It hasn't been so long since my last update, but I wanted to do this before I went on tour. Lots of novels, some old some new.

Third Girl From the Left by Martha Southgate.
I loved this one. Graceful and funny, and I found out so much more
than I ever knew about Blaxploitation movies!!

Black Dogs by Ian McEwan
I love McEwan, and so much about this book is his usual fabulousness. But for some reason the story wasn't his usual brilliance.

Family Matters by Rohinton Mistry
Here's another writer I love whose book just didn't do that much for me. I mean, his writing is great, the rich world he's created. But the story in the end didn't come to much.

Howard's End by E.M. Forster
I reread this because I needed a little Forster for my new novel -- and I'm so glad I did. He's just the best.

Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively
This book is lovely. The time switches are beautifully done.

The Reawakening by Primo Levi
I just don't believe that someone who wrote just a gorgeous book -- honest without being bleak, full of humor about things that are never funny -- could have committed suicide. I don't believe it. He must have fallen.

Where Angels Fear to Tread by E.M. Forster
This book nearly kills me every time. What a talent he has, writing beautifully about horrible people.

The Trick of It by Michael Frayn
I liked this book very much, although I think that fact that it's an epistolary novel puts a sort of layer between the reader and the story. But still, so much is gained by that in terms of what we learn about the narrator through his own letters.

While I Was Gone by Sue Miller
She's a terrific writer. Gives you a smash up plot and fine characters. One of my role models.

The Stone Woman by Tariq Ali
I really really wanted to love this. He's so witty and insightful, and I don't read enough fiction in translation. But there's a kind of storytelling that's just hard for me to get into. So, it turns out that this book was written in English. I'd just assumed it was translated from the Turkish, mostly because the language was so stiff. It's much harder to forgive that knowing that it's not just a problem of translation.

The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier
I love the premise of this novel. It's so creative and weirdly fun. Creepily fun.

Two Lives by Vickram Seth
When I was reading Suitable Boy, I was pregnant and even though I adored it, I had to stop because it was too heavy to balance on my belly. This one is another doorstop, and worth every page!

This Book Will Save Your Life by A.M. Holmes.
Funny, bleak. A marvelous L.A. story.

I read a fair amount over the past few months. I've been trying to read things that will be helpful for the novel I'm writing now, so it's sort of a bizarre collection of books with dead narrators (changed my mind about that), books with characters driving around (to make myself feel better about a scene I was afraid might be plotless), and a lot of just really fine prose. I loath it when writers say they don't read while they're working. First of all, everyone could stand to have their style influenced by, for example, Joan Didion or Vladimir Nabokov. Or both. Second of all, then when to you read? I'm always working, and that's true of every serious writer I know.

The Trouble Boy by Tom Dolby

This book is snappy and fun, and ultimately winds up meaning a lot more than that. It's a great read, and then some.

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

So much of this incredible book struck me so close to home. There were whole paragraphs that felt like they could be about my marriage. It's a heartbreaking marvel.

We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver

I love a good book about a horrible child.

Small Island by Andrea Levy

It does exactly what a fine, historical novel is supposed to do. Immerse you completely in its world. It's terrific.

Death of an Ordinary Man by Glen Duncan

I read this book because I was contemplating a dead narrator in my new novel. I've changed my mind, but I'm glad I had a chance to read this.

On Beauty by Zadie Smith

I read this book on a SF-NY flight and I must have sold a dozen copies, I was engrossed and enjoying it so obviously.

Intuition by Allegra Goodman

The science details were so perfect in this book. I feel like now I actually know what life in a medical lab is like.

Arthur and George by Julian Barnes

The writing in this novel is magnificent. The only thing I wish is that the actual crime could be solved in a more satisfactory way. But that's what happens when you're dealing with true stories.

The Awakening by Kate Chopin

I reread this for my book because it deals essentially with the same themes. I'm probably not going to go with the desperate ending, however.

Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons

I wanted to reread this because it's short, and I am desperately hoping Winter's End will be, too. It wasn't particularly helpful -- to unique a narrator -- but it's a fabulous novel.

