and was happy in the end.

I'm deep into The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. Another recommendation from here at RP - many thanks, I don't remember who mentioned this book but I am enjoying it very much!

Scored Stegner's Crossing to Safety in trade paperback at the library. I say "scored" because I will be able to keep it for three months and so don't have to rush right into it. If it is even close to the quality of Angle of Repose I will want to read it at a more leisurely pace than usual.

Just finished Alexander's "The Romanov Bride", the 3rd book I've read by this author. I really like his style and this latter was such a poignant, unforgettable story, based upon actual events and personnages.

Now I am about to attempt Germaine Greer's "Shakespeare's Wife." I learned she has become quite the scholar. I had not realized this, as I always thought of her as an early Feminist, nothing more. We shall see....She has done a lot of serious research on Shakespeare, his times, and Stratford for this long tome.

chris, I completely second what you wrote to Martin re the South and the "wild West." There was a lot of "vigilante justice", and some of the events that took place are quite shocking to post-modern minds...I have stories from my own grandfather which attest to the unlawful lynchings which took place in south Georgia.

Pam, I am not a big fan of Germaine Greer, but she has always been an academic. She got a BA at Melbourne Uni and a first class MA at Sydney Uni (with a thesis on Byron's poetry, I believe) and then won a Commonwealth Scholarship to study at Cambridge University, so her academic qualifications are pretty good.

kath, thanks for the info. on Greer. The book is proving to be very interesting, with quite detailed research obviously done on the author's part.

By the way, I'm Mary, not Pam ;-)

Sorry Mary!!! I can never remember names when they are not right there in front of me!

I finished J.D. Robb's Salvation in Death and although it was good as usual, I'm beginning to get antsy waiting for something to progress in the storyline.

I then moved on to River of Heaven by Lee Martin. ItÂs a story about loneliness, growing old, and how guilt can shape a life. It's also about the simple joys of friendship and family, and seeking redemption. The narrator is Sam Brady, a sad and lonely 65-year old gay man deeply in the closet and haunted by the death of a childhood friend. A bit of unexpected violence at the end marred for me what was otherwise a sad, sweet novel.

Today I finished The Chicago Way, the first in a series by Michael Harvey. Okay story, and the ending managed to surprise me (not easy to do). But it didnÂt really do anything to stand out from the thousands of other crime fiction novels out there.

IÂm now on to Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. IÂve heard great things about this book.

I have just started Moscow Rules by Daniel Silva. I was on the library waiting list for a very long time!

I finished Black Seas of Infinity: The Best of H.P. Lovecraft. It contains 20 or so short stories featuring aliens, creepy graveyard monsters, and the like. Entetaining and spooky, without being overly gruesome. This was my first foray into Lovecraft, and I would be interested in reading more by him.

I'm up to page 240 in Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset. OH MY, what a story!! I'm having a difficult time putting this one down. I might start a separate thread on it once I finish, I would love to discuss it!

Kelly

Kelly,

I've posted the link to the KL discussion we had awhile back. Would love to see your thoughts on it when your done.

Here is a link that might be useful: RP's Kristin Lavransdatter Discussion

Just finished The Reluctant Tuscan by Phil Doran for my library book club. It's a true story, apparently. Phil Doran was a sitcom writer in Hollywood working on shows like "Too Close for Comfort" and "Who's the Boss." However, his career seemed to winding down and his wife bought a property in Tuscany. Their trials and travails with this rundown 300-year-old house and crazy neighbors makes for some fun reading. You can tell he was a comedy writer, this book has a great sense of humorous timing.

Also read The Night Country by Stewart O'Nan. I enjoyed Last Night at the Lobster so much (thanks to whoever recommended it!) that I wanted to try another book by O'Nan. I finished it right after Halloween. It was very Ray Bradbury-ish. Something you want to curl up with on a eerie Autumn night. On Halloween, a car full of teenagers collides with a tree killing three of them, leaving one brain damaged and one who walks away without a scratch. The cop who is the first responder to the scene of the accident has an interesting secret, too. What makes the story particularly interesting is that it is told by one of the dead teenagers.

