Heric - Thanks for mentioning Out Stealing Horses, which I wasn't familiar with. But the title and your comments made me curious, so I looked it up on Library Thing and a few other places to see various reviews. It got very good comments everywhere I looked, and I read enough about it to decide I'll probably like it too, so I've added it to my future reading wish list.

As for my current reading, this year I've settled into a pattern of, at any given time, being in the middle of one classic book and one contemporary book. This approach has finally solved my dilemma about which type to choose. This way, I just pick up whichever one I'm in the mood for when I have a chance to read.

So I'm almost finished right now with a 19th century novel, The Moonstone, by Wilkie Collins. I somehow had missed his writing altogether, but started reading it on dailylit.com (books in email installments) because the title looked interesting. I've been enjoying the book immensely, and ended up buying my own copy of the book. A friend told me it was a movie as well, so I've bought the DVD, but won't watch it until I finish the book. I now plan to read other books of his as well. This seems to be billed as the first detective novel – it also has wonderful characters, a suspenseful story, and quite a bit of sly humor along the way.

The contemporary book I'm reading, and well into, is In the Country of the Young, by Lisa Carey. I discovered that book and author based on readers' comments on LibrayThing.com, and I'm enjoying that one as well. It starts off with the shipwreck of an Irish famine ship off the coast of Maine, and the death of a young girl, who shows up 150 years later to continue on with her life, officially as a ghost, but soon enough as a live person. It's got a nice touch of magic in it, which I tend to like in books. It switches back and forth between 3 different time periods and places while tying the stories together. And there's even a wee bit of Irish fiddle playing in the book!