I'm feeling in a bit of a reading rut. Can you feel in a rut when you're enjoying the books you're reading? The thing is I have this inkling to read something more contemporary, and every book but one (I've got Elizabeth George's Careless in Red ready to go, though not yet started) is either a historical novel or a 19th century classic or a book written between the two World Wars. I'm in the mood for something more current. I'm very predictable in my reading and every so often I get this urge to add something different for variety. I grabbed a few promising looking books from my shelves, but I'm still not being terribly adventurous. All the titles except one are by British or American authors. I tried to choose post-WWII books, though post-1970s would be even better. Of course as I was choosing the books and reading the blurbs I would think, yes, this is the one. Then pick another and think, no, this is the one. Now I have a stack of books that all sound good and I can't decide. Perhaps the first line test?
He, She and It, Marge Piercy - "Josh, Shira's ex-husband, sat immediately in front of her in the Hall of Domestic Justice as they faced the view screen, awaiting the verdict on the custody of Ari, their son." This is actually a sci-fi title. I like Piercy's work but haven't ready anything for ages.
Chez Moi, Agnes Desarthe - "Am I a liar?" This is a recent purchase by a French author. It would be nice to read something set in Paris.
Brick Lane, Monica Ali - "An hour and forty-five minutes before Nazneen's life began--began as it would proceed for quite some time, that is to say uncertainly--her mother, Rupban, felt an iron fist squeeze her belly." I know this was made into a movie, though not sure if it's been released. It was shortlisted for the Booker.
The Bookshop, Penelope Fitzgerald - "In 1959 Florence Green occasionally passed a night when she was absolutely sure whether she had slept or not." Not that it matters, but this is a slim little novel that I could read quickly (now there's a novel idea--reading something quickly).
The Best of Everything, Rona Jaffe - "You see them every morning at a quarter to nine, rushing out of the maw of the subway tunnel, filing out of Grand Central Station, crossing Lexington Park and Madison and Fifth avenues, the hundreds of girls." This was originally written in 1958 and looks like a nice, long drama that I could lose myself in.
The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets, Eva Rice - "I met Charlotte in London one afternoon waiting for a bus." I've heard raves about this one. Another book about the 50s, this one set in Britain, though.
Pomegranate Soup, Marsha Mehran - "Dawn rose over Clew Bay and the small Irish village of Ballinacroagh." This is actually a contemporary novel about an Iranian family living in a small Irish village. And a sequel was just published.
Crow Lake, Mary Lawson - "My great-grandmother Morrison fixed a book rest to her spinning wheel so that she could read while she was spinning, or so the story goes." Another book I've heard lots of good things about. It's set in contemporary (at least I think so) Canada, though the subject matter sounds a little heavier than my other choices.
I'm leaning towards the Piercy, or maybe the Ali, or maybe the Desarthe. Maybe I'll have to flip a coin.