Finally, I read a great book out loud to my husband on a car trip last week. It's a hilarious western written in the 1960s by David Markson. Apparently, it was the subject of a really terrible movie with Frank Sinatra in 1970. The entire title is: The Ballad of Dingus Magee: Being the Immortal True Saga of the Most Notorious and Desperate Bad Man of the Olden Days, his Ruination of Poor Helpless Females, his Blood-shedding & Cetera; also including the Only Reliable Account ever offered to the Public of his Heroic Gun Battle with Sheriff C. L. Hoke Birdsill, Yerkey's Hole, New Mex., 1884, and with Additional Commentary on the Fateful and Mysterious Bordello-Burning of the Same Year; and furthermore interspresed with Trustworthy and Shamelessly Interesting Sketches of "Big Blouse" Belle Nops, Anna Hot Water, "Horseface" Agnes and Others, hardly any Remaining Upright at the End."

Need I say more?

Just finished Germaine Greer's "Shakespeare's Wife." What a meticulous piece of scholarship this one is! I feel as if I've been transported back to the 1500's in Stratford, England, learned the folkways of the commoners, etc. I also learned that Anne Hathaway was a Puritan and Stratford itself was governed by Puritans. Lots of interesting detail in this tome for history lovers and I recommend it to anyone with the remotest interest in the Bard.

Vee, are you there? I think you would really enjoy reading about Stratford in the 16th century.

Next on the TBR pile is "Goldengrove." Has anyone here read this?

Finished "The Customer is Always Wrong", a collection of retail-related experiences written by a gaggle of (unknown to me) writers. I really wish I could have the time and money back that I spent on this because it really wasn't the worth the paper it was printed on. Oh well. Into the donation pile it goes and on to other things.

Read "Diary of A Wimpy Kid" by Gregg Kinney, a sort of graphic novel about a boy in middle school and the trials and tribulations he goes through. Entertaining and a quick read. Enjoyable in some ways.

Now on to "These is my Words" by Nancy E Turner, a novel about the journals of a pioneer woman in Arizona. Good so far.

My mum is here from England right now, so reading is in short supply. Shopping!!! (esp since the pound is so good right now)....

I finished Moscow Rules. The book is fiction, of course, but I'm amazed by the author's afterword. He is really tough on Putin and the current Russian government, saying they are worse than the KGB ever was, especially regarding newspaper and media reporters.

I finished The Whiskey Rebels, which was very much concerned with the US financial system when Alexander Hamilton was Treasury Secretary and started the Bank of the US and the attempts to destroy it. Parts of the book related well to our current financial situation.

While reading that book, I also started on six of The Best American series of books -- Short Stories, Mystery Stories, Essays, Sports Writing, Travel Writing, and Nonrequired Reading. They are the books I will read when I want something different or short. I've read the introduction and at least the first entry in each and have enjoyed them all very much.

This week I've started on Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin. It has been frequently mentioned in the news recently and I thought it sounded like a perfect book for me and it is -- I love it so far.

And, because I am the most scattered person ever, I'm also reading Planthropology by Ken Druse. For those interested in plants, this book has history and other interesting information on selected plants, as well as absolutely beautiful photographs of those plants. I highly recommend it for plant history lovers.

So, I'm currently reading eight books and probably won't finish one for a long time but I feel extremely fortunate to have such riches in great reading material.

Oh, joy! I now have a wireless broadband connection. I also have Alexander McCall Smith's "La's Orchestra Saves the World" which was being put out on the new books display when I arrived at my local library.
I am now on a list for the new Dalziel and Pascoe and my daughter gave me a load of books that someone passed on to her. So I'm good for a week or two. I do dislike coming up to the weekend with nothing to read and no Sunday transport to the library which has a Sunday afternoon opening!

the original weekend plan to was to travel down to VA to visit DD at grad school. DH would go to the football game (and freeze himself to the metal stands) and DD and I would drive about an hour to a bridal salon that carries a dress she may want her bridesmaids to wear. However, the thesis work is going slower than anticipated (but I am assured that it is fascinating!) so I may be spending the afternoon sitting in either a second-hand bookstore or a coffee shop. Darn. And I could be doing yard work or cleaning up after the builders.
I'll pack several paperbacks from the TBR pile, and see what else I can unearth down there. I love university towns!

