Amanda Davis: Wonder When You'll Miss Me A traumatized teen girl runs off to join the circus. More than just another troubled coming-of-age story; the excellent writing and storyline are compelling.
Annette Sanford: Eleanor and Abel: a Love Story This is delightful. Reading about a couple of 70-somethings falling in love is totally charming. It's possible that you have to be a 50-something or more to fully appreciate it, but I hope not.
Chris Bohjalian: Before You Know Kindness This has been a favorite author for awhile now, and his newest does not disappoint. I've been dragging this everywhere with me, and reading more than knitting in order to finish. Bohjalian has a deft hand with family dynamics. He clearly shows both sides of any argument. He creates characters who a reader can get fully involved with. Read this, read any of his books. Purely satisfying.
Gregory Maguire: Mirror Mirror Oh wow! This is his best one yet. I love his writing! Have you read Wicked, or Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister? Don't miss any of them.
Kent Haruf: Eventide If you liked Plainsong, this will be equally satisfying. Haruf is good at exploring both the warmth and chill of human relationships. I like his characters, and he leaves the door open for a continuing saga about how these lives keep intersecting each other.
Lawrence Block: Tanner's Twelve Swingers My first ever audio book. I'm a Block fan from his books Hit Man and Hit List. This wasn't as good, but it was entertaining enough to finish...and I got a lot of knitting done as well.
Lela Nargi: Knitting Lessons Similar to the KnitLit books, offers reflections about knitting from knitters. I enjoyed this.
Leslie Pietrzyk: A Year and a Day Highly satisfying read. A dead mother talks her daughter through the difficulty of mourning. This really works, and the ending was just right. I really enjoyed this.
Lisa Tucker: The Song Reader My book club's October selection. It was....okay. I liked until the end. Somewhat trite ending, in my opinion. I'll be interested to hear what the others think.
Pearl Buck: The Good Earth This is considered a classic for a good reason. I first read it forty-plus years ago. Loved it then; loved it now. THe family life cycle in pre-Revolutionary China, and the family life cycle in 21st century America....not much difference in dynamics.
Philippa Gregory: The Queen's Fool I love historical fiction from the Tudor/Stuart reigns. This one does not disappoint. Try The Other Boleyn Girl by this author as well.
Sara Nelson: So Many Books, So Little Time Entertaining. She does for books what we knitbloggers do for knitting. Good for small gulps of time. Otherwise, save the time for reading real books.
Sheri Holman: The Mammoth Cheese This was terrific. Great character development and several intersecting plot lines. Highly recommend.
Terry Kay: The Kidnapping of Aaron Greene A bit slow to get into, and repetitious in parts, but eventually I got caught up in the plot and decided to finish it. Ending falls flat...the whole book was a bit flat. Kay is a good writer, but he needs a better story to tell. His previous book, To Dance With the White Dog," was far superior. Read that one instead.
Vivian Schilling: Quietus This is a can't-put-down book. I was willingly persuaded to suspend belief and go along with the overtones of the supernatural. Through the plot line of survivors of a plane crash being picked off one by one by spectres of Death, the book explores issues of mortality. Not exactly a cheery topic, but like a sore tooth, I am often drawn to probe around it anyway.
