What's next?

To read, that is. In a major personal victory, I have finished David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas, a long and fairly complex tome that makes a mockery out of traditional narrative structure but was nontheless one of the best books I've read in years. This was a selection of my book group, and two months since choosing it for our monthly read, the only person who had finished it was Girlfriend D., who read it last summer over her summer break from her job as a school librarian (an unfair advantage, I think). The group voted an extension for it, and we'll discuss is at our January meeting (we skip December) along with the new book Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. I've already read Middlesex and remember enough to fake my way through a book group meeting, especially after everyone's had enough wine, so I have what I call a "free pick" for my next book. Whoohoo!!

A local independent bookstore, A Great Good Place for Books, has offered Sophie's school a donation of 20% of all sales for people who give the school's name. Pretty generous, no? We're especially happy to have this promotion since we essentially fired Scholastic Books because we are sick of the crap they sell (including toys that accompany books—as if books aren't enough themselves) and their poor service. So I'm getting ready to put in a big order. Here's what I've got so far:

Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold (I've been avoiding this for obvious reasons but am taking a friend's word that I'll enjoy it in spite of the subject matter.)

Holidays on Ice, David Sedaris

Everyman, Philip Roth

Ghostwritten, David Mitchell

Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen

An Unfinished Season, Warren Just

That's enough to keep me out of trouble for ages! I'm also ordering a book for Big S. for Christmas:

The House of Mondavi, Julia Flynn Siler

And I'm waiting on word from my sister and sister-in-law on books that their kids would like for gifts. (Books are so easy to wrap, you know.)

I hope I get my book soon! I feel a serious chest cold coming on that should require several days of convelescence.