Larry:

I read The Reluctant Fundamentalist first and enjoyed it so much that I looked to see what else the author had written and was available.  I like Moth Smoke even more.  What is interesting is that each reader has a different interpretation of what was happening.  Or, at least, mine seems to be different from others.  When a book evokes interested discussion, then it's done its job.

Moth Smoke

Mohsin Hamid

$14.00

When Daru Shezad gets himself fired from his banking job, he instantly removes himself from the ranks of Pakistan's cellphone-toting elite and sets in motion the tragicomedy that will drag him into a life of drugs and crime. His uncertain fate mirrors that of Pakistan itself, animated by nuclear weapons and sapped by corruption.

Written before The Reluctant Fundamentalist, it showcases Hamid's fine writing and unique insight on his country, culture and the changing world.

Carolyn:

I am (scandalously) a fan of classy Regency romance, like the great Georgette Heyer, who has influenced more writers of our generation than I can name.  While not certain, I suspect Loretta Chase is one of them.  I had not read her work previously, but brought this in based on a few pages' preview.  Lord of Scoundrels is a reprint from 1995 which shows that good stories, however "cheap" and "mass market" do have a devoted fan of influence someplace in publishing.  Thank you, Avon Romantic Treasures, for bringing this one back to the forefront for unaware readers of this much-aligned genre.

Lord of Scoundrels

Loretta Chase

$6.99

They call him many names, but Angelic isn't one of them . . .

Sebastian Ballister, the notorious Marquess of Dain, is big, bad, and dangerous to know. No respectable woman would have anything to do with the "Bane and Blight of the Ballisters"--and "he" wants nothing to do with respectable women. He's determined to continue doing what he does best--sin and sin again--and all that's going swimmingly, thank you . . . until the day a shop door opens and "she" walks in.

She's too intelligent to fall for the worst man in the world . . .

Jessica Trent is a determined young woman, and she's going to drag her imbecile brother off the road to ruin, no matter what it takes. If saving him--and with him, her family and future--means taking on the devil himself, she won't back down. The trouble is, the devil in question is so shockingly irresistible, and the person who needs the most saving is--herself!

Brenda:

Ok, I'm not even half-way through the book yet, but I really like it. She's a very funny, smart woman who took her life and ran with it!! A great read and a bestseller, too!

From the Los Angeles Times:

"A meditation on love in its many forms -- love of food, language, humanity, God, and most meaningful for Gilbert, love of self...Gilbert's wry, unfettered account of her extraordinary journey lets even the most cynical reader dare to dream of someday finding God deep in a meditation cave in India, or, perhaps, over a transcendent slice of pizza."

Heather:

“Ivan Ilych is dead, but you're not.”

I recently read that article headline on the University of Illinois website, and having read the classic short novel, it sparked my interest. This is the slogan of a campaign in the Champaign-Urbana area to promote reading classic literature. This school year I've been inundated with classic literature because of an AP class I'm taking at DHS, and I whole-heartedly support this new push for classic literature.

   The Death of Ivan Ilych , and Master and Man are two of the short stories in this Tolstoy collection, both are intriguing, quick reads that explore the Russian life-style. The Death of Ivan Ilych, as the title suggests, is about the slow painful death of Ivan Ilych, a man who spent his entire life struggling to become a rich successful man, only to fatally wound himself when he finally reached the top. Master and Man is about a stable hand and his master taking a business trip in the heart of the Russian winter during a horrifc snow storm and their hardships in a single night, the internal struggles of the Master, and the survival tactics of the man.

The Death of Ivan Ilych and Other Stories

Leo Tolstoy

$6.95

Four classic stories of murder and sacrifice, greed and devotion, love and affection, are collected together in this one volume. Also includes "Family Happiness, The Kreutzer Sonata, " and "Master and Man."

Murder, greed, lust, vanity, love-four of Tolstoy's most famous and essential stories in one volume.

Julia:

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