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I just read The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. Wholly involving and quite moving - I picked it up at bedtime and was up into the wee hours because I just had to finish it. I highly recommend it.

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i've been reading "a short history of tractors in ukrainian" for light reading... it's really funny and well-written. lately it's been all i can do to read my new yorker every week!i start going back to school part-time in january for my masters, so i think my reading that's not social work-related will drop substantially.

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by the way, soho, if you like mystery novels, check out paco ignacio taibo. his novels are quite surreal and strange, and really twist up the whole hard-boiled genre. a lot of his books talk about the current state of mexico in a roundabout way. he's one of my favorites. really terrific. also, i can't recommend mario vargas llosa enough. he's peru's most famous writer and he veers from denigrations of south american society to these wonderfully free-wheeling accounts of cosmopolitan life in lima to off-the-wall discussions of art history! he is so wonderful and fun and lush and heartbreaking and thought-provoking. check out "aunt julia & the scriptwriter" for an introduction... but "the war of the end of the world" is my favorite. it's based on a true story about a town in brazil that is established by this madman prophet and his crew of prostitutes, thieves, beggars... and they make a military stand against the brazilian army. it's incredibly epic and may be my favorite book of all time. sorry for the long post. i'm a book junkie.

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Finished up "The Sinner" by Tess Gerritson, "Jane and the Unpleasantness of Scargrave Manor" by Stephanie Barron, and "The Remnant" by Jenkins/LaHaye.

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by the way, soho, if you like mystery novels, check out paco ignacio taibo. his novels are quite surreal and strange, and really twist up the whole hard-boiled genre. a lot of his books talk about the current state of mexico in a roundabout way. he's one of my favorites. really terrific. also, i can't recommend mario vargas llosa enough. he's peru's most famous writer and he veers from denigrations of south american society to these wonderfully free-wheeling accounts of cosmopolitan life in lima to off-the-wall discussions of art history! he is so wonderful and fun and lush and heartbreaking and thought-provoking. check out "aunt julia & the scriptwriter" for an introduction... but "the war of the end of the world" is my favorite. it's based on a true story about a town in brazil that is established by this madman prophet and his crew of prostitutes, thieves, beggars... and they make a military stand against the brazilian army. it's incredibly epic and may be my favorite book of all time. sorry for the long post. i'm a book junkie.

Ooh, thank you! I will put both on my Amazon list :)

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I just finished The Queen's Fool by Phillippa Gregory -- awesome historical fiction!

 

Also I have recently read Sea Glass by Anita Shreve -- and I totally loved it. I can't wait to read more by her.

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Meg is right, Diana Gabaldon and The Outlander series is wonderful!It's historical romance and time travel. Really well done. I just gotthe latest book.Anne Rice The Witching Hour is great. The Stand and Bonesby Stephen King are also a must if you like a little supernatural.The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis and Pillars of the Earth by Ken Folletare two really different types of books that sound weird but will transport you.Doomsday: Sends a Scientist back in time to the 1300's (?) during the Black Plague. She is there to live amongst the people and figure outwhat caused it.Pillars: A man's quest to build a Cathedral. Sounds so boring here...but is not. You can see I like a good story and to escape..Any suggestions.

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You guys keep making me want to read that Gabaldon series. :) I haven't gotten around to getting the first one but I will eventually.Finished "Picture Perfect" by Jodi Piccoult, and "Conspiracy Club" by Johnathon Kellerman.Working on "Whose Wedding is it anyway?" by Melissa Senate and "Taking the Fifth" by JA Jance.

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I've been reading The Second Assistant by Mimi Hare and Clare Naylor. It's pretty much like The Devil Wears Prada ( I think I got them together off Amazon) but set in Hollywood. The character is a bit more likable because she doesn't whine as much, although she's still just as naive and annoying. It's not the greatest book I've ever read, but it's not bad for fluffy chick lit... anyone else read it?

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Northern, I got Naylor's "Catching Alice" and "Love: A User's Guide" on an ebay auction..but haven't read them. I saw "The Second Assistant" at Barnes and Noble on the discount rack..might have to pick it up..sound pretty decent.BTW, I've been seeing alot of "chick lit" books discounted at the Barnes and Noble store in my area...Red Dress Ink, Avon Trade,etc..all for $5 and under..they seem to be the 2003/2004 publication years..not a bad price.

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I've been reading The Second Assistant by Mimi Hare and Clare Naylor. It's pretty much like The Devil Wears Prada ( I think I got them together off Amazon) but set in Hollywood. The character is a bit more likable because she doesn't whine as much, although she's still just as naive and annoying. It's not the greatest book I've ever read, but it's not bad for fluffy chick lit... anyone else read it?

I read that! It was better written than the Devil Wore Prada, I thought.

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Finished up "A Virgin Blue" by Tracey Chevalier...tough read but love her writing style.Working on "A Great Deliverance" by Elizabeth George and HP5

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I just finished "The Egyptologist." Meh. Kind of disappointing. I was totally into it for a while, but I felt like the author was a little too enamored of his own cleverness and he just isn't that damned clever. The ending was cool but a let-down for me because it was treated like a big revelation and I thought it was kind of "duh."Just started "A Piece of Cake," by Cupcake Brown but had to put it down for a bit after the first hundred pages or so b/c I got really depressed and sad. It's really good though. Also flipping through a really fun book "Fashionable Food: Seven Decades of Food Fads." Three-P salad anyone (peanuts, peas and pickles!)??? I love books like this about American culture and how our preoccupations in areas like food or entertainment reveal larger societal issues.

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Funny you should mention Cupcake Brown. CNN had a live interview with her the other day..really amazing story. Ya just gotta love that name. :)

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Also flipping through a really fun book "Fashionable Food: Seven Decades of Food Fads." Three-P salad anyone (peanuts, peas and pickles!)??? I love books like this about American culture and how our preoccupations in areas like food or entertainment reveal larger societal issues.

Have you read "Finding Betty Crocker" by Susan Marks? It tells about how General Mills invented an everyday housewife who gave out cooking tips in the 50's. People thought she was real - there was a radio show and TV shows. It's a pretty interesting book.

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Have you read "Finding Betty Crocker" by Susan Marks? It tells about how General Mills invented an everyday housewife who gave out cooking tips in the 50's. People thought she was real - there was a radio show and TV shows. It's a pretty interesting book.

Ooh, that sounds great. I'll have to check it out. A couple of months ago, I read "The Man Who Invented Rock Hudson." Anyone else here read that? I thought it was really interesting although kind of scattershot and a little too coy in tone.

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Finished up "A Great Deliverance" by Elizabeth George..what a great read (I saw on the net that PBS Mystery does alot of George's mysteries..will have to check them out)Also finally finished Harry Potter 5 ..woohoo :lol:

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"The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay" by Michael Chabon (he's the guy who spruced up Spider-Man 2)It's a book about a comic that takes the public by storm during World War II New York City. So far, so FANTASTIC. It takes a while to get into it, but as soon as you do, you can't put it down. I had to, my grades began to suffer.That's not heard often in my generation.

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