The Grand Complication by Allen Kurzweil

This reminded me somewhat of Umberto Eco's books, and somewhat of clever little modern novels and adventure movies. It was fun, and intellectually stimulating, with mild hints of sex and philosophy.

Addendum: It's about a librarian (married to a French artist), and a historical mystery.

These Bones are Not My Child Toni Cade Bambara

I didn't make it through this book. It's a fictionalized account of the Atlanta child murders, and I found it confusing and even annoying in its assumptions-- not least the assumption that the book would be read only by people who know all about the history, who were in fact adult (women) at that time, and not around the age of the boys who were missing and murdered. Then there's the way in which the narrating character comes off as hysterical, neurotic and drugged before her wayward son goes missing... and that we are apparently expected to believe that in the middle of a big city in the late 20th century, people felt all safe and small-town cozy until all of a sudden children went missing. Excuse me? In Hotlanta? In what century? That all seems unrealistic, and when I find that Ms. Bambara was known as a feminist author, I am disturbed. Maybe I'll research the history a bit sometime and try this book again, but I'm not sure.

True Magic by Amber K, expanded edition

Looks good so far, but I keep getting putting it down, and of course I don't bring it to work. A couple of historical errors *may* have been corrected, and several exercises added. The organization is great so far. Some goody-two-shoes stuff about the purpose of magical work-- not wrong, but a bit cloying to anyone who actually has contemplated ethics before, and may be tired of thought systems that treat them like children who need commandments.