Lisa~I recently tried to read a Margaret Atwood book (The Blind Assassin) and had the hardest time getting into it that I finally dropped it. I had never read her stuff before, but did like the movie The Handmaid's Tale. I may have to try another of hers.

I've started the DaVinci Code, but so far it is so dry and sterile! I like a book that grabs me from the beginning and takes me for a ride. I fear this one is not it.

But I'll give it more of a chance. We will see.

Hey Lisa, I just finished Testimony and I enjoyed it. It really built and built up to the ending. I loved Pillars of the Earth (top 10 favorite book of mine) but was kind of "eh" over World Without End - mostly because I thought it was too deriviative of Pillars. Both books shared the same arch type characters. I guess if I had never read Pillars, I would have loved World, but as it was I was frequently annoyed by what I felt was laziness by the author!

I finished Jennifer Crusie's Fast Women, and it was just okay. I'm not sure what's next!

Allison - The Blind Assassin is my favorite Atwood, but I read it after years of reading all her other books and getting used to her style, so I probably didn't notice that it was tough to get into, though I can see how that would be the case. You might like The Robber Bride or Cat's Eye.

Glory - I'm wondering if World Without End is worth reading, but I think I'll probably give it a go. I'm glad to hear Testimony was good. A Wedding in December was really good. I actually loved it. Just finished it this morning. Something about Anita Shreve's writing is just really lovely. I found mysef wanting the book to keep going as I turned the last page.

Sarah - I hated The Da Vinci Code. Yes, the subject matter is interesting, but the whole time I was reading it I kept thinking I'd be better served by reading a well written article or nonfiction book about it. The cheesy thriller setup and crappy writing did nothing for me.

Speaking of cheesy, I'm putting the Atwood stories aside for a while so I can read the next installment in the Queen Betsy vampire series, Undead and Unemployed. Very light reading after the slightly heavy Shreve book. After that, possibly the Follett.

Lisa~I'll try some more Atwood books. Thanks for the recommendation! Just to let you know, I loved both of the Follett books.

You want to know what's sad? Yesterday at Costco, I was perusing the book stacks and I couldn't find a single book that appealed to me. What will I do?