I just finished reading Wintersmith, and now I’m rereading (for the tenth time, if I remember correctly) Strata. I tend to do that- whenever a new Pratchett comes out, I read it… and then reread the entire series again, in some sort of random order.*
*[SUB]Yeah, I know, Strata isn’t technically a Discworld book. But it’s got a world, shaped like a disc, so I think it counts.[/SUB]
I just finished reading Suze Orman Young, Fabulousm and Broke which had some good stuff in it. I just picked up Freedom Writers Diary since the movie is about to come out!
Thanks for the recommendations. I’ll be hitting the book store today and will check those out.
Slee
Ha! Now you need to read Goodnight, Nebraska. They’d pair up nicely on the shelf. (And it was a good book, similar to the Texas book, sounds like.)
Slee, I second the rec for Armaggedon Rag. Great book, especially if you are of an age. After reading it the first time, I was ready to swear I had seen some of the groups in the book at the Fillmore.
I finally read them this summer, after multiple recommendations by pseudotriton ruber ruber. Great stuff. I’ve bought the Cornish trilogy, and am waiting for when I need a treat to read it.
(BTW, ko, I got The English Passengers for my boss for xmas. 
)
Don’t forget Joyleg! Hilarious plot twists, ebullient characterization, plus great riffs on American Revolution-era culture and the 1950s zeitgeist!
Also Peregrine Primus and Peregrine Secundus. The latter ends on something of a cliffhanger – really wish Avram had written a third . . .
I’m into Len Deighton’s (I probably misspelled the name) City Of Gold, a spy tale of WWII set in Cairo. It’s pretty good. I like his writing.
In contrast, I just laid down unfinished the second book I’ve started by David Baldacci, this one called The Winner, because frankly, his writing sucks and the story is so improbable that I can’t keep any interest going.
Recently I discovered Michael Connelly and his Harry Bosch character. I’ll definitely be reading more of those. I’m still waiting for the next John Grisham fiction. Grisham is my favorite current fiction writer, with Ken Follett a close second. I’ve read pretty much all of their stuff so far. More to come from both of them, I hope.
I just finished rereading Simon Green’s Nightside books ( good stuff ). I’m just starting to reread Loise Cooper’s Time Master trilogy.
I don’t think I’ve ever read a book twice in a row before. I’ve only been tempted once – Songs of the Humpback Whale, by Jodi Picoult. So I’ll start the Thirteenth Tale this weekend (after I finish Jodi Picoult’s Keeping Faith). Thanks for the endorsement!
I agree, but I’m glad he got over this latest story arc with Lilith. That was getting old. I look forward to the next one, due out, I think, on the 26th.
Just finished a really well-done novel: Case Histories by Kate Atkinson. A mystery, of sorts – though somewhat more “literary” than that. There are a few old, unresolved deaths or disappearances that end up being investigated by a single private detective. It jumps around quite a bit from one time to another, and a variety of points of view. I liked it quite a bit.
I liked Case Histories too. The jumping around lost me a couple of times, but it wasn’t annoying enough to make me stop reading. Although I did wonder if the story would have worked just as well if told in “normal” time.
I’ve started and dumped a couple lately – Let Us Build A City by Donald Harington. I liked the premise – look at the history of several ghost towns in Arkansas, but the writer kept interjecting himself into the book. And I didn’t like him. (Reminded me of that Waller guy who wrote Bridges.)
Also dumped The Wrestler’s Cruel Study by Stephen Dobyns. I couldn’t find anyone in the book to relate to.
I should give books more of a chance to grab me but dammit, I’m old.
Right now I’m sticking with City of Saints and Madmen by Jeff VanderMeer, a Christmas gift from a few years back.
Got Brother Odd (amounst others) for Christmas and have started that. Am not yet into it enough to pass judgement, but since I liked the first one so well and the second OK, I’m expecting to enjoy this one.
I really liked it, too – interesting characters, moved right along and the ending was more of a surprise that I thought it would be.
I’m reading The House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus. I like it so far, despite the fact that when I googled it I discovered that it was an Oprah book.
But it was a regular book before it was an Oprah book.
I’ll bet we’ve all read Oprah picks without realizing it. A Fine Balance, Gap Creek, East of Eden, Song of Solomon, Sula, etc. Good stuff.
I liked the first two, as well. I’m actually a little surprised/disappointed that no one got me Brother Odd for Christmas, but now I can go out and get it for myself! 
Looking for something to lighten the mood while waiting to fly out of Denver, picked up “A Confederacy of Dunces” by John Kennedy Toole. Pulitzer winner back in the late 60s, early 70s. Heard of it, saw it, grabbed it, enjoying it a lot.
Just finished *Anansi Boys * by Neil Gaiman. I was a little hesitant to start it because while I really loved the premise of American Gods, the actual book left me underwhelmed.
I enjoyed *Anansi Boys * (which covers much of the same territory as American Gods) much more. It felt like a more complete and developed story, with more sympathetic characters.
Up next? I’ve had *Jitterbug Perfume * by Tom Robbins sitting on my shelf for a while, but I’ve also got a hankering to go on a Terry Prachett binge. I’ve only read up through Sourcery (over the last year) and I’m anxious to get caught up.
I’m currently trying to improve my Spanish. The last book I finished was Il Padrino (The Godfather). I have just started Yo, Claudio by Robert Graves-Sanchez.