Yellow - oh BOOKS! a topic close to my heart!

The Pullman books are great - completely absorbing, and meaty enough to think about even when you're not reading them.

I agree with SK - anything by Barbara Kingsolver - Prodigal Summer was great, Poisonwood Bible (recommended by Karen as well) was (I think) the book she was put on earth to write. If you're looking for non-fiction, she has a terrific book of essays called High Tide in Tucson. The first book of hers I ever read was Bean Trees, and is still one of my favorites.

I'm a big fan of several British authors, all of more or less the same generation - different in style, but all with similarly witty, erudite, beautiful prose - these authors are Penelope Lively, Margaret Drabble, Penelope Fitzgerald, Iris Murdoch, A.S. Byatt, Barbara Pym, Fay Weldon, and Anita Brookner - I think you could hardly go wrong with anything any of them have written - but a few stand out in my opinion (and they're all pretty short, so no big investment of time if you don't get into them): Penelope Fitzgerald's Offshore, Penelope Lively's Passing On (5 stars for this one!), and really, anything by Barbara Pym. People either seem to love or hate Iris Murdoch (I'm firmly in the "love" camp), and I'd recommend The Green Knightas a good starter. I often find an author I like, then go out and read all their books, then find out who they inspired, or who inspired them, and read all THEIR books, and so on. That's how I found this crowd of writers.

There are also some really wonderful books being written by Indian authors - Rohinton Mistry is great - A Fine Balance and Family Matters - A Fine Balance is long, and sad, but really great. I also loved A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth - I think it is one of the longest books in the English language. Any of these books will really give you a great sense of life in India in the 60s and on. I also really like Salman Rushdie - I think Midnight's Children and Satanic Verses were 2 of the best books I ever read - very inventive and exciting use of English.

Also - Zadie Smith White Teeth was remarkable - I'm dying to read her new book On Beauty.

I agree with Lise on Hundred Years Of Solitude- that is on my all time top 10 list of books, and has been for 20 years. His short stories are wonderful too. (Look for translations by Gregory Rabassa)

Since you're such a "westerner", have you read anything by Wallace Stegner? I loved Angle of Repose and Big Rock Candy Mountain.

Non-fiction - Joan Didon - anything she has written - what a prose genius. Politics, the "west", water use, it almost doesn't matter - she makes the topics so interesting and relevant.

There are so many extraordinary books and writers out there, and you're right - a bunch of duds too - I'd better calm down - what you have read recently and liked? (I keep jumping up and running into my "book room" to scan the shelves!)

Oh - something fun - I just read Wicked by Gregory Maquire - kind of a re-telling of the "Oz" story - very fun and engaging. Apparently he has refurbished several other fairy tales like this - I have Confessions of a Wicked Stepsister, but I haven't read it yet.

(OK - off to bed - I think this is my longest post yet! My book club hasn't met in months - can you tell I'm suffering from withdrawal?)