Good Omens : The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch, by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett (on CD)

Have wanted to read this book since it came out, but it never quite made it into my lists. So now I have. It would have been better to read it with my eyes: there are a lot of perspective changes that are NOT signaled well by the narrator. Still, a pretty funny-yet-thoughtful book about Armageddon.

Yes, I know, that's unexpected, but look at the authors' names. The plot mostly revolves around a book of predictions from the 17th century that has been passed down through the writer's family after her death--she was burned at the stake as a witch. Also involved are an angel and a demon who are quite amusing, a Witch-Finder Army (of one two) and an 11-year-old in the center of things who is the son of Satan.

It's amusing. Made me want to read more Pratchett.

A Discovery of Witches, by Deborah Harkness

Wow. While not the best amalgam of history, fantasy, and romantic suspense, it's a pretty good story. We have a powerful witch who refuses to use her power, preferring to blend in with the human world, but that all ends when she 'draws' a coveted manuscript to her by accident. We have a powerful vampire who at first only wants the manuscript, then wants the witch herself. We have daemons--they are the eccentrics of the world, the savants.

And this is only the first book in a series. Wish I'd've known that when I picked it up.

Creepers, by Joanne Dahme

An Instance of the Fingerpost, by Iain Pears

This took me almost three months to finish. Sounds like a book I'd normally give up on, doesn't it? But I forged on and I'm glad I did--it's a great historical novel set in the years between the Restoration and the Great Fire primarily in London. Many historical personages are in this book; in fact, most of the 'characters' were real people. The story is told four times, from four different vantage points, and until the last version none of the narrators is very likeable.

Great book. I will be looking for a copy of this to own so that I can reread it. By the end, it's impossible to resist flipping back through the other 'versions' to see what other people saw going on.