One of my favorite diarists on Open Diary, Princess Ella (no link, because her diary is locked to non-ODers) has this knack of recommending books that are exactly the kind of reading material I need at any given moment. I think this has a lot to do with the fact that she's a violist, and therefore amazingly cool. Or maybe we just have similar taste in books. After all, she knew The Eight, and most people don't.

In any case, I just finished The Red Tent, which kept me enthralled the whole time I read it. It's the story of Dinah, daughter of Jacob, and is told in first person. And it's not all Biblical or anything, either. One of the reviews on the back cover says something to the effect that if the Bible had been written by women, it would seem like this, and I have to agree.

The author of that book, Anita Diamant, also wrote Good Harbor which was among my stack of books over the last week as well. It's set in a small coastal village in Massachusetts, and takes place in modern times, and I quite enjoyed it, but the other was much better.

I'm now half-way through Blackberry Wine by Joanne Harris, who wrote Chocolat. Princess Ella actually recommended another of her works, but both of my trips to B&N were fruitless, and this title intrigued me.

Waiting at the bottom of the stack is the final P.E. recommendation, Stones from the River, by Ursula Hegi. It's been a while since I've read so much non-fantasy, and I'm enjoying the time just drowning in the written word.

Thanks, Princess, for a great week of reading!