For those looking for a lighthearted read, thoroughly enjoyable and enlightening ... "Marching Powder" by Rusty Young is a great page turner.

Most of my reading of late has been escapism, or as my wife likes to put it ... the Mills & Boon for men (you know the stuff, the Grisham's, Ludlow's, Le Carre's of the world). Easy page turners, requiring little thought ... just finished "Stalin's Ghost" by Martin Cruz Smith.

For those looking for an epic (fantasy genre) then there is "A Song Of Ice And Fire" series by George R R Martin.

I'm not going to mention the serious reading ... it just doesn't seem appropriate for the festive season!

Here's a few more that I thought worth mentioning:

"Holy Cow! An Indian Adventure" by Sarah Macdonald. Often hilarious,
sometimes hair-raising and always entertaining...

If you like historical fiction there's, "Girl with a Pearl Earring,"
by Tracy Chevalier. Deeply revealing about the process of painting.
Beautifully written.

"Too Close to the Falls," by Catherine Gildiner. This one has only
one fault. It ends too soon.

"Away with the Fairies," by Kerry Greenwood. A Phryne Fisher Mystery.

And finally, for those who like biographies - "My Nine Lives,"