msmeow - only 7 books in the series. To date, at least - sometimes authors go back years later and pick up an installment of something they seemed to have been done with!

Mercedes Lackey is very prolific, though, and I wouldn't be a bit surprised is she has written 500 stories. Looking at her page on www.fantasticfiction.co.uk, she has many series but just as many stand-alones, and short stories and series contributed to.....

Going by this book I don't think she would do dystopia type fantasy (which depresses me so I avoid it like the proverbial plague). Any Lackey readers out there who know for sure?

Dawn

Dawn, thanks for the mention of the 500 Kindoms books, I'd never read Mercedes Lackey before, and I'm already half way through The Fairy Godmother. I'm hooked!

sheri_z6, I hadn't read her before either.

I had been looking for something else in the library catalog and had one of those " how the heck did this pop up under those search parameters?" moments for a different title in the series, but it sounded interesting so I looked it up for more details. So glad I did!

rouan, an earlier post said you'd been on a Mercedes Lackey kick. Do you have a favorite series or book?

Dawn

I am currently engrossed in "March" by Geraldine Brooks. It's set during the US Civil War. She is a new author to me - I'll definitely be seeking out more of hers.

Donna

Hi all - Goodness me. It seems ages since I've had a moment to come out and hang with you and catch up in general. However, I have been reading and wanted to spotlight a recent non-fiction read I finished the other day. Called "Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea" by Barbara Demick, a big cheese journalist for the LA Times, the book follows six very ordinary North Korean people, all of whom have defected to South Korea. (Actually, defecting to SK was the only way that Demick could have a real chat with each of them since North Korea is not very big on free speech etc.) Here's the review that I wrote for my blog the other day in case you're interested:

"Our enemies are using these specially made materials to
beautify the world of imperialism…If we allow ourselves to be affected by these
materials, our revolutionary mind-set and class awareness will be paralyzed and
our absolute idolization for the Marshal (Kim Il-sung in this case] will
disappear…” (Taken from government materials re: the dangers of North Koreans getting access to South Korean TV shows.)

This intriguing non-fiction read has been sitting on my TBR
pile for a while – a fact that I rather regret now as it was such a good read. In it, Demick follows the lives of six fairly
typical people who were born and lived in North Korea. What adds another level
of interest is that they have all defected to South Korea – which is the only
way that Demick could get an opportunity to interview them for the book. There
is no way that she could have had that sort of unfettered access whilst they
were living in North Korea as it’s such a government-controlled environment with
regards to free speech and other civil rights (i.e. there aren’t many civil
rights) – many individuals have served years in hard labor camps (similar to
the gulag) or even been executed for saying something that was not supportive
of the ruling powers.

As the reader
learns more about each of the book subjects, Demick structures the book to
deliver startling descriptions of life under a communist dictator and his
administration. In this day and again, it’s pretty astonishing to read about the
trials and tribulations of its ordinary citizens, and you learn just why people
stay in such a hostile environment. If it’s so bad, why not just leave? But, as
with many things, it’s never that simple for the average citizen. Potential
threats of execution and government-controlled education and media narrow the
available choices of such a populace and clearly demonstrates how the denial of
reality by a whole government controls the future of such a nation.

Historically
speaking, North Korea (or the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea as their
government calls their country) has been held back from progress for decades,
experiencing widespread famine in the 1990’s and poverty of resources and
optimism for its people. Until reading this, I did not fully comprehend how
powerless its people really were. This, combined with news of the recent
nuclear talk et al. by current leader Kim Jong-un, made it a very relevant read
for me (which made me love it even more).

However, Demick does not take pity or feel sorry for her
subjects. Instead, each person is allowed to keep their dignity and their
individual lives are presented with journalistic objectivity which makes the
descriptions of their very grey world even more powerful to Western readers.

