A little over half of the way though "Devil in the While City" which was recommended on here (I think CosmicPal). Really damn interesting historical account of significant events I was largely unfamiliar with.

Joe Hill-Heartshaped Box

I finally cracked into the Oxford American Southern Food Issue for this year. Loving it.

No suggestions for Financial reading?

I'm coming back from AWP today... which means that I'm lugging home a gigantic bag full of books and literary journals/magazines. This is going to be problematic in a delightful way.

Just wait 'til you get towards the end of that book. :D

Glad you're enjoying it. :thumb:

Just started "Furies of Calderon" by Jim Butcher. First book in a series.

For those that are fans of the fantasy genre I would recommend this one. The author definitely has some fresh ideas in a genre that seems to struggle for variety.

Also just finished "Blood Meridian" by Cormac McCarthy, and all I can say is /headscratch. After loving his style in "No Country", I was left wanting on this one.

Woah. Blood Meridian is his best work, imo. Completely love it.

That is up at the top of my stuff I need to read list. What little I have read of McCarthy has left me very impressed (No Country for Old Men and The Road) and unlike much that may be thrown in the literature classification, doesn't take effort to read.

You may not like Blood Meridian then. It's a very different writing style than The Road.

Don't have a problem with that.

Finished both The Girl who Played with Fire and The Art of Racing in the Rain

The former was much better than the predecessor, which is a feat in itself. I can't wait for the third, which will most likely be Part 2 of Fire.

The latter was an interesting read. Interesting that a third of the way through it, I thought the book was so simple and lacked a sophistication quality. It just seemed like a generic story with a unique point of view. The next three quarters indicated why this book has gotten the play it has. It's a unique point of view but a masterstroke of writing. The metaphors, the wording, the subtext - everything was going on all cylinders so much so that the pretty unrealistic story, if taken by itself, seemed like a perfect way to convey everything.

It really boiled down to the writing which was phenomenal.

I read The Art of Racing in a single 3 hour sitting, and I'll admit it made me cry. First book ever to do so.

I'm currently reading Elizabeth Gilbert's Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage, her follow-up memoir to the mega-successful (and mega-good) Eat, Pray, Love.

Seriously.

Next up: Shark's Fin & Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China by Fuchsia Dunlop

How is Committed? I liked EPL fairly well, though I enjoyed it more while I was reading it than I did in retrospect. Certain sections I enjoyed, but I was pretty tired of her by the end of the book.

The Chinese food book sounds good. I'm still cranking through the Oxford American food issue and enjoying it. Also been rereading Carver's Cathedral for discussion with my writing class.