Love in the Time of Cholera (Vintage International)449 reviews Gabriel Garcia Marquez Vintage Books, 2007 A half-century story of unrequited love + Depressingly beautiful... + Worth the time An achingly beautiful story of Fermina and Florentino, adolescent sweethearts unable to consummate their love until old age. An exceptional half-century story of unrequited love. Highly recommended.             Sticklebacks and Snow Globes B.A. Goodjohn Permanent Press, 2007 "A fat, brown stickleback nosed the canal bank just below the surface. Tot stretched face down on the gravel tow-path. Hold my legs! she told the boy and edged the bamboo fishing net out slowly across the oily water. You can t chase a fish, she whispered. You have to decide where he wants to go, and then wait for him there. She held the net steady. The fish glided backwards an inch, turned ...             One Good Turn: A Novel56 reviews Kate Atkinson Back Bay Books, 2007 Great read! + A perfect piece of literature! + Convoluted mystery, told in a compulsively readable fashion. I love Kate Atkinson, and this book does not disappoint. This is just an all around great read - great story, great pacing. It would be good to read Case Histories first so you can meet the characters, but the book stands on its own, as well, which I appreciate.             The Other Boleyn Girl (Movie Tie-In) (Boleyn)808 reviews Philippa Gregory Touchstone, 2008 Wonderful piece of historical fiction! + Held my interest + I thoroughly enjoyed this + Best book I ever read!             The View from Castle Rock (Vintage)2 reviews Alice Munro Vintage, 2008 Alice Munro tells great short stories Alice Munro is a wonderful Canadian writer. She has won numerous awards for her work in Canada, the United States and in the United Kingdom. The View from Castle Rock is her eleventh book of short stories-and it is terrific. Castle Rock is a high rocky outcropping in Scotland, not too far north ...             A Spot of Bother (Vintage)98 reviews Mark Haddon Vintage, 2007 One very funny book + Stuck with me for a long time... + The MBC Abbreviated Review This is one of the funniest books I have read in a long while. Mark Hadden has a great touch in pointing out the bizarre in every day life, in an appropriately understated way. Other reviewer have covered the stories and characters, so what I would add is that I found this book much funnier (laugh ...             My Sister's Keeper: A Novel1013 reviews Jodi Picoult Washington Square Press, 2005 Emotional Journey + loved the book, hated the ending + All I can say is wow + Review for the audio version             The Whistling Season54 reviews Ivan Doig Harvest Books, 2007 The Whistling Season + Highly recommend this book + Read this Book! + A season of The Waltons? + Well worth reading             Then We Came to the End: A Novel202 reviews Joshua Ferris Back Bay Books, 2008 Funny, smart, dark, moving, clever novel. At the risk of sounding like a snob, I have to think that any reviewers saying this book is boring or bad are just not good readers, or should stick to action packed genre fiction. This is one of the more incredible books I've read in recent years. It's slow-paced but every sentence is ...             Skeletons at the Feast46 reviews Chris Bohjalian Shaye Areheart Books, 2008 Awesome!! + Skeleton's at the Feast + great read + Filled with haunting characters one comes to care about + I loved It!             The Shadow of the Wind509 reviews Carlos Ruiz Zafón Penguin (Non-Classics), 2005 Incredible book + Brilliant..addicting..superbly written + Oh, Barcelona... + The Shadow of the Wind + Great read - excellent literature. I loved it.             The Alchemist1259 reviews Paulo Coelho HarperCollins, 2006 There are no coincidences....... + Overall, quite enjoyable + It feeds your soul After reading "The Alchemist", I gave the book to both my children. My son has just graduated from college, and my daughter is a sophomore, and in many ways this book distilled a message I have been trying to teach them in one way or another since they were very young. Although the setting and ...             When Madeline Was Young27 reviews Jane Hamilton Anchor, 2007 Not For The 'Oprah' Audience + Interesting character study Jane Hamilton is a great Literary author. The only author I've read whose prose had a greater scent of 'America' was John Steinbeck's. Her exposition of characters has no gender boundaries whatsoever. Her earlier novels happened to be mostly either about women, or in 'The Short History of a ...             The History of Love: A Novel272 reviews Nicole Krauss W. W. Norton, 2006 equal parts of good and sad + A Wonderful novel about a novel about love + Loved this, very bittersweet Just want to share that this is the best fiction I've read in as long as I can remember. Enjoy it.             Home to Holly Springs (Father Tim, Book 1)132 reviews Jan Karon Viking Adult, 2007 A Fantastic Book !!!! + Home to Holly Springs + Home to Holly Springs + The Best One Yet!             Life Class: A Novel25 reviews Pat Barker Doubleday, 2008 Interesting setting; uninspired characters + A coda to the "Regeneration" trilogy I haven't read much fiction set during WWI and I thought the juxtaposition of the war front and the art school was very interesting and promising. The setting did come alive: the isolation of the art world and the horror of the battlefield hosptial are both well drawn. Unfortunately, the ...             Moral Disorder and Other Stories18 reviews Margaret Atwood Anchor, 2008 A BRILLIANT, DEEPLY MOVING, TOUR DE FORCE CHARACTER STUDY -- AND SEIMI-AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL TO BOOT! + Brilliant Writing at its Best! + Good, but not her best "Moral Disorder" by Margaret Atwood is a collection of eleven short stories. Each stands easily and delightfully alone; in fact, five of them have previously appeared in magazines. But taken as a whole, this collection gathers synergy and eventually morphs into a most uncommon and extraordinary ...             The Commoner: A Novel43 reviews John Burnham Schwartz Nan A. Talese, 2008 Engrossing + A Sense of Duty I found this novel to be a fascinating look at the life of one Japanese woman, her early life, and the enclosed and constricted world of the royal family. It is very well-written and I found the story engrossing.             Run187 reviews Ann Patchett Harper, 2007 Family Stories + Run + A Classic Example of Literary Fiction Ann Patchett is a wondrous writer, capable of small miracles of grace that come seemingly from nowhere, illuminating her characters and bringing joy to the reader. Even though RUN, her latest novel, may have flaws, how can I give it less than five stars for the joy it gave me throughout? The joy ...             Gentlemen of the Road: A Tale of Adventure89 reviews Michael Chabon Del Rey, 2007 Language, language, language Don't want to go into the details of the book, which are discussed at length in these reviews. I just wanted to add my two cents regarding Chabon. I am a Shakespearean freak and I loved this book for the same reason I love Shakespeare; I was mesmerized by the FEELING of the language in my mouth. ...