The Private Patient - P.D. James - as always PD James writes a great, old-fashioned who done it. Always enjoy her writing, and she helps expand my vocabulary - who else uses words like miasma, refulgence and perspicacious?!
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows - great summer read! Fell in love with the characters and didn't want it to end. Juliet is a writer in London who begins corresponding with a group of people on the island of Guernsey, who began the Literary Society as an alibi during the German occupation. One of those books that makes you laugh and cry.
The inheritance of Loss - Kiran Desai - story about love, families, clashes of traditional and new cultures, class issues and prejudices. Most characters in northern India in Himalayas, early and mid 80's during political insurgencies. Many praises for the author's prose - some are beautiful, some funny, some can bog the story down. Winner of Booker Prize.
The Book of Negroes - Lawrence Hill - Aminata Diallo pens her life story, from being abducted from her village in Africa as a girl, to working on an indigo plantation in South Carolina. Being given the chance to sign the "book of negroes" a historic British military ledger allowing 3000 Black Loyalists passage on ships sailing to Nova Scotia. Have heard a lot about it and have been waiting for it to come from the library. Took me a long time to read the last book because I can't see well enough yet, but I'm stubborn and want to read!
Bag of Bones - Stephen King - (Thanks Leanne) Love King and as always he is developing some great characters. Very different, is much more subtle and building the underlying ghost story. Writer loses his wife, 4 years of writers block has brought him to their summer home to get caught up in some local issues and some strange paranormal events.
The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic - Sophie Kinsella - European title for Confessions of a Shopaholic. This is what you get when you rely on a used book store with limited English titles! Fluff - it is now a movie. Don't ask me about it, I find Becki annoying :)
Marked - PC Cast and Kristin Cast - think Harry Potter meets Twilight, following a 16-year old girl that has been "marked" and is at vampyre finishing school. Tam picked up for PR trip - fun light read can be done in one sitting.
Brick Lane - Monica Ali - story of Bangladeshi girl who moves to London after an arranged marriage. Challenges of cultures, past and present, being a woman both in Bangladesh and London, constraints on women from other cultures, prejudices. Good read.
