Books i've read in the past few months:

Le Divorce by Diane Johnson - just okay. best part was that it was set in france.

A Room with a View by E.M. Forster - liked it. also liked partial setting in italy.

Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown - pageturner. weird secret socities - apparently that's his genre

Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand - great. did not watch the movie yet but the book definitely kept me awake late into the night b/c i wanted to find out what happened at particular races.

The Once and Future King by T.H. White - (2nd time) very good but long. good character development and interesting humor

The Shadow of the Hegemon by Orson Scott Card - slightly disappointed. very political but am still a fan of the whole Ender's world

Scarlett by Alexander Ripley - (2nd time) sequel to Gone With the Wind by different author. very cheesy but still enjoyable b/c i was a Gone With the Wind fanatic in jr. high. also like how Scarlett O'Hara grows as a person

The Key by Junichiro Tanizaki - (2nd time) strange yet subtle. first read it for my Romance, Sexuality, and Desire in Japanese Literature class at Stanford. (met some GER - George took it too although he never came to class and probably didn't read this book.) about the separate and yet not-so-secret diaries of a husband and wife.

How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accent by Julia Alvarez - very liberal but descriptive about the process of 4 sisters' immigration from Dominican Republic and how they adjust their social rules and expectations

She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb - interesting perspective. about a very, very overweight woman and how she reclaims her life.

The Coldest Winter Eve by Sister Souljah - very very interesting. about an adolescent black girl whose father is a big-time, wealthy drug dealer in the Bronx.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson - probably one of the best new books i've read. about a troubled adolescent girl but her sense of humor is delightful. I also read this book about a year ago: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by stephen chbosky but i highly recommend it - very insightful and tender story of adolescent boy who finds life mixed up but endearing.

would love it if you sent recommendations my way! =)