Foreign Affairs by Alison Lurie

Another person whose style I aspire to emulate.

The World According to Garp by John Irving

I reread this because it had a writer for a main character, and it even includes the writer's work. Man, this book is a great read.

Bicycle Days by John Burnham Schwartz

He's a terrific writer -- lovely prose style. Makes me want to visit Japan.

Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov

This book was absurd and marvelous. And the section about the daughter's death laid me out.

The Soloist by Mark Salzman

He made me feel like I was a musician, like I understood for the first time the complicated relationship a real musician has to music.

The Living End by Stanley Elkin

So anyone who reads this knows I don't usually go for this kind of thing. But I actually enjoyed it immensely.

Play it as it Lays by Joan Didion

No one writes misery as well as Didion. I can't say I enjoyed this book. I was too busy feeling like the world was a hollow thankless place. She's the best.

Atonement by Ian McKuin

I reread this because no one constructs a propulsive plot like McKuin. The suspense in the beginning is so intense I almost couldn't keep going.

We spent the first part of this summer in a marvelous part of Maine, in the world's filthiest house. The place was crawling with bugs, so every novel I read ended up being splotched with the guts of a thousand mosquitos. And let's not even talk about the time I ended up brushing my teeth with a cockroach on my toothbrush. Anyway, I still managed to read some books I enjoyed, and others that I wondered what the big hoo hah was about.

Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel
There's no doubt that Ms. Mantel is an incredible writer, and for a long time I just loved this novel. Right near the end, though, I started dreading the arrival of those damned ghosts.

Enduring Love by Ian McEwan
He may be one of my favorite contemporary novelists. And I'm just going to go and be trite and rave about that opening sequence. It's a marvel.

Blue Diary by Alice Hoffman
What's with all the novelists named Alice? Is it, like, a requirement that if you're named Alice you consider a literary career?

Heir to the Glimmering World by Cynthia Ozick
This book would have been astonishing if it had busted out a bit. It wanted to have a bigger canvas. I'm not quite sure why it ended up being stuck in a house.

The Hiding Place by Trezza Azzopardi
Lord, these people's lives are miserable.

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
I enjoyed this. I didn't expect to, but I really did.

The Ornithologist's Guide to Life by Ann Hood
The author's tragic loss of her daughter feels laced through these stories. I'm not sure if I'm imposing that on them myself or not, but I couldn't help but feel it.

The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
Interesting. Ben Marcus has an entire collection of short stories called "The Age of Wire and String." I wonder if this book is an "homage?" Except that Ben doesn't appear in the acknowledgment page. Perhaps just a strange symmetry.

Inheritance by Lan Samantha Chang
This is a good old-fashioned, page-turning family saga. A little too much time is crammed into the last 50 pages of the book, but that's typical for the genre.

The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham
A marvelous book full of loathsome characters.

Some Hope: A Trilogy by Edward St. Aubyn
The first of these novellas is so good, so incredible, that I thought I was reading the best book I'd ever read. Then it sort of degenerates into a drug book. You know; love of the heroin needle, blah blah blah. But it's worth reading for the sake of the first novella.

The Master by Colm Toibin
Toibin is a marvel, but the problem with writing a novel about a great novelist is that someone like James didn't do a whole lot of living. He did a whole lot of not living, if you know what I mean. He observed, but he didn't participate.

Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld
Cute.

Lots of good novels these past couple of months. And, wonder of wonders, two works of nonfiction.

Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
I decided to reread this because I kept insisting to people that I thought it was so much better than Gilead, but then I realized that I couldn't actually recall much of it. I was right.

The Body of Jonah Boyd by David Leavitt
This was a fun read. He's a terrific writer and I enjoyed this book tremendously.

Lost in the Forest by Sue Miller
Sue Miller is one of my role models. She concentrates on similar themes - family, love, loss. And tries to do so without being either trite or maudlin.

The Provincial Lady in America by E.M. Delafield
I read this long ago (in college) and found it delightful then. I reread it because I was lucky enough to be compared to her in the New Yorker. A very flattering comparison.

