I'm just about finished with "Sunshine" by Robin McKinley, a pretty good vampire page turner (with more than a bit of a nod to Anne Rice). Just finished Persepolis (the graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi about growing up Iranian after the Islamic revolution). Upcoming: Rune Marks by Joanne Harris, and I will try yet again to finish The Satanic Verses.

"American Wife" by Curtis Sittenfeld; "A Semi-Invisible Man: A Life of Norman Lewis" by Julian Evans; "Sister Bernadette's Barking Dog: The Quirky History and Lost Art of Diagramming Sentences" by Kitty Burns Florey and "Shadow Country" by Peter Matthiessen.

"Three Junes" by Julia Glass, a wonderful story in three parts about the 'small world' type of encounters that affect family and relationships, unwittingly or no; "Side Effects" by Allison Bass, an expose on scientific wrong-doings involving the antidepressant Paxil; and "Special Topics in Calamity Physics" by Marisha Pessl.

Just finished reading, "Work Less, Do More" by Jan Yager and "The Starter Wife" by Gigi Levangie Grazer" - both wonderful books and inspiring.

diary of a bad year by coetzee, battle of the labyrinth by riordan, capitol men by dray, breakfast with buddha by merullo and dervishes by helms. just finished guernsey and split by finnamore.

Infinite Jest, by David Foster Wallace. Whew - it's tough. And "Hot, Flat and Crowded" by Thomas Friedman.

Two books I read in the last week that I really enjoyed were Michael Cox's The Glass of Time, set in Victorian England about a 19-year-old orphan who obtains a position as a trusted lady's maid in order to eke out her revenge; and Kim Barnes' A Country Called Home, literary fiction set in the Idaho wilderness in 1960 and 1976.

Recently read The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly and Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household. Am now reading and loving Shade by Neil Jordan. Am about to read second novella in Suite Francaise.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. Worthy twice over of the National Book Award.Required reading for everyone!

I just finished re-reading John Grisham's Playing For Pizza, the story of a hack QB from the NFL who finds a second chance on life in Italy. I stumbled over a blog written by a real QB who found himself in a similar situation. Jason Johnson, who played at the University of Arizona, was cut from the Buffalo Bills practise squad, played two years in Canada wrote a blog entitled Really Playing For Pizza. It was interesting to compare the book with the real life adventures of this young man.

I just started Nineteen Seventy Four by David Peace. (Part one of the Red Riding Quartet, mystery.)Very fast paced.

Holly, I'm glad to hear Shade by Neil Jordan is great. It's been sitting on my night stand forever!

The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova. It's a fun read and a fascinating historical inquiry into the real Vlad Tepes. It has a number of unbelievable plot twists, and God jumps out of the machinery more than a few times. But the book still works.

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, by David Wroblewski. Hamlet in Wisconsin? If this is his first novel, I can't wait to see his second and third. This one reads as if it took a lot of effort and energy. I hope there's some left for a second and third.

The Unfinished Game, by Keith Devlin. Who would have thought that something so "

Am loving Ethan Canin's America America, feels like the right thing to be reading during the election. But can't wait for my new Julia Glass book to arrive!!!

The worse things get, the older the books on my nightstand, currently: Archie & Mehitabel, Joan Aiken's The Cuckoo Tree, Algebra for the Practical Man, Fer de Lance by Rex Stout, the Feynman Lectures on Physics, Gulliver's Travels, and Rachel Carson's Silent Spring.

The Giver, by Lois Lowry and Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott. Meant to read both years ago and am just now getting around to them!

Whiskey Rebels by David Liss, The Hemingses of Monticello, Oscar Wilde and a Death of No Importance by Giles Brandreth and tonight I'm adding Fire by Kathrine Neville (just got it on my lunch hour today). I can't wait for Gate House by Nelson DeMille and the new book about Franklin Roosevelt by H.W. Brands.

Rabbit in the Moon, by Deborah and Joel Shlian is on mine. A wonderful adventure set in modern China.I love thrillers, and this one kept me fascinated.

I'm currently reading The Orphan's Tales: In the Night Garden by Catherynne M. Valente. A young girl has birthmarks around her eyes that are words that make up many stories, and she must tell all of the stories before she can be judged by the woman who cursed her with the marks. Very hard to put down.

Wesley the Owl, by Stacey O'Brien, which is one of those amazing books that lingers in your head and heart. A true story of a young animal biologist who raised a barn owl in her bedroom for 19 years. THe wacky world of animal biologists is laugh out loud funny, and the intense bond that Stacey develops with Wesley is a window into the inner life of owls. Animal lovers of all stripes will love this book.

I'm just finishing up Jay Lake's Escapement, leaving me anticipating the next in the series. Next on deck is either John Scalzi's Zoe's Tale or Kate DeCamillo's The Tale of Despereaux, depending on whether I'm at the office or home when I finish Escapement. These next two are Young Adult titles, but I like to keep up with what my children are reading when I can.

Just finished the 19th Wife. Really good
On my nightstand I have a stack I haven't gotten to- Tweak, Scattershot among others...

THE WARLORD'S SON by Dan Festerman is as good as his early tales of far away places and it gets my mind off my own struggles. Then, too, my own novel, Sisterbaby's Monkey from Chana Books is a ghostly grabber, a tale of murder and rape in Baltimore, the horrors of World War I, how love and revenge need to be satisfied. Just left Bouchercon here in Bawlmer. Sorry, am I being too self serving? Trying hard to find my market niche,sans agent. Charles Colley

<b><i>New Seeds of Contemplation</i></b> by Thomas Merton.

I am just bowled over by all of these wonderful responses -- quite a few that I love, quite a few that I'd love to read. Keep them coming! I'm dying to finish The Glass of Time by Michael Cox -- I might have to carve out some time this week to do that.

Just finished reading The Invisible Wall by Harry Bernstein. Our book club was fortunate enough to speak to Mr. Bernstein on a conference call the other night from his home in New Jersey. Mr. Bernstein is 98 years old, articulate, and a remarkable man. His story is worth reading (and he has a sequel just out called The Dream and another book due out in 2009).