Books to recommend?

[machshefa]

Hi guys,

I've got a long holiday weekend coming up with some (possible) reading time... and I have no idea what to read.  I have bookshelves full of books, but we have a trip to the bookstore planned, so I'm open to suggestions!  Fiction, nonfiction, fantasy, SF, anthologies--what do you recommend?

I would love an engrossing read, something that won't leave me depressed or despondent, something fabulous!  I recently read the most recent Malcom Gladwell and also Gaiman's "American Gods."

*sits back and makes list

Thank you!

Comments

[mundungus42.livejournal.com]

"Possession" by A.S. grumpypants Byatt
Two experts on two separate Victorian poets are brought together when one discovers a partially-written love letter written from one poet to the other. Fast-paced with textual analysis and faux Romantic poetry - a super read.

"The Wizard of the Crow" by Ngugi wa Thiong'o
One of my all-time favorite books, it's a political satire set in the fictional African nation of Abruria, which is under the thumb of an insane dictator. A man looking for work escapes arrest by pretending to have magical powers, and before he knows it, everybody is looking to his alter ego, the Wizard of the Crow for assistance, wisdom, and everything else. This book is insane, hilarious, and an absolute tour-de-force.

"if on a winter's night a traveler" by Italo Calvino
My favorite author plays fast and loose with second person, narrative, and international book conspiracies.

Oh, and if you just read American Gods, the book I'm reading seems to have taken a turn in that direction. I'm not done with it yet (still less than 100 pages in), but I'm having fun so far and really enjoyed the other book of his that I've read: "Kraken" by China Mieville.

Happy early New Year! :D