"My Brilliant Friend"

This brilliant book takes place in a rough suburb of Napoli in the early sixties. It's told through the voice of a young girl who really resonated with me. She's super sensitive and has a close bond with another girl her age. This book tells her story from roughly age 10 through 15. As I was nearing the end of the book I realized this is the first of four books. How wonderful is that? I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the books. Unfortunately, there are a ton of holds at the library. I just may have to buy these books on-line!

""Commonwealth""

Just finished her latest book and it's outstanding. What can you say about a book who's first sentence is: "The Christening took a turn when Albert Cousins arrived with gin." If you've read any Ann Patchett, you you know she's one of the most wonderful writers in the English language. What I love about her, is every novel she's written is from a totally perspective. And I've found that quite rare in authors these days.

"Mr. Penumbra's 24-hour Bookstore" by Robin Sloan

What an amusing book. It tells the tale of a young man who gets a job in a mysterious bookstore. It's open 24/7 but almost no-one ever stops in. The shop is filled with ancient books which are hardly ever checked out. Members of a secret society borrow books occasionally, to try to decode the texts they contain. As the book progresses we find out it's all part of a group of scholars who've been working on decoding the books for over 500 years. I won't give away any more of the plot, but I enjoyed it quite a bit.