"Dinner along the Amazon" by Timothy Findley

Finally finished this book of short stories. I'm tired of reading about all of his alcoholic characters. He was an alcoholic as well.

"What the Dog Saw" by Malcolm Gladwell

Somewhat interesting collection of essays that I had been reading for awhile now, usually in bed before going to sleep. This is the 1st book I've read by him, and I frequently found myself wondering why he has become so well known, such a cultural guru. I guess he presents interesting concepts, and shows links that people may have been unaware of.  It probably doesn't help his cause that I was usually tired when I read this book. However, the fact that I stayed awake for all the essays must indicate something positive about their content.

"A Slice of Pi" by Liz Strachan

A fluffy book of mathematical tidbits by an overly nerdy former math teacher. I enjoyed parts of it, so it was worth the read. But I really could care less about tricks for things like figuring out the square of certain types of numbers.

"The Slap" by Christos Tsiolkas

I bought this book because in a picture, I saw Simon Baker's wife reading it. It's a best book winner of the Commonwealth Writers Prize. It was a good, very readable book that gave me a bit of insight into Australian society, and Greek families.

"A Game of Thrones" by George R. R. Martin

Even though Ray is not thrilled with this author, and even the books are kind of lengthy, I decided to read this book and the others in the series after watching the tv show on HBO. For many of the tv episodes, I was even kind of bored, but the last episode hooked me, and suddenly, I'm a bit of a George R.R. Martin fan. It's not that he's an extraordinary writer, but he does have a very unique vision. The series was kind of confusing because of the number of characters and the complexity of the mythology, so one of my purposes in reading the book was to clarify some questions.

I did enjoy the book, but it was kind of slow for me because the tv series followed it so closely. This is the book I was reading when I left for Europe, and despite all my time at airports, buses, and hotel rooms, I only finished it today.

"Dead in the Family" by Charlaine Harris

Enjoyable quick read. Though I find that each of the True Blood books does get boring after awhile. It would probably help if I didn't read spoilers on the web, and know most of the salient plot points before I even start the book. Same goes for the tv series. I'm addicted to spoilers, sigh.

"More Die of Heartbreak" by Saul Bellow

Simultaneously amusing and highly intellectual. Last year, I read "Henderson and the Rain King" by him, so I've become used to Bellow's style. When I read him, I don't worry about all the intellectual stuff that is foreign to me; I just enjoy his satire and his insights into the human condition. I love that he brings out the weirdness in human thought processes, and yet sustains the feeling of normalcy.

I became interested in Saul Bellow during my Mordecai Richler jag, because like Richler, he was a Jew from the Montreal area. However, Bellow moved to Chicago when he was 8, and this is another city that interests me.