Some of the notes that I made included the following:

• If you (as an individual person) made a slight
  against the government (or their “Great Leader” as Kim Jong-un is called), not
  only would be punished but also your whole family would be punished for three
  generations to get rid of “tainted blood” (i.e. your parents and your children
  would be included in such punishment as was deemed necessary).
• People need a travel permit from the government
  just to travel to the next town
• People who worked for the state (and everyone
  works for the state) didn’t get paid for months at a time and so almost the
  whole population were struggling for enough food, power, or shelter in a pretty
  harsh environment, weather-wise. Ugh. Even if the working folk had been paid
  what they were owed, there was still very little to buy for the average
  citizen.
• Despite this widespread famine, the government
  still managed to scrape together enough funds to build a large and impressive
  building in Pyongyang just to house the permanent exhibit of “Kimjongilia”, a
  flower named for Kim Jong-il who was the leader of North Korea for half of the
  twentieth century. His grandson who is the leader nowadays. (Him of the really
  bad haircut if you’ve seen pics.)
• Also related to the famine: there are significant
  physical differences between the populations of North and South Korea. Demick
  reports that due to significant childhood malnutrition, the average 17 year old
  male in North Korea is approximately five inches smaller than his counterpart
  in the healthier South Korea.

Demick is a prize-winning author and reporter for the Los
Angeles Times, and was stationed in Seoul (South Korea) as their bureau
chief.

I finished Bleeding Heart Square last night; and yes, Frieda, it is a stand alone story. I agree with the Dickensian description, even though it is set in the 1930s. It is a good read.

Donna, Geraldine Brooks is wonderful. I'd highly recommend People of the Book if you're looking for something else by her. She also wrote Year of Wonders, Nine Parts of Desire, Caleb's Crossing, and Foreign Correspondence (the last one is non-fiction about tracking down all her childhood pen-pals across the world - very interesting). She's married to Tony Horwitz, who is another author I enjoy. He writes non-fiction, and among my favorites of his are Confederates in the Attic and Blue Latitudes. I can't say enough good things about both of them -- enjoy!

Sheri, I've read "Confederates in the Attic" - that was a pretty interesting story! Thanks for the other titles from Geraldine Brooks.

Donna

I second all of sheri's recommendations, as I also am a huge fan of Tony Horwitz and Geraldine Brooks.

I have started Long Upon the Land, a new Deborah Knott mystery by Margaret Maron. I think I like these books more for the southern-style closeness and family life than for the mysteries, which seem sort of incidental to the story. She has the food, conversation, and give and take down pat. This one gives the back story of her parents' courtship and marriage.

Hi, Lemonhead, good to see you back! Thanks for that review. It makes one appreciate democracy so much more.

Thanks for the recommendation, Carolyn. I like stories like that, too. I don't mind if the mystery is sort of in the background.

I have now finished Sweet Tooth and have mixed feelings about it.

SPOILERS

The more I made my way through the book the more it didn't hang right with/for me.

I couldn't warm to the beautiful and clever Serena who seemed only two dimensional . . . one being sex and the other booze. How can someone that young put away so many 'alcoholic beverages' (as you say in the US) and remain upright let alone carry on a demanding and undercover job?

Frieda, I can see why you were able to relive memories of cold, gritty bed-sitters in North London. I have similar deep-buried recollections! I found the 'domestic issues' of the time became tedious . . . the strikes and more strikes, the IRA and other left/right bombings . . . and did someone so junior in MI5 have so much to do with ALL these terrorism threats? OK, I realise none of us know as we have never been part of that organisation but her 'floor' seemed to be involved in SO much.

I also failed to see the relevance of her friend Shirley(?) who was sacked.

While reading 'Sweet Tooth', by chance I also read an article about writer/poet Stephen Spender who had been 'set-up' in a similar way to the one McEwen describes; possibly from where he got the idea.

I found the 'short stories' produced by the writer 'Tom' to be interesting . . . only to find some were actually McEwen's own (already in print) and that 'Tom' and Sussex University are probably McEwan and his own Alma Mater.

I didn't see the 'ending' coming until the last chapter or so but can guess it was happy-ever-after.

Perhaps one day, I'll learn to read at face-value and not look too deeply into the text or background. I'm my own worst enemy. ;-(

Reading now Amagansett by Mark Mills. Takes place in eastern Long Island in July 1947. A first-generation Basque fisherman pulls out from the sea the body of a young woman. It looks like she drowned, but, of course, the reader knows there is foul play.

However, so far there is more to the novel than this mystery. The author gives plenty of historic background of the island, where people from different ancestries settled. There is friction between the year-round residents and the wealthy summer people.

It has an antique looking map of that part of Long Island on the endpapers.

