Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler features five women and one enigmatic man who meet on a monthly basis to discuss the novels of Jane Austen, one at a time. As they debate Marianne's marriage to Brandon and whether or not Charlotte Lucas is gay, they reveal nothing so much as their own "private Austen(s)". Sylvia whose husband, Daniel, has left her after 32 years and three children. Jocelyn, her best friend, never married and now focuses on breeding dogs. Prudie is a French teacher in her late twenties, in possession of a worthy husband yet disoriented by persistent fantasies about sex with other men. Sixty-something Bernadette has decided that she's finally over the hill and can act a little dotty, just let herself go. The beautiful, risk-taking Allegra -- Sylvia and Daniel's lesbian daughter -- has quit speaking to her lover. And Grigg, a middle-aged science fiction fan and computer whiz, is strangely unattached. But then maybe he's gay?

This book was interesting in how much the author gave us glimpses into the various characters personal lives. It was just long enough. I felt very happy after reading it.

Justice Hall by Laurie R. King features Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes. Two old friends reappear, in decidedly different guise: the two “Bedouin” guides from O Jerusalem are in England, caught in a mesh of honor and justice and the death of a young nephew. Quickly Russell & Holmes discover that nothing is quite as it seems and together they will solve this very secret mystery.

Confessions of Max Tivoli by Andrew Sean Greer - set as historical fiction in turn of the century San Francisco. At his birth, Max's father declares him a "nisse," a creature of Danish myth, as his baby son has the external physical appearance of an old, dying creature. Max grows older like any child, but his physical age appears to go backward--on the outside a very old man, but inside still a fearful child. The story is told in three acts. First, young Max falls in love with a neighborhood girl, Alice, who ages as normally as any of us. Max, of course, does not; as a young man, he has an older man's body. But his curse is also his blessing: as he gets older, his body grows younger, so each successive time he finds his Alice, she does not recognize him. She takes him for a stranger, and Max is given another chance at love. This is a very interesting if you can call it love story. It reminded me of the Timetraveler's Wife which I read a few months ago.

Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie S. Tolan is a Newbery honor book for 2003.

Jake Semple is a scary kid. Word has it that he burned down his old school and then was kicked out of every other school in his home state. Only weeks into September, the middle school in Traybridge, North Carolina, has thrown him out, too. Now there's only one place left that will take him -- a home school run by the most outrageous, forgetful, chaotic, quarrelsome family you'll ever meet. Each and every Applewhite is an artist through and through -- except E.D., the smart, scruffy girl with a deep longing for order and predictability. E.D. and Jake, so nearly the same age, are quickly paired in the family's first experiment in "cooperative education." The two clash immediately, of course. The only thing they have in common is the determination to survive the family's eccentricities. This is such a fun read, I really got to like all the various characters. This story is from both E.D. & Jake's point of view and it flows well. Tolan is such a great author and really stands the test of time.

Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver Codi Noline, her self-confidence flagging after failures in med school and in a relationship, returns home to Grace, Ariz., where she renews a romance, comes to understand her father and worries about her sister, Hallie, who is helping farmers in Nicaragua. This is portrayed in a series of flashbacks for both Codi & her father who is declining from Alzheimers. It is so well written. I read it so long ago when I lived in Tucson so it was fun to read it again.