Three recent graduates of Brown spend their first year out of college thinking about what to do next. Two of the men are in love with the same woman and she is confused about her own feelings about life in general. Eugenides never writes the same book twice and as we have long waited for this one, I am pleased to say he does not disappoint. He is so talented at communicating his ideas and thoughts into fiction. He is probably one of the finest novelists writing today.

I found this to be a deeply insightful, provocative novel. Peter, a 44 year old art dealer in confronted by his sudden love (or is it lust) for his 23 year old brother in law who is a charming druggie. Soho, the art world, relationships, parenting and a look at what life brings after the first decades of adulthood. A fine read by the author of The Hours.

I could not put this book down! 18 year old Victoria Jones has been a ward of the state of California for her entire life and has just gone out into the world on her own. For a brief period when she was ten, Victoria lived with Elizabeth who grew grapes and flowers. She learned from Elizabeth the Victorian language of flowers; anger for Peony, levity for Delphinium, frugality for Chicory and hundreds of others. It is this knowledge that leads Victoria to the recognition that she can help people with the flowers she chooses for them and she soon has a busy business as a florist. But before she can truly become whole she has to confront her past and reconcile it with her present. This is a great read.

The author of "The Great Man," one of my all time favorite novels, has returned two books later with a story about Harry Quirk, a 58-year-old floundering poet whose marriage has ended. Does he fight for it, does he accept the inevitable, or does he flounder for awhile? As Harry rides his bike through Brooklyn, wondering what he really wants and needs both for himself and in a partner, we come to value and admire what has driven him in the past and what he is learning about how to move into the future. It is, for me, a rare thing to discover a writer who can write about the opposite sex with such clarity and truth. Kate Christensen succeeds.

A delicious novel about a group of young people in Manhattan whose stories tell about a time gone by and the amazing lives lived in the city circa 1938. Katey, a 25-year-old secretary from Brooklyn, finds herself involved in the upper echelons of New York society. She likes it and at the same time remains true to her values as she moves through a fast paced period both in her work and in her personal life. This is a story about a time gone past and Towles writes elegantly about the paths we take and looks back at the paths not taken. I loved it!

This is a very witty, smart, insightful short novel by a writer whose work I have long admired. The protagonist, a poet is spending the summer in a small town in the Midwest after her husband of over 30 years decides to take a "pause" from their marriage. Times with her mother, the young woman next door and phone calls with her daughter offer the poet the chance to decide what her future holds. This was a delicious read from start to finish.