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The following are some of the books my wife and/or I have read recently, and our respective ratings.  In some cases for authors we usually like, I've included older books as well in case you're looking for ideas.  Since not all books are meant to be great classics, the list is divided into "higher quality" and "less demanding" groups.  The rating symbols are:  p good,  u neutral, q bad, or (n/r) for "not read" .

Higher Quality Fare
 
Time Traveler's Wife (Audrey Niffenegger) Tim p Kathy p
All time favorite
The Stolen Child (Keith Donohue) Tim p Kathy p
Intriguing premise - a realistic fantasy
Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Mark Haddon) Tim u Kathy p

Middlesex (Jeffrey Eugenides) Tim p Kathy p

Bel Canto (Ann Patchett) Tim p Kathy p

The Magician's Assistant (Ann Patchett) Tim p Kathy p

Patron Saint of Liars (Ann Patchett) Tim p Kathy p

The Memory Keeper's Daughter (Kim Edwards) Tim (n/r) Kathy p

The Glass Castle (Jeannette Walls) Tim (n/r) Kathy p

The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini) Tim (n/r) Kathy p

A Piece of Cake (Cupcake Brown) Tim (n/r) Kathy p

Then We Came to the End (Joshua Ferris) Tim (n/r)  Kathy u

Water for Elephants (Sara Gruen) Tim (n/r) Kathy p

Unless (Carol Shields) Tim (n/r)  Kathy p

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (Lisa See) Tim (n/r)  Kathy p

The Dive from Clausen's Pier (Ann Packer) Tim (n/r)  Kathy p

Tulip Fever (Deborah Moggach) Tim (n/r)  Kathy p

The Piano Tuner (Daniel Mason) Tim (n/r)  Kathy p

All I Did Was Ask (Terry Gross) Tim p  Kathy (n/r)

Gods in Alabama (Joshilyn Jackson) Tim (n/r)  Kathy u

The Road (Cormac McCarthy) Tim (n/r)  Kathy p
Haunting and thought-provoking
Neither Wolf Nor Dog (Kent Nerburn) Tim u Kathy p

The Innocent Man (John Grisham) Tim u Kathy p

The Buffalo Solider (Chris Bohjalian) Tim (n/r)  Kathy p

The Eight (Katherine Neville) Tim p Kathy q
Of the DaVinci Code style
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (John Berendt) Tim p Kathy p

City of Falling Angels (John Berendt) Tim  u Kathy u
Not as good as Midnight in the Garden, but an interesting account of Venice
Assasination Vacation (Sarah Vowell) Tim p Kathy p
An amusing account of traveling to see the sites of presidential assassinations.  You have to be in the right mood for this one.
Eat, Pray, Love (Elizabeth Gilbert) Tim p  Kathy p

Dreams from My Father (Barak Obama) Tim (n/r)  Kathy p

Three Junes (Julia Glass) Tim (n/r)  Kathy p

The Girl with a Pearl Earring (Tracy Chevalier) Tim p Kathy p

Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden) Tim  p Kathy p

A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving) Tim  p Kathy p

Widow for One Year (John Irving) Tim  p Kathy  u

Cider House Rules (John Irving) Tim  p Kathy p

The World According to Garp (John Irving) Tim  p Kathy p

Hotel New Hampshire (John Irving) Tim  p Kathy p

Until I Find You (John Irving) Tim  p Kathy p

The Fourth Hand (John Irving) Tim  p Kathy p

A Son of the Circus (John Irving) Tim  q Kathy q
Usually like John Irving, but could not get into this one at all

Lighter Reads for the Beach, Plane and Tired Minds

I am America (And So Can You!) (Steven Colbert) Tim p Kathy (n/r)

Pompeii (Robert Harris) Tim p Kathy (n/r)

The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown) Tim p Kathy p
Good for what it is, and better than his other books
Angels and Demons (Dan Brown) Tim p Kathy q

Deception Point (Dan Brown) Tim u Kathy q

Digital Fortress (Dan Brown) Tim u Kathy q
A little weaker than his other books
Timeline (Michael Crichton) Tim p Kathy p

Airframe (Michael Chricton) Tim p Kathy p

State of Fear (Michael Chricton) Tim p Kathy p

Next (Michael Chricton) Tim p Kathy (n/r)

Prey (Michael Chricton) Tim p Kathy p

Congo (Michael Chricton) Tim p Kathy p

Sphere (Michael Chricton) Tim p Kathy p

Rising Sun (Michael Chricton) Tim p Kathy p

Andromeda Strain (Michael Chricton) Tim p Kathy p

The Body of David Hayes (Ridley Pearson) Tim u Kathy (n/r)

Two Minute Rule (Robert Craig) Tim u Kathy (n/r)

London Bridges (James Patterson) Tim u Kathy (n/r)

Running with Scissors (Augusten Burroughs) Tim p Kathy p

Naked (David Sedaris) Tim p Kathy p

Me Talk Pretty One Day (David Sedaris) Tim p Kathy p

Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim (David Sedaris) Tim p Kathy p

Dry (David Sedaris) Tim p Kathy p

Barrell Fever (David Sedaris) Tim p Kathy p

Naked Came the Manatee (Carl Hiassen et al) Tim  q Kathy (n/r)
Almost good, but doesn't quite make it.  Each chapter written by a different author.
Coming Soon ... Tim (n/r) pqu¬¬ Kathy pqu¬¬
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