I'm about to set off on book tour (check out the schedule and come see me!), and wanted to get this posted before I left. Lots of very very different kinds of books this time. Joshua Then and Now by Mordecai Richler Once again I picked up a Richler for research purposes only to find myself absolutely enamored. I have one quibble, however. Why are men of this generation so damn obsessed with sex? Is it because they got so little of it when they were young? Now You See It by Cornelia Nixon She is a marvelous writer, and this story is devastating. Charming Billy by Alice McDermott This may be one of my favorite books. I read it again to see what I could steal from her.

St. Urbain's Horseman by Mordecai Richler Another book for the Bloom Girls. As good as his others, better, certainly, than some. The Light of Day by Graham Swift This book didn't really work for me. I didn't care much about what happened to the characters.

The King of America by Samantha Gillison She is a delectable writer, precise, lovely. Dare I say, luminous? Don't read the book if you like happy endings. The Partly Cloudy Patriot by Sarah Vowell I howled my way through this essay collection. A Few Short Notes On Tropical Butterflies by John Murray Some of these stories are truly wonderful. Delightful and sort of creepy. The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri I loved this book. It was slow, and languid, and marvelous. Any Human Heart by William Boyd My favorite book this time around. A man's entire life. Brilliantly told. The Semi-Attached Couple & The Semi-Detached House by Emily Eden Anyone who, like me, is made miserable by the failure of Jane Austin to live forever, should read these charming novels. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez I don't need to tell you that this is one of the best novels of all time.

Keeping Watch by Laurie R. King A mystery writer at the top of her form. The Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald I can't believe I didn't read these until now. I feel like such an idiot.