Reader-in-Transit, your comment about the map on the endpapers made me smile. I love it when a map is provided. I refer to them frequently. The last book I read (The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce) had a map as does the one I'm currently reading (Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer). I started Into Thin Air on a Kindle, but switched to a "real book" part way through. The map that was suddenly available (and easily accessible) gave me yet another reason to prefer real books. Not that I needed another reason.

By the way, everyone, I feel that "real book" might not be the right term to use. Is there better terminology for this?

Have just finished a thin paperback The Virago Keepsake which is a collection of pieces from writers associated with that well-known leftish/feminist publishing house. Some of the earlier work was quite interesting but for me, less so were the articles produced by die-hard, bra-burning, angry females.

We don't hear much of that 'group' these days in the UK and wonder if they have achieved their aims (ie that women are as good as men . . . if not better) or they have drifted into old age and taken up cat breeding and knitting.*

* Apparently knitting was/is quite an acceptable occupation for feisty females as it is useful, artistic, fills in time at 'in-ins' and demo's and women are usually better at it than men.

I zipped through two other Ilona Andrews books, Magic Bites (the first Kate Daniels story), and a newer one, Clean Sweep. Loved them both,and now I'm looking forward to reading the entire back list.

I've just started a re-read of How to be Both for my local book group. I'm really curious to compare their thoughts to our online discussion. It should be interesting!

Vee, there was a "knit-in" here in the Perth area recently over some local issue. I think it was a protest about using some of the school sports area for a car park.

I think my old school in Chichester lost some of the playing fields too. The relentless creep of concrete!

kathy_t, I think "real book" is the best term. The other is just ephemera that can vanish as soon as the technology fails or changes.

Dawn

Kathy-t For me a book is what you call a 'real book' . .. I just looked-up the dictionary definition and it say "a number of printed pages bound together along one edge and usually protected by thick paper or stiff pasteboard covers"
Of course this dictionary was published well before 'e' technology came into being: I feel the electronic 'reading material provider' needs another name.

annpan, similar 'cement creep' happens over here all the time and school playing fields are an easy target, either to provide more 'building space' for the growing school or (much worse) when the land is sold-off to a 'developer' for housing.

In an age when children take far less exercise because they are transported to school (and everywhere else) by car, where, even during breaks/recess they spend their free time on electronic gadgetry, plus the non-meals of junk-food and endless snacks they consume . . . they are probably waddling heart-attacks waiting to happen.

Vee, I hear you. Even the size of house blocks are shrinking here. At one time a home would be built on a quarter acre block of land. My first home had a fifth but still large enough for a good size front garden and back area for the children to play in. Now the houses get bigger to incorporate a home theatre room and the blocks and gardens are quite small.

Children are in great danger of being obese with a shorter life span. It is quite a worry, hence the protests at smaller sports fields.

Back to the subject, I am still reading the Mr. and Mrs Darcy Mystery series by Carrie Bebris. I prefer the later books, the earlier ones are a bit preposterous! And she called Autumn "Fall!" Oh, the horror!

Annpan, a few months ago I was curious about why North Americans use 'fall' while 'autumn' is favored in the UK, Australia, etc. I quickly learned that there's a lot of misinformation on the Internet, even sites that get the words completely backwards as to where they are used predominantly, which I believe are as I stated in my first sentence. I got so exasperated that I resorted to digging out the mammoth printed version of The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. I don't know if it's the ultimate authority, but I found it enlightening.

Fall is actually the older term used in English, coming directly from Old English as in "fall of the leaf." Autumn comes from Latin by way of French. Apparently neither word was commonly used for the season name by English writers until the 17th century. Before that the season, as we think of it today, was simply called harvest or harvest time.

The English settlers who came to North America brought 'fall' with them. Many people (writers particularly) in England continued to refer to the season as fall, as well. But autumn was gaining ground and by the end of the 18th century, it was the 'fashionable' term. However, fall continued to be used interchangeably with autumn by UK writers throughout the 19th century, such as Charles Dickens and Irish poet Gerard Manley Hopkins (Spring and Fall: To a Young Child). It wasn't until the first half of the 20th century that 'fall' almost completely died out in the UK, with many English speakers coming to believe that 'fall' was an Americanism only. North Americans definitely use fall but autumn is also common.

