Possession by A. S. Byatt

This novel is a wonderful treat for readers who love good reading, and it's a remarkable achievement. Part literary fiction, part mystery, part romance, the story follows a group of unlikely detectives - professors of English Literature. The mystery involves the romantic relationship between a pair of Victorian poets, and is traced through their letters and poems and the journals of people around them.

I have to confess that I was fooled. I had never heard of the two Victorian poets featured in the novel - not so surprising, I guess. So I went to wikipedia and did a search and found out they were fictional. Not only did Byatt create the modern characters, but the historical ones as well, including writing their poetry and prose. A remarkable achievement.

The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler

A great book, well written and captivating. The story of a reluctant travel writer who breaks out of the rut of his life when he meets an eclectic dog trainer.

A much better novel, in my opinion, than Breathing Lessons, for which Anne Tyler won the Pulitzer. There were moments in Breathing Lessons when I just wished the novel would stop - it was too long, but this novel is much more balanced and is a pleasure to read.

Grand Obsession by Perri Knize

A cool book, very interesting, about one woman's quest to find the perfect piano. She starts out with a $3k budget and ends up spending ten times that much, only to have her dream come apart when her new piano arrives and it just doesn't sound the same as it did in the showroom. She continues her quest, now to get it tuned and voiced. Three years later she is finally "satisfied".

Sounds obsessive, and a little crazy, but it's actually a very enjoyable read, especially for any piano lover.

Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey

What an odd book. I don't mean that the writing is odd - it's actually very good. The characters are odd, but they are also unique. I don't think I have encountered any like them before. The plot is also odd - very odd. I don't want to give anything away, but things do not work out quite the way I expected. Which is probably a good thing.

It's a historical novel, set in Australia and England in the 1860s. There is a minimal framework where it seems that a modern great-grandchild is actually telling the story. The framework is really only needed for the final twist at the end - and no I won't reveal what that odd plot twist is - you'll have to read those 400+ pages to see what it is.

Any Given Doomsday by Lori Handeland

Sad to say, this piece of trash is typical of popular fiction. It's just the quest plot, rehashed - young person holds the fate of the world in their hands. She has special powers, of course, and has to be trained. One of her mentors is even dead. Sound like Luke Skywalker? or Harry Potter? Add vampires and magic.

It's a formula book. I can see the author thinking, "what can I write that will appeal to female readers, a real hip crowd?" And she comes up with a sarcastic, snarky female protagonist, that can save the world if only she has sex with enough hunky men. What crap. I'm actually sorry I read it.

Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively

The structure of this novel is excellent. It's the story of an elderly woman on her deathbed he relates her history. Those portions of the narrative that take place in the present time are in the first person. At other times the narration is in the third person, even when the author uses the point of view of the narrator. Very unusual. What is even more interesting is that the third person scenes are often of the same episode. For instance, when the narrator relates to her lover that she is pregnant, we get it from the viewpoint of both the narrator and her lover. Writers will frequently write a scene from two different points of view as an exercise - here the exercise is polished and included in the book!