"Run" by Ann Patchett

I will admit to being an Ann Patchett fanatic. She is one of those marvels of a writer whose narratives are hard and tender and feel like love. In Run, her latest novel, she explores race and family, poverty and privilege, secrets and motherlessness within the context of one mixed-race family in Boston over a period of 24 hours. The plot is unexpected and suspenseful, and you will read deliberately, because each sentence is worth savoring. Discover the latest from the incomparable writer of Bel Canto.

"Then We Came to the End" by Joshua Ferris

This clever, funny novel about one dot-com company's smash-up is a delight to read. The New York Times listed it as one of the top five fiction books of the year, and it was nominated for a National Book Award, so this title has chops, but what is most pleasurable about the read is the inventive narration and the scaffold of seriousness that supports all the hijinks and wit these characters have.

-Jill

"The Meaning of Night" by Michael Cox

I just started this excellent page-turner set in Victorian England. It starts out as a confession of murder, "After killing the red-haired man, I took myself off to Quinn's for an oyster supper". The journey to why is proving to be as provocative as the beginning line. Check back on the blog for more to come.

- Janet