Do you think, Annpan, that Austen would have used the fashionable 'autumn' exclusively? I read a good deal of Austen when I was in my teens and twenties, but I don't recall -- and probably never noticed -- how she referred to the season, whether harvest, autumn, or fall.

Frieda and Annpan, I have a VA US cousin who refers to Spring as leaf-out. Is this a common expression or is she just being poetic?

A word I associate with the US is 'skillet' meaning what we now in the UK call a 'frying pan' . . . although my over-large Collins dictionary says it is British (from Scan).

There are probably dozens more 'old' words that have stayed in use in the US but have been more-or-less lost over here.

btw I never knew Hopkins was Irish. Always learning something here.

Vee, Hopkins was born in Essex and was educated in England (incl. Oxford), but he became a professor at University College Dublin. He died in Dublin. I got the 'Irish poet' part from The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, but no explanation was given for why he was referred to that way.

I never heard "leaf out" before, but "skillet" is quite commonly used in the US.

Between reading exerpts from Homer's "Odessey" for one of my classes, I finished "Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why" by Laurence Gonzales. A very thought-provoking work of NF. I have a feeling both Frieda and Sheri might like this one.

Next, we will be reading John Gardner's "Beowulf."

Skillet is common usage here, but frying pan is part of the language, too. The first verse of a song my dad used to sing:

Old Dan Tucker was a fine old man

He washed his face in a frying pan

He combed his hair with a wagon wheel

And died of a toothache in his heel

Get out the way old Dan Tucker

You’re too late to git your supper

Supper’s gone and dinner cookin’

Old Dan Tucker’s just a-standin’ there lookin’.

I'm rushing to finish the last James R. Benn book featuring Billy Boyle called The White Ghost. It is set in the Pacific theater of WWII, and Billy is sent through Joe Kennedy's political pull to see about Jack Kennedy after his PT boat experience. The rush is because it's a library book and I need to finish it tonight since--tra la--my daughter and I are leaving on a trip to Spain and Portugal tomorrow. See you all in three weeks.

Frieda, I don't know enough in detail about Austen to say if she ever mentions "fall" in her writing, in either the books or her letters. Perhaps she did but it just grated on me! I would suggest that a month had been used in the story instead. The sentence went roughly "he died in the Fall" so substituting that for "he died in September" would have been a good compromise.

I know I am being picky but a perceived misuse jolts me out of the story!

I'm in the Midwest and have never heard of fall/autumn referred to as "leaf-out," so must be a regional thing! Carolyn - I just picked up the first Billy Boyle, but haven't started it yet. The woman behind the counter at the bookstore where I bought it couldn't say enough good things about it. Can't wait to start!

Michelle, I have just loved the series.

Thanks, Carolyn. I have to finish up a few others first, and then I'll jump in! Never enough time in the day, is there?

Nesser, Hakan - Inspector Van Veeteren in Borkmann's Point
Elizabeth J. Duncan - Penny Brannigan in The Cold Light of Mourning

My two new favorite mystery authors in at least a year. Nesser's inspector appreciates fine music and knows the depth of the soul. Duncan is the closest to Agatha Christie I've come across. Good to hear Margaret Maron has another in her wonderful series. Glad to read I'm not the only one for whom Sweet Tooth did not strike a chord. I felt the author was being dishonest.

A friend in the UK recommended Hakan Nesser as his all-time favorite, but I've heard elsewhere that he's very dark and graphic with the violence. Any thoughts?

Michelle, I have never heard of Hakan Nesser and see he is Swedish. Over here we have been going through a spate of Scandinavian 'whodunnits' on TV. All rather dark and grim. I have a picture in my mind that 'off camera' there is a team of little old ladies busy knitting those ultra thick sweaters/jerseys that are worn by all the cast.

btw & OT way back in the early '60's we used to holiday in the Shetland Islands (as far as you could get in the British Isles without a passport) they are 'Norse' rather than 'Scots'. Knitting was a necessary 'cottage industry' . . . this was before oil has been discovered. The elderly women could knit the most complicated Fair Isle patterns without so much as looking at their needles. Once they had finished a garment they washed it and hung it outside over a simple triangular frame to dry and keep it's shape. The wool was undyed and from the local sheep. Lovely garments to look at but, my goodness, they were so itchy next to the skin.

The really old grannies would show off the wedding-shawls they had made as young women. They had to be fine enough to pass through their wedding ring.