Enjoyed Sharyn McCrumb's Once Around the Track well enough, more than I expected. Her last two or three haven't been up to her usual standard and the idea of a novel about a NASCAR team of all women, except for the driver, didn't appeal. As I said, better than expected, and very informative.

Read Kate Mosse's Sepulchre and found it to be an enjoyable thrill ride through history.

Walking by the "New Arrivals" table at the library, I was surprised to see The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, which received very good reviews in the latest Bookmarks magazine. I started it last night and ended up reading it into the wee hours. The author did extensive research into the German occupation of Guernsey during World War II, and she spotlights that bit of history with a charming story. If you liked 84, Charing Cross Road, don't miss this book.

Another interesting fact about this book is that it is the first and only novel by Mary Ann Shaffer. It was finished by her niece, Annie Barrows, after she fell ill. Ms. Shaffer died before publication. I'm glad she left us this story.

I have several books on the go:
-in the kitchen: Best American Travel Writing, the 2002 edition. I love this series and am trying to get my hands on all the travel and food essay books.
-in the living room: Inner Harbor by Nora Roberts (will probably finish it tonight)
-in the bedroom: a collection of folk-tales from around the world
-at work: On a shoestring to Coorg by Dervla Murphy

This is because when I carry books around with me I tend to put them down somewhere and then lose them (my home is not the tidiest of places), so having one in each place makes sense.

cece, I am planning to be in Charlottesville at the same time you are! As you know, there are many wonderful bookstores near the University. So much to do and see. I also love walking around the Campus and exploring the streets and looking at the unique architecture in the city. C'ville is one of my favorite spots in the U.S.

I just finished Francine Prose's "Goldengrove." This is a work of fiction, a coming of age novel about how a family deals with tragedy and how an adolescent deals with loss and rebellion. It is not depressing at all -- on the contrary, there is so much wit and humor in the characters and the dialogues. I really liked this book and hated to see it end.

chris, is this the Kate Mosse who wrote that abysmal novel "Labyrinth"? Let us know if "Sepulchre" is worth reading, please.

I'm reading a biography of the Mitfords called The Sisters. Somebody in an earlier post mentioned reading the letters of the Mitfords...

-Frances_md, thanks for mentioning the book on plants. I find plants fascinating, and dabble a bit in growing them. That book sounds very interesting.
CMK

jwttrans-I recently read a collection of letters the Mitford sisters wrote to each other. I'll have to get my hands on that biography you mention. I come from a family of 4 sisters (and 1 brother) and I found their relationships with each other just fascinating--not to mention their astonishing interests and lives.

I finished Devil's Brood by Sharon Kay Penman, and enjoyed it thoroughly, although the story is rather sad.
Then read Louise Penny's second, A Fatal Grace and will go straight on to the next one.

I just finished Roddy Doyle's The Woman Who Walked into Doors. Wow. It was written in a simple conversational manner but the subject matter was deep. It was a very moving book. There is a sequel entitled "Paula Spencer" who is the main character and narrator of the first book. I am ready to dive in. But first, I am happily returning to Filth.

PAM

Just finished Old Filth that was mentioned here. Many thanks for those recommendations! I really enjoyed it. I had not been aware of Raj orphans prior to this read and it now has me interested in reading more. I have also not read this author before and am wondering if I should be looking into her other books. Now I'm on to the The Soloist by Steve Lopez - our December bookclub read. wig

I read The Sisters back when it came out and was simply fascinated. FWIW, the Diana and Oswald Mosley' son has been the press recently for bad behavior that reminded everyone of his fathers fascism. Our English friends here can probably tell us more.