The New Confessions by William Boyd
One of the things I love about Boyd is that he writes about a character's whole life. He doesn't shy away from taking on decades and decades. You can immerse yourself in his novels, knowing you'll get the entire story.

Frangipani by Célestine Hitiura Vaite
I enjoyed reading about Tahiti, a place I knew almost nothing about.

Inconsolable: How I threw my Mental Health Out With the Diapers by Marrit Ingman
I love a bitter, angry mom. Especially if she's funny.

Josie and Jack by Kelly Braffet
Delightfully creepy and weird.

Saturday by Ian McEwan
He's such a confidant and masterful writer, even when his stories tumble to a plot-filled close. I kept stopping and reminding myself to watch what he did and try to emulate it.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
(picnic, lightning) my God. I read this in high school (of course). And cannot believe I didn't reread it until now. There really is no one like him.

Fraud by David Rakoff
I embarrassed myself on a plane by bursting out laughing over and over again. My seat-mates thought I was crazy.

Rape: A Love Story by Joyce Carol Oates
Again, to be in the hands of a such a master is a totally different experience. She's just so confident, so assured.

Pearl by Mary Gordon
Well, this left me entirely cold. I'd be interested to know what other Jews thought of it. The portrayal of the Jewish converts to Catholicism was downright bizarre.

The Failures of Integration: How Race and Class Are Undermining the American Dream by Sheryll Cashin
After reading this book I felt like I had to sell my house and move to a more integrated neighborhood. Thank God my kids go to an integrated school. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

I'm starting a new novel (have I said that before), and I'm reading for inspiration. I'm also reading stuff that comes across my night stand, but mostly, I'm reading for inspiration.

Little Children by Tom Perrotta.

Yes, I read this before, not too long ago. But I suddenly had this
horrible fear that my novel was too much like this, so I had to reread
it. I'm fine. Thank god.

Back When We Were Grownups by Anne Tyler.

I've also read this before, but you can never read Anne Tyler often
enough. I think this one is particularly charming. And it says
remarkable things about grief.

Train by Pete Dexter.

This book has the single best description I've ever read in my life in
it. A man's thighs likened to children hiding in a pair of curtains.
The writing is just out of this world.

Symptomatic by Danzy Senna.

Intense and interesting novel about the meaning of race.

Celestial Navigation by Anne Tyler.

This one broke my heart.

The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler.

I know, I know. What's with all the Anne Tyler? She's just such an
inspiration to me…she reminds me that you can write simply but
beautifully. She takes as her subject families and women, and does it
without ever being treacly.

Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler.

I don't need to say anything more about her, do I?

My Life as a Fake by Peter Carey.

I love Peter Carey. I wished I had more of every one of these characters.

Plays Well with Others by Allan Gurganus.

This book is so funny, and he's a master of word play.

Fat Girl by Judith Moore.

Oh my God. I spent ten minutes staring at my thighs after reading this
book. Staring at them, and groaning in horror.

Baker Towers by Jennifer Haigh.

Well, it didn't do this book any favors to read it along with so much
Anne Tyler.

Living Out Loud by Anna Quindlen

I'm reading her to try to figure out this column-writing business,
both on a technical level, and on an emotional level. Maybe I'll learn
how to construct a column that will not result in me being burned at
the stake. Or maybe not.

Perfect Madness by Judith Warner.

When something rings true, and rings true to a specific class of
women, everyone has to just rip it to shreds. I thought much of this
book was dead on. I fear the call to action is too simple, however.
Still, who doesn't want better child care?

I'm having to recreate things a bit here, because I finally hired a cleaning service. They are amazing -- in truth, I think they have OCD, which is a fine, fine thing in a cleaning service -- but when they organized my bookshelves, they put away the pile of books I read these past couple of months. As their organizing principle was a little unorthodox, I've had to remember what I read instead of just looking at the handy-dandy pile. What, you ask, was this principle of theirs? Height. They organized the books by height. Did you know that the paperbacks of Nick Hornby's About a Boy and Wallace Stegner's Spectator Bird are the same size? You do now.

The Inner Circle by T.C. Boyle
Boyle is an amazing writer and this book is mesmerizing in many ways. Subject and author seem a perfect match. Whole lotta sex in this book.

