OOOO! No, I hadn't heard of that one. I will try to find copy. LOVE that stuff.

It's pretty good. Some dry lawyer-ese but I really liked it.

"Law of the Mountain Man" by William W. Johnstone

Am still waiting for A Sticky End to arrive.
That's the trouble with ordering books for pennies with discount delivery.

I'm trying to focus and finsih Red Mars, but it's slow going. First I thought I was having trouble because they were in transit, and things would pick up when they landed. Then I thought things were slow because terraforming takes a long time. I briefly thought maybe I just don't like books about Mars, but I loved the Martian Chronicles, so that's not it. Then I thought things were slow because the characters were uninteresting. Then I thought things were slow because nothing interesting actually happens.

I'm at 45% and dangerously close to shelving in "So Bad I Couldn't Finish," except that I usually abandon a book as bad in the first 10%, so it doesn't seem right not to soldier on.

Oh, turns out I hadn't ordered A Sticky End, it was The Low Road (both James Lear) instead. It was good fun, but I can tell it was one of his earlier ones.

Case Histories by Kate Atkinson.

The first three chapters had me laughing out loud at times, due to her characterization of some of the characters, thinking thoughtfully for a minute, for the same reason, and at the end of each chapter I was like "wow." (How's that for literary description?)

I don't know yet though. I'll let you know. I like her writing style.

Sundae turned me on to Kate Atkinson and I LOVE her! LOVE HER!

I loves me some Jackson Brodie but check out her other stuff, too.

Someone or something made me buy it (cheap from Amazon) maybe I'd heard you all talking about her? Anyway, yeah, she's a wonderful writer.

I saw that she had a couple/three books centering around Jackson Brodie, but there are others too.

I'm always happy to find a new (to me) writer when I've exhausted my selection from my current favorite writer (Lionel Shriver has stayed with me a few months now.)

I think pretty much every Atkinson book has made me cry.
If Case Histories is the one with Blue Mouse (not a spoiler) then that was probably the one I cried at the most. Love and self worth and all that shit (also not a spoiler!)

I've loved her whole ouevre, but the one that comes back to me again and again in terms of phrasing and ideas is her first - Behind the Scenes at the Museum. Many of her books are about mothers and daughters, but this one spoke to me the most. But I admit it wins by a thin hair.

I have posted about her a couple of times. Perhaps slightly incoherently. And perhaps praising the English tone of her writing - which ensnares me and I'm glad isn't an obstacle to an American reader.

While you're all open & susceptible can I suggest Esther Freud (esp Hideous Kinky and The Wilds) and Jasper Fforde (esp The Eyre Affair). The former for crystal clear writing about childhood and its completely ordinary pain. The latter for puns and grins and literary pleasure. Again, both very English and both absolutely delightful.

I have finished playing fairy-bookmother now and am off to read some gay pron.

Yes, it is the one with Blue Mouse!

I can't wait to see (read) what happens. Thanks for no spoilers. :)

I'm half in love with Jackson, too! I need a man like that in my life...anyhoo, her very latest is Started Early, Took My Dog (a line from an Emily Dickenson poem - Kate loves Emily) which Sundae so very kindly gave (mailed) to me for a birthday pressie! Loved that one, too; I also have Emotionally Weird which some critics weren't thrilled with but I LOVED it. I feel like I've actually been to the places she writes about. The landscape and culture are as much part of the story as the characters and plot.

I'm reading the subject of this cartoon:

http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/fiction_rule_of_thumb.png

I'm hoping it beats the odds.

I"m reading a very junky piece of crap at the moment. I usually can't read more than a chapter (some of which are very short) before falling asleep.

It's called 'Rhett Butlers People' and is another add on book from the 'Gone With The Wind' saga.

I'm not quite sure if I'll finish this book, but it's a good cure for insomnia in any case.

Just finished "The Help", by Kathryn Stockett. Great book!

The Help