What I've been reading lately: Read on for fast reviews.

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen: Couldn't really tell if this book was for real or not. Writing okay, bordering on bad sometimes and no real depth. Still, fairly entertaining and easy to read.
Being Emily: Good book, on the 'good' side of the Bestseller types. I loved the beginning but like many books, I felt that perhaps it promised more than it ultimately delivered.
The Golden Notebook: Splendid book. Truly. Full of the nuances of human interactions; feels absolutely true from beginning to end. It was written in the 1950s but it is still fresh and full of the same complex questions. And still there are no easy answers. I have nothing to say except I wish I wrote like Doris Lessing.
One Thousand Splendid Suns: Brilliant book, and just my kind of book too. All the characters are deep and complex and the story is compelling in itself. This is the kind of book I wish bookshops could be full of.
The boy in the blue pyjamas: Classic bestseller, very readable (can be read in a couple of hours), writing okay, subject okay, very mainstream book about the other side of concentration camps (the villains and their children). Nothing really brilliant about it but okay as a holiday read.
Lamb: Short debut. Very promising writing, believable despite the story being far fetched.
The Grapes of Wrath: Excellent book, Nobel Prize Winner, very evocative in its writing, all about people and what people are like. Very, very hard going though. I think I spent over a month reading this book.
The Touch: A book I would never, ever had read if my mother hadn't bought it from the library for me. Low quality book of the kind that is probably sold by weight. Characters simply stereotypes: a good doctor, a good widow, and so on. Story a cheap 'what if one could cure diseases'. Still, I'll give it the entertainment factor. It was easy to read and despite the low quality, I'm pretty sure I enjoyed myself while I read it.
The Pillars of the Earth: I have very mixed feelings about this book. It's excellent in parts, especially when it comes to character creation and dialogue. The author of this book really understands people and is capable of creating the most compelling, believable stories. I really felt like I had been to the Britain of the Middle Ages. The main bad point: atrocious writing. Absurdly bad in places. Lots of repetition, recaps, explaining the same thing in a million different ways, going over covered ground again and again, overuse of simple adjectives. There was a feeling that the book hadn't been edited at all. Nothing mediocre about this book, just really good, and really bad.
About a boy: Re-read. I have nothing bad to say about Nick Hornby. Understands people, and easy to read without compromising quality at all. Oh, and very, very funny.

I'm pretty sure there have been others, but these books are what comes to mind right now.

As usual, love to all

Sylvia