My train reading the last two weeks has consisted of two completely different novels.

The first was my sophomore experience with the author Adrianna Trigiani. aaa|Big Cherry Holler|0345445848|aaa did not disappoint. Trigiani writes the ordinary stories of extraordinary women. I think this is the second in a series, but I never felt as if I was coming in late in the story. We follow a year in the life of Ava Maria, Jac Mac and their daughter Etta as their relationships grow and change. Trigiani offers the reader an indepth look into life in Southwestern Virginia as well as Northern Italy.

In stark comparision to Big Cherry Holler’s easy going style, aaa|The General in His Labyrinth|1400034701|aaa was a struggle from the start. Gabriel Garcia Marquez recounts the last 6 months of Simon Bolivar’s life. General Bolivar, after being ousted from the presidency of Colombia, is taking a long slow trip out of the country with the shadow of death close at his heels.

Marquez weaves the story back and forth between the current time and flashbacks from the past. These flashbacks give the reader a look in to the General’s military conquests, interactions with other historical figures, and his former loves. Even my careful reading style found me constanly trying to figure out whether we were in the present or the past. I often had to reread passages to get my facts straight. The General was interesting as historical fiction, but I just didn’t enjoy reading it as much as I did other books by Marquez.

I know that it is cliche, but I love that books can take you away…to new and different times and places. They offer the opportunity to experience someone else’s life.

The magic in Anne Lamott’s writing is that her characters live lives that are very different from my own, yet they experience and deal with very familiar issues. I have just finished reading aaa|Blue Shoe|1573223425|aaa by Ms Lamott. While at times I found the story/plot to be somewhat mundane the overall message was very uplifting.

Through Mattie, her 37 year old protagonist, Lamott forces the reader to consider divorce, single parent-hood, aging and ailing parents, love and faith. Alone, these are all difficult issues, but combined they make for a very complicated life. Mattie is a refreshing character because she isn’t the perfect mother, daugher, wife, girlfriend, etc. that everyone expects her to be. Despite that, or perhaps because of it, she manages to keep her head above water and provides her family with the support they need.

I enjoy reading Anne Lamott’s books because they are a light read without ever being fluffy. She’s entertaining and real and her stories offer insight into my own life.

Sometimes, when I don’t have anything else to read I pick up one of Peter’s books that are lying around. Luckily, most of the time I wind up enjoying them. Last week, for instance, I devoured aaa|Neverwhere|0380789019|aaa by Neil Gaiman.

I’ve read some other things by him and have like them. This was no exception. Although Gaiman’s work may be catagorized as “science fiction” I find him to be much more palatable than other SF I’ve come across. Gaiman writes about humans who come in contact with the supernatural. Interestingly enough, the supernatural creatures are very human-like.

The story takes place in the Londons… London-Under and London-Above. A man from London Above (our London) gets swept into London Under and becomes intangled in the lives of those that live there. After facing certian death on several occasions he…

Well, lets just say that I was satisfied with the ending, despite how it turned out…