Elizabeth Costello by J. M. Coetzee
If you're ever wondering what to do with all those old speeches once you're tired of giving them...

Best American Essays 2004 edited by Louis Menand
I love essays. They are fun to read, often weird, and usually can be relied on to make me cry.

Devil in the Details: Scenes from an Obsessive Girlhood by Jennifer Traig
This memoir is very funny, often pee-in-your-pants funny. And then it sometimes strikes too close to home. Like when I was reading it and glanced up to see two-year-old Abraham laboriously lining up his trucks in neat little rows. And then he washes his hands, over and over again. No, I'm only kidding about that, but he does hold them up when they're dirty and say, "Hand!" with this little stricken look on his face, like he's horrified by the filth.

The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst
I loved this book. It's just the kind of novel I enjoy, sprawling and kind of formless, with a plot that creeps up on you. And the writing is terrific.

The Best American Short Stories 2002 edited by Sue Miller
I don't know what possessed me to suddenly reread these old stories, but I love Sue Miller. And there are some terrific stories in here, notably, my husband's.

Loud and Clear by Anna Quindlan
I'm reading her to learn how to write a column. She's really a master of the form.

The Virgin's Knot by Holly Payne
I met Holly at a party and she is incredibly sweet. Reading her novel is like a trip to Turkey.

The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis
God, I love this book. It's the best suspense novel I've read in years, and it's about chess. I don't even know how to play chess! I wouldn't talk to anyone while I was immersed in this.

The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing
I will reread this book every month -- until I go into menopause. Then I will put it away, with a little prayer to Lessing for having saved us from a similar fate. Thank God it's short. Even looking at the cover gives me a little shiver of horror.

P.S. by Helen Schulman
This is a nice novel, and I liked it very much, but I saw the movie first, and the movie is exactly, precisely faithful. So it was a little bizarre to read the book. I'm not going to make that mistake again. Book first. Movie after.

A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews
This is a good novel; there's nothing wrong with it. The writing was really clean and spare. The story is well constructed. It's my own fault I couldn't get into it.

Sanctuary by William Faulkner
Yes, Goddamnit. I've never read Faulkner. I know. I am a Philistine. What can I say? I started with an easy one, and it was pretty terrific. But I'm such a moron that it took me ages to figure out the whole rape with a corncob thing. I had to be knocked over the head with it, basically.

I'm feeling very sassy about my reading over the past two months. Not only have I read some fabulous books, but I've read writers I should have read ages ago.

The Great Fire by Shirley Hazzard
This woman is a remarkable writer on a sentence level. But you know what? The best sentences in the world can't save a book whose main characters are cardboard cutouts from a 1940s melodrama.

Independent People by Halldur Laxness
Admit it, you've never heard of him. And yet, he won the Nobel Prize. This is a great book to start with, despite the fact that on more than one occasion I felt the need to shriek, "Bjartur, they are just sheep for crying out fucking loud!"

Caucasia by Danzy Senna
This is a marvelous, fast read. Great meshing of politics and, well, prose. If you know what I mean.

The Getting Place by Susan Straight
Susan Straight is such a pitch perfect writer. It's amazing to me how she manages to create perfect worlds in just a very few sentences.

A Changed Man by Francine Prose
This should have been a breakout book for Ms. Prose. Sigh.

The News From Paraguay by Lily Tuck
This is a fine historical novel, and I enjoyed it. I'm just not sure I get why it won the National Book Award. I mean, I thought, for example, that this next book was better.

The Falls by Joyce Carol Oates
I almost didn't buy this terrific book, because, well, she's got so many. Where do you start? A clerk in one of my favorite bookstores, Diesel Books in Oakland, made me get it, and I could not stop reading. I stayed up for two nights in a row, incurring my husband's wrath.

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
The writing is lovely in this novel, and it certainly rewards the reader. I still like Housekeeping much more.

Pink Pill by Helena Echlin
You can't buy this yet, because it's not yet published, but when it is you should. It's great - fun and well-written. And yes, I do know the author. So what?