Woodnymph, I enjoyed Sepulchre and, yes, it is by the same author. Take my enjoyment with a grain of salt - I loved The DaVinci Code. I almost didn't pick it up because of the bad report Labyrinth had here, but the woman from my book club who chose it is from the south of France and I couldn't be rude about a book set in her region of birth.

Started James Lee Burke's Swan Peak

FWIW I loved Paula Spencer I've never picked up a Doyle I didn't like.

I've lost my job recently and am sitting here trying to work up the courage to cancel my beloved Sunday New York Times subscription. Can't quite do it! I'm being ridiculous, I can read it at the library.

CMK, Planthropology is a beautiful book. I mentioned it because several of us came here through the GardenWeb and are interested in plants.

In addition to all the books I'm reading, I'm just starting to listen to the 12th and last available Lee Child book, Nothing to Lose. There will be a new one in May so until then I will be missing Jack Reacher. He seems like an old friend after listening to the series straight through.

siobhan, I'm so sorry about the job and hope another dream job is on the horizon.

Siobhan, that stinks! Hope you find another job you like soon. Do you ever read it on-line? Or is it the ritual of reading it over a meal in shared company or some such? There is a little inelegant place in Baltimore's harbor area that serves a great breakfast and has all the major newspapers. (Scenes from the TV show Homicide and from Laura Lippman's Tess Monahan mystery series are set in the place.) I'd meet a friend there for breakfast on Sunday mornings and after deconstructing our Saturday night dates, we'd sit reading the Sunday NYT. Don't think I've read an actual paper NYT since he got married and moved away.

woodnymph- darn! We could have done coffee (tea) because I spent the morning wandering on my own-DD met me for lunch, we did a craft fair on campus, then trolley back to the Downtown Mall to wait for DH for dinner. So if you saw a medium sized grey haired woman in a grey coat and bright blue pashmina (aren't THEY addictive) accompanied by a very cute petite 24 year old young woman with no hat and a navy blue pashmina (it's genetic) that was us! Did a lot of Christmas shopping, just a little book shopping. Were joined after the game by a man who looked quite wide due to many layers-top one a Green Bay Packers jacket-and a sad face because UVa did not play well and so, lost.
Due to my weekend destination, I raced through Rita Mae Brown's newest light mystery-they are all set in that part of Virginia. Took an old paperback on the trip for the sitting and reading of in coffeeshops-and will start reading something a little meatier as soon as I find it-or maybe wait until after Thanksgiving for that. I do have The Mitfords on my tbr shelf-it is a collection of their letters. I enjoyed Sisters very much when I read it a while back. What a diverse group from one set of parents!
Siobhan-I'm so sorry about your job-I hope it works itself out quickly. I love Guernsey too-and also thought it had the same tone as Charing Cross.

I love the actual newspaper - having it around all week. I am positively addicted to the serial that runs in the magazine - a bit of fiction on my Sunday morning mixed in with all the news. I hope it is always around. I worry about the future of newspapers.

Don't worry too much about my joblessness - I have a part time job that will turn into a full time job January 1 (budgets, you know!). It's not as glamorous as my old job but it's a good job nonetheless. The real problem is the lack of health insurance in the interim. I can continue my old coverage for a mere $550 a month! Well, enough about that.

I finished Guernsey and loved every word. I liked it so much that I am going to have trouble finding my next book. Maybe I should just read it again!

I did read it twice through and I think PAM did too. It is magical. Then I went back and read 84 Charing Cross Road and Duchess of Bloomsbury Street. They are old friends and were the perfect dessert to Guernsey.
I had seen Guernsey at my local big box discount warehouse, at a ridiculously low price (I realize now) but didn't buy it-I borrowed it from the library. As soon as I had read it the first time I hurried back to local big box warehouse but alas, all copies were gone. It is a book I need to own. May have to pay retail-but I have hopes of bookmooch or alibris.