Shetland Wool Week

I finished "March" by Geraldine Brooks last night. It was a very good story! Thank you to whomever it was here who recommended her.

I've never heard the term "leaf-out" here in Florida, either. Of course, here things are leafing out pretty much year-round. We don't have much spring or fall; it's basically just hot, steamy summer and not so hot and steamy winter.

I only hear "autumn" used occasionally, and it's always from someone not originally from Florida.

Donna

Vee, those shawls must have been really fine. If I remember correctly, our forebears were smaller than now. I have seen antique jewellery and the sizes are tiny! Even clothes were small. My grandmother still had the underskirt from her wedding dress and it fitted a 20" waist, she was an average size.

Only petite girls, here mostly Asian, could wear these things now. I gave a ring to my grandson's Anglo-Indian fiancee and we had to resize it considerably!

Michelle, I'm a real wuss when it comes to the nasty stuff. I found Nesser more interesting and not as dark as others; chess games, good music, appreciation of wine were important. Reminiscent of Inspector Morse. Introspective but not morbidly so. Easy to skip the paragraphs that didn't aid the story. We shall see if his others are as well compartmentalized on the violent as Borkmann's Point.

The Michael Stanley Botswana book was trickier to spot upcoming violence. I should have put a warning in about that.

Annpan, I have had those "jolt me out of the story" moments many times. But I've probably let most things I read slide right past me, either because I don't recognize when they are not quite right or, even when I suspect something is hinky, I'm too lazy to check it out then and there -- and then I forget about it! I'm quite forgiving of fiction though, because, truthfully, I don't take very much of it seriously at all.

Vee, maybe you have a problem with some fiction, as I sometimes do, because made-up stuff is just not as appealing to you as the real thing. I liked the realistic parts of Sweet Tooth very much but, like you, I didn't buy the character of Serena or her "job" either. That's interesting about Tom's stories actually being some of McEwan's own published stories. I thought the tales were bizarre, surrealistic, and dismal (especially The Somerset Levels dystopian story). But I recalled that stories like them were all the rage in the late 1960s and early '70s. I never understood why that stuff was so admired, but it was. It's another layer of authenticity McEwan added that I recognize.

Mary, Deep Survival does interest me. Thanks for mentioning it. I read a book a few months ago with a similar theme, The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes -- and Why by Amanda Ripley. I am not a great risk-taker, but now that I have a little perspective to look back on some of the foolish and downright stupid things I've done, I realize how truly fortunate I have been.

I would love to see some of those Shetland Island sweaters! And so interesting that the people there are considered Norse not Scottish. Hard to believe the wedding shawls had to fit through a ring - but wouldn't that make a lovely visual in a film?

Irsisgal - thanks for the comments about Nesser...I may check him out after all - loved Morse.

What jolts me out of a story the most is dialogue in historical fiction that is too modern!

I'm in the middle of "Think Twice" by Lisa Scottoline. I'm pretty sure I've read it before, but I sure am enjoying it! Her stories move along at a good pace.

Donna

Dawn and Sheri, Sorry, I haven't been on in awhile so missed your earlier questions. I have now read several more of Mercedes Lackey's books and liked many of them. The 500 kingdoms is my favorite of her series so far. I have read most of the Elemental Masters series which are a little darker but still have "happy" endings.

The Valdemar series is the one that I have been delving into lately. They had been recommended to me years ago but I never got around to them. I don't think I will read all of them at this time, I need a break between in order not to get bored with it.

Having said that, I did take a bit of a break and re-read/listened to Megan Whalen Turner's Thief series. She was in Greece several years ago and the setting for these books is loosely based on her impressions of the landscape. Every time I re-read them, I fall in love with them again. If anyone is interested in reading them, although they can be read as standalones, I suggest that they read them in order (starting with The Thief).

Hi all,

I also recently "discovered" Hakan Nesser and have read the first 6 (or was it 7) titles in his Van Veeteran series. While I like Van Veeteran as a character, as someone said, chess, fine music and wine, with a fair smattering of philosophy, I found that the series got more disturbing as it went on. Darker, more crude. I have not requested any further titles from the library as the last one put me out of sorts. I need a break.

