Uncle Vanya, by Anton Chekhov

For some reason I had this down as a Must Read from some list or another. So very Russian. So very classic. I like it--maybe someday I'll see it performed.

Jewels of the Romanovs, by Stefano Papi

For someone who doesn't really care about jewelry that much, I was practically salivating over this book. Yeah, there are some pieces included in the photos that don't do it for me, but the ones I like: WOW! I mean, really: WOW!!

Travels in Siberia, by Ian Frazier

What a great book about Siberia and the whole Russia experience. Frazier is right in saying that this is one of those places that gets under your skin once you've been there. Also fun from the standpoint of reading about other people's travel experiences, not all of which were pleasant. Enjoyable read.

Three Stations, by Martin Cruz Smith

Russia is sad. Sad sad sad.

Watchlist : A Serial Thriller, based on an idea by Jeffery Deaver

Uneven, a little patchy and unbelievable. Very much in the TV/Movie vein of suspense. Not horrible, but not the best book ever.

Rasskazy : New Fiction from a New Russia abbreviated advanced reader's copy (edited by Mikhail Iossel and Jeff Parker)

Good stories. I picked this up at ALA, but it is really only a sampler. I need to find the whole book and read the rest of them.

The Great Upheaval : America and the Birth of the Modern World, 1788-1800, by Jay Winik (on CD)

Long, somewhat repetitive, but definitely thought-provoking and informative.

Loot, by Aaron Elkins

Another new character, Benjamin Revere, is introduced in this book. I like this art guy better than Elkins' other art guy; he's just more real for some reason.

The hook here is that a friend of Ben's, a local pawnshop owner, asks him to come look at a painting someone just brought in to be pawned; he thinks it might be a 'real' painting. Next thing Ben knows, his friend is beaten up, dies as a result, and the painting has disappeared. In researching it, he finds that it disappeared during World War II, probably one of the many artworks the Nazis appropriated from their rightful owners.

Ben follows the trail to Austria, then to St. Petersburg, and eastern Europe...and also discovers himself falling for the niece of his friend who shows up to help him figure out why her uncle was killed.

Fun story, lots of history, and good characters