Brain candy, brain food

Two books this week, both of which were very fast reads but for different reasons. Nineteen Minutes was first. This is one of Jodi Picoult's better books. Most of the characters are more clearly drawn than those in her other recent books, even though I think Alex is the exact same character as Nina in Perfect Match. Overall an engrossing book for fans of Picoult's style.

I read Eat, Pray, Love in about three sittings, entirely because I could not put it down. Honestly, I laughed and cried and wondered and pondered and used almost every inch of my brain reading this book. Now, of course, I want to go to India and Italy and Indonesia, which is not a problem for my wanderlust-filled husband. I love Elizabeth Gilbert's style -- funny and warm while thoughtful and intelligent. And she loves food perhaps even more than I do.

Many tissues

I would say Dog Years, by Mark Doty, is wonderful even if you're not a dog person, but since I've never been not a dog person, I really don't know. It's beautifully written -- Doty is a poet, which shows (though the book doesn't ever sway to a prose-poetry style). Expect tears, but this is one of those books that lingers in my mind.