Just finished reading This House is Haunted by John Boyne. The blurb claims it to be a "Dickensian ghost story". I think not. It was spooky and dark yet neither gory nor graphic. I think it more of a Victorian style, but Dickensian is much too much praise. It was a fun read, albeit slightly predictable, for the season of All Hallow's Eve.

Speaking of ghosts, I also read the latest by Simone St. James, The Other Side of Midnight. The main character is a psychic and she was hired to solve the murder of another psychic. It was okay, not as good as her first two books; The Haunting of Maddy Clare and An Inquiry into Love and Death.

I second and third the praise for both Geraldine Brooks and her spouse, Tony Horwitz. I read everything he wrote and most of what she wrote. (I like his stuff much more, if you are curious.)

Now reading Six Questions of Socrates by Christopher Phillips. He is the head of the Society for Philosophical Inquiry. In this book, he poses the six questions of Socrates to different demographic groups, in different countries and shares the differences and similarities. I am only on page 23 and find it fascinating. The six questions are: What is virtue? What is piety? What is good? What is justice? What is moderation? What is courage? He simply goes to a public area and starts chatting. Soon there is a Socratic circle discussion going on and wow... nary a cell phone nor a google search in sight. The conversations sound just amazing and I am quite jealous I have not yet stumbled upon one.

PAM

After finishing "North by Northanger" by Carrie Bebris, I decided to read "Northanger Abbey " again. It was over sixty years ago that this Jane Austen classic was a set text for a school examination. I suppose the people who set it thought it would resonate with girls of a similar age to Catherine but we didn't like it at all and preferred the Gothic novel we were told to compare it with!

I hope I can appreciate the wit and humour of the writing this time!

Very disappointed with Elizabeth Duncan's 2nd book, A Brush With Death. Scratch my optimistic comment of a new favorite author. Back to tried and true Rhys Bowen, The Twelve Clues of Christmas with Lady Georgiana, and Margaret Coel's Wife of Moon. She writes of the Arapahos in Wyoming.
Needing something slower I decided to try Men At Arms (Evelyn Waugh). Always thought he would be a bore but quite liking it.

Thanks for the heads up on Nesser becoming dark.

Iris, I have read the whole Penny Brannigan series and quite liked them. Perhaps the next one will have you liking her again! Usually the later books in a series improve as the characters get established.

I have read the first books sometimes after coming to a series in the middle and am thankful I never started from the beginning!

Between trying to read Beowulf and Grendel for one of my history classes, I managed to finish Josephine Humphries' "Dreams of Sleep." The novel is set in Charleston, SC, where I now live, and has actual neighborhoods with named streets and local details. The author is a local who grew up in the city.

I decided to return "Northanger Abbey" without reading it all. I no more enjoyed it this time than in 1953!

I had a couple of mysteries by Carolyn Hart waiting at the library so will get back to the present this weekend.

Thanks Annpan. I won't give up on Penny Brannigan.

A friend finished Turtle Moon by Alice Hoffman and gave it to me. Homes not air-conditioned here and we've been in a heat wave the past 2 weeks. Sweltering in the humid heat was perfect timing to read this as Florida's heat made ours seem normal. So I've got 2 books going.

I finished a re-read of How to be Both and found so many additional parallels between the two sections -- this book is a treasure-trove of clever echos and I really enjoyed re-reading it. This time I read "Camera" before "Eye" (the opposite of my first read through) and I did find it a bit more logical. Members of my book group either loved it or hated it (more lovers than haters), but everyone said they were still thinking about it afterwards. It was probably the longest completely book-focused discussion we've had since I joined the group :)

I'm also reading the Ilona Andrews Kate Daniels series and am almost through the second book, Magic Burns. I've been getting these from the library and I'm waiting for book 3 to come in, but I may cave and buy my own copies. I've really enjoyed the four or five Andrews books I've read so far, and I'll be working on the whole back list eventually.

Rouan, thanks for your comments on Mercedes Lackey, I have two more of the 500 Kingdoms books waiting for me (my sister had them all) and I'm looking forward to them. I will eventually look into her other books, as well. I've definitely been in the mood and mindset for fantasy fiction lately.

I am halfway through Pyramid by David Gibbins. The main characters are archaeologists who continually get into scrapes a la Indiana Jones. I'm enjoying it; it's about finding facts to back up the story of Moses parting the Red Sea in Exodus.

Donna