I have no idea if you would like this or not, but ... I recently read and loved Mattanza by Theresa Maggio. It is a travel memoir about the mattanza -- the annual tuna kill, done in the traditional way off a Sicilian island. The book is rich in history and such. I'm also halfway done with Stone Boudoir (same author, also travel about Siciliy, and enjoying it) and Almost French: Love and a new life in Paris by Sarah Turnbull. So if you like travel/memoir books, I recommend these. There was another good one I read last fall ... trying to remember title ... something like Untangling My Chopsticks in Kyoto.
Don't have any recent fiction to recommend. Been on a hiatus there. Hrm. Actually, I do have trashy fiction to recommend, but can't recall the titles. Maybe will hunt them down later.
If you like espionage novels, Stella Rimington (former head of MI5) has written what I thought was a goodie: At Risk.
If you like speculative fiction spiced with humor, Terry Pratchett's Discworld series should do you nicely. Start anywhere, but the later stuff has much better writing and more intricate/clever plotting.
If you'd like essays, I'm reading Anne Fadiman's _Ex Libris_. Fine material and so well-crafted.
First by Kim Pritekel.
Some poetry I am going gaga over right now:
"Miracle Fair" - Wislawa Szymborska
Also, I'm really into Bronislaw Maj, but don't think he's published a book yet.
I don't think I've read literature in English for a long while now, as the lit I read all tends to be for my French class. But, some books/authors I've recalled enjoying:
Bel Canto - Anne Patchett
Norwegian Wood - Haruki Murakami
Giovanni's Room - James Baldwin
Disgrace - J.M. Coetzee
Alias Grace - Margaret Atwood
Commenting by HaloScan
