What to read next or suggest for your book group? Well, I would recommend any of these three books. They are all quiet different but one thing that seems to tie all of these together is the power of memories and strong characters. I hope you’ll give these a chance and if you’ve read them let me know, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

“The first story I tell, the first clue I reveal, will determine the direction of the search. The wrong detail, the wrong clue, will inevitably lead to confusion, while the right clue leads to a beautiful child. Should I tell the police about the postman in the parking lot, the motorcycle, the man in the orange Chevelle, the yellow van? Or is it the seal that matters, the hearse, the retaining wall, the wave? How does one distinguish between the relevant and the extraneous?”

First, is The Year of Fog by Michelle Richmond. This one was given to me at a book group meeting and I’m also counting it for my 9 for 09 reading challenge. This is the gripping story the disappearance of six-year old Emma. It’s about how in one instant, a family is torn apart. I didn’t expect to find this suspenseful but it is. Here’s my review.

Now, if you love grand stories that have a bit of everything, then Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese is for you. This wonderful story has political unrest, unrequited love, and just so much more. Set in Ethiopia this is the story of two brothers who grow up to be doctors. Here’s my review.

“What I owe Shiva most is this: to tell this story. It is one my mother, Sister Mary Joseph Praise, did not reveal and my fearless father, Thomas Stone, ran from, and which I had to piece together. Only the telling can heal the rift that separates my brother and me. Yes, I have infinite faith in the craft of surgery, but no surgeon can heal the kind of wound that divides two brothers. Where silk and steel fail, story must succeed. To begin at the beginning…”

Finally, Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson is perhaps a story I wouldn’t have picked up if my book club hadn’t suggested it. I was bowled over by how much I liked this story which to me practically reads like a memoir. It’s beauty is not just in the story but also in the descriptions of the land. Here’s my review.

“I shut my eyes into a squint and looked across the water flowing past below the window, shining and glittering like a thousand stars, like the Milky Way could sometimes do in the autumn rushing foamingly on and winding through the night in an endless stream, and you could lie out there beside the fjord at home in the vast darkness with your back against the hard sloping rock gazing up until your eyes hurt, feeling the weight of the universe in all its immensity press down on your chest until you could scarcely breath…”

Three very engaging stories.

I’ve been meaning to participate in Weekly Geeks but you know how it goes sometimes, by the time you think up of a post it’s time to move on to another one. But, I couldn’t pass up the post this week as it’s on a subject I’ve been thinking about quite a bit lately — the Classics.

You can see all the details of the assignment here. I’ll answer the first question and then I’ll modify the second question to fit something I’ve been thinking of. First, I’ll tell you that while I’m not necessarily intimidated by the classics unfortunately they aren’t my go-to choice for reading either. Every year I say I want to read more but I don’t quite meet my goals and I’ll be lucky to at least get one book in. In the past couple of years I’ve read Great Expectations and Emma and sadly I think that’s it.

But, recently I’ve been contemplating the idea of doing my own personal challenge. I know there are reading challenges that are covering the classics and those sound really great but I kind of want to keep this just for myself. Well, and with the help of Michael Dirda’s book Classics for Pleasure. Yes, as I’ve been skimming this book that’s what’s got me thinking about the classics and I think having this book as a guide will be helpful. I already know that I’d love to discover Eudora Welty, Henry James, Anton Chekov, oh so many more. So, I don’t know how many books I’ll try to strive for but hopefully more than one.

I debated whether to post this or not because what if I don’t read any at classics at all this year? Well, that won’t be good but nothing will happen and all those classics will still be there waiting for me. But, on the other hand, by having put this out there perhaps that helps make me more accountable to myself.

And, as if I needed any additional encouragement Barnes & Nobles has their Classics Series on sale! I love these editions and have bought a couple. I guess now is the perfect time to go look for some new ones to stock up my shelves.