There are so many books to read, it’s hard to know where to start. And just because someone recommends a book doesn’t mean you’re going to like it. (Trust me, I have a stack of books I bought after a friend’s recommendation, all of them sitting with a bookmark on page 11 or so. I’ll read them right after the Rapture, okay?*)

But I just finished a book you will ALL LOVE. I don’t care if you’re a man/woman/child/spawn of Cthulhu.

Although if you’re a child, you might want to wait until you’re, um, at least 13, let’s say, to read it. Parents, be warned! Or you will have some ‘splainin’ to do. The book? Yeah, I know, I live under a rock. You’ve probably all read it already. Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Sad, wonderful, deep, shallow, so funny I had to close the book and catch my breath from laughing at regular intervals. I only recommned a book every three or four years to my husband (because he likes hard-core sci-fi, bleah!), but he’s reading this one now.

Today, I cracked open When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead. I have a good feeling about this one, too. But enough chatter! I’m away to revise ANOTHER novel. As Ren and Stimpy would say — Happy happy, Joy joy!

Help! I had a request from a friend for books for her mentally challenged adult sister to read. The reading level would need to be around 2-4th grade, but on topics an adult wouldn’t mind reading about. (So, not learning to ride a bike or tie your shoes.) Any ideas?

* For those of you who don’t know me as well, I refer to the Rapture fairly frequently. But I don’t actually believe in it, in the exact sense that many of my friends do. Well, I believe in the kind of rapture I feel after I eat a bowl of gelato the size of my head. Just to clear that up.