Just finished "La's Orchestra Saves the World" and cannot say that I thought much of it! I usually avoid WW2 stories having been a child during that time and not really wanting to re-visit and revive memories of the upheaval and living through the London blitz! But I generally like McCall Smith's writing, especially the Ladies No.1 series, so borrowed it from my library. Now for the Dalziel and Pascoe book that has come in for me.
Siobhan, I'm relieved that you have a job in view. It is a worry being out of work, I know. When I migrated to Australia, I could not find anything suitable at first and the Government Employment office sent me to a place that turned out to be a sweat-shop! Luckily the lady I boarded with found me a job to get on with at a local Woolworths while I waited for job applications to be answered. She said that it was important to do something as unemployment can be very demoralising. If you can manage it,do keep up your subscription but could you get this paper on a weekly basis until your finances improve or is that more expensive in the long run? I know that an annual sub to a magazine is usually a lot cheaper than buying it from a newsagent. Anyway, you do need some pleasures in life!
Best wishes.

woodnymph, I got a kick out of Shakespeare's Wife. Not so much for the reason that I think Greer's speculations and revisionism are always right on target, but because her writing is done with such brio...Anne gets a bit of understanding and respect that the 'Bardolators' seldom give her.

You might enjoy Charles Nicholl's The Lodger Shakespeare: His Life on Silver Street. It has a lot of similar day-to-day details (as Greer's scholarship) in the life of a family of Huguenot tiremakers (tires were fancy hairdressing and headgear worn by the rich and, naturally enough, the actors portraying them). Nicholl also describes 'handfasting' -- the bit of business that got Shakespeare embroiled in the Mountjoy lawsuit in the first place. I don't think I ever understood these things well enough until I read this book.

As you may remember, I am a sucker for anything about Shakespeare and, concomitantly, the Shakespeare controversy. I've never felt, as many do, that speculation about his life is tantamount to sacrilege.

What else about Shakespeare's Wife particularly fascinated you?

I went back to the library to retrieve Guernsey; alas, it was gone already. I hope another reader is enjoying it as much as I did, and then another after that! There was one on the rental shelf, but I didn't take it because I am seriously considering buying it, even given my private economic downturn. If I am patient, I can probably get a copy secondhand. I love the literary references sprinkled throughout. I also love that I understood them :)

Went off in a completely different direction. Man in the Dark by Paul Auster is indeed very dark. Good, though.

Inspired by Guernsey, I requested something by Charles Lamb. Today I settled for his (with his sister Mary) Tales of Shakespeare. Must also look for Seneca.

I've had a hard time finishing anything since Angle of Repose. I'm part way into All Shall Be Well, And All Shall Be Well, and All Manner of Things Shall Be Well ... by Tod Wodicka which I've liked, but I've been sidetracked by all the Christmas-themed magazines and catalogs that have landed in my mailbox. I also started Larry McMurtry's Books: A Memoir, but returned it to the library unfinished. It's a quirky book recounting his years as an antiquarian bookseller, and IMO, unless you are familiar with the players, the rare books, and/or the places, it's just too specialized and disjointed to be really engaging.

Siobhan, I'm glad to hear you have a job on the horizon. I agree with Annpan's advice -- keep your NYT subscription, you do need small pleasures, especially when times are tough. Hang in there!

Cece, maybe Guernsey will be waiting for you under the Christmas tree -- I hope there will be a copy for me at my house, too! That book is a keeper.

Just finished "These Is My Words" by Nancy E Turner. Good although as it was so close to the heel of "Angle of Repose" and also about pioneering, it got a bit "same old same old" after a while. Good though and I liked the ending.

Not sure what to read next.... I just know it won't be a pioneer book! :-)

My semi-unemployed state has its advantages. The wind is howling, the rain is pounding, but I am tucked up in comfort on my sofa with a book and a large cat. Occasionally I rise to make a steaming cup of tea. I believe I will turn to knitting for awhile, and listen to music.

I am glad, however, that my part-time job starts tomorrow!

I am almost finished with Paulo Coelho's By The River Piedra I Sat Down & Wept. I also have some essays of Charles Lamb and can't wait to begin Kristin Lavransdatter. The latter is a 1929 cloth-covered edition. It was quite a thrill to find this waiting on the library shelf.

Just picked up Devil's Brood and P.D. James' newest mystery at the library-as soon as I finish all my Thankgiving Day prep I'm having a book feast.

Last night, I finally finished Old Filth. I hated to have to take a break from it, but there were book club books that needed to be read first (The Woman Who Walked Into Doors - Roddy Doyle, and Main Street by Sinclair Lewis). Thank you to everyone who recommended this book. Like WIG, I was shocked at the parents' treatment of the Raj orphans. We have but one childhood and it seemed such a sad way to spend it.

Yes, cece, I did read Guernsey twice. Like you, I must have a copy. But it seems that my copy has been out to friends and family for the past month being loved and shared by all who pick it up.

Siobhan, so sorry to hear about your full time job. I have my fingers crossed and wish you the best in your search for another. In the meantime, enjoy that tea and your books! I am quite envious. Please tell us what your are knitting, too! If memory serves, it was last year at about this time that we started a thread pertaining to our knitting projects. Perhaps we should do so again since this cold winter weather seems to make us all pick up our needles.

I am now turning back to Main Street by Sinclair Lewis. Book club has come and gone. Although I gave it "the ol' college try", I failed to finish it in time for the meeting. I would like to finish it. However, the library just called... I have two books on hold. Decisions, decisions.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL OUR FRIENDS FROM THE USA, and to all of our friends from other nations, I give thanks for your friendship.

PAM

Stopped into B&N today-just to get tea, mind you-and found on the featured table-Guernsey! wearing a 20% off sticker, another 10% for members, and what did I find in my wallet but a B&N gift card. Could the clerk tell me how much was left? "All of it!" SCORE!

Picked up a book that has been languishing in my book shelves for far too long -- The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven - Sherman Alexis. A set of short stories - slightly strange ones - that will probably coalesce into something at the end. It's interesting reading how Native Americans view life on their reservations and outside, according to the author (who is Native American as well). Good but probably won't read any more of his work. Too weird for me.

Happy Turkey Day to US folks and happy normal day to the rest of the world...

I finished Kristin Lavransdatter; it didn't take as long as I thought it would to read since I could hardly put it down! An all-around wonderful read.

I was worried after finishing it that no matter what I picked next to read, it would seem not very good since KL was SO good. My fears were put to rest as soon as I started A Mercy, which is Toni Morrison's latest. If I had one word to describe this book, it would be BRILLIANT. I absolutely loved it; and it's more accessible than some of her books, I think. It's set in the 1680s in New Englad, and tells (from different points of view) the struggles of a farming couple and their slaves (an African American girl, a Native American, and an orphan girl they sort of get stuck with). I highly recommend this one if you are a fan of Toni Morrison, or like realistic historical fiction.

Next up, Sarum by Edward Rutherford. I'm in the mood for another big, thick read this winter. I haven't read anything by Rutherford before so anxious to see if I'll enjoy his style or not.

Home from our travels, richer by 4 used books (I kept myself in check) but next read will be Devil's Brood. Tomorrow is to be icy, snowy, rainy...certainly can't do the outside Christmas lights, so....

Just got back from Thos. Jefferson's scenic "academic village" of Charlottesville, in the Blue Ridge Mountains of VA. Wandered in and out of a lot of bookstores and barely restrained myself, as there were so many "goodies", many hard to find and out of print.

Meanwhile, I am mesmerized by Dubus' "House of Sand and Fog." I simply cannot put it down at night, as the suspense builds. I find it filled with memorable characters, an intriguing plot and well written. (A long time ago, I had seen the film of this, but it made little impression on me, unlike the novel).

I'm reading the wonderful Little Heathens by Mildred Armstrong Kalish. It must have been recommended here, I have no idea how else it wound up on my library list. I really love memoirs, and this tale of growing up during the Great Depression on an Iowa farm is very well-written and very enjoyable. Thank you to whomever recommended it.

I'm still on the waiting list at the library for Old Filth and based on reviews here I'm really looking forward to it. In the meantime, the third book of Nora Roberts' Sign of Seven trilogy arrived yesterday, so those books will most likely be next.