"Simisola" by Ruth Rendell

I enjoyed this book so much that I didn't even read the ending early. Main themes were unemployment and slavery in England. I have a feeling I enjoy Ruth Rendell slightly more than I do PD James.

"Zombies of the Gene Pool" by Sharyn McCrumb

I had Ray buy this book because I like Sharyn McCrumb, and I thought I had never read it. It's closely linked to "Bimbos of the Death Sun", which I did remember reading and enjoying. It turn out I did read this book as well, though I only remember it vaguely, and I do remember its being the inferior of the pair. I did enjoy it, and figure I had a more mature perspective on it this time round, since it involves older people dredging up a time capsule they buried in their youth. Included cogent commentary about science fiction fandom.

"Skios" by Michael Frayn

Ray bought this book for me. I wanted it because Simon Baker said he would be reading it, and I read that the author had a good record. The book was a clever and amusing farce. But it didn't end with emotional fulfillment for me. It was too intellectually structured to bother with that, I guess. The plot was...stolen identities, mistaken identities, amusing occurrences, coincidences.

"A Feast for Crows" by George R.R. Martin

A very good, very long book. The number of threads that Martin is juggling is amazing. And he keeps growing them! I read some reviews of these later books that complained, among other things, about the introduction of new characters we don't care about. That's not true for me, but I must admit that I did skim some parts a little bit. The book is just too long and too detailed to read every section carefully. And I can reinforce the main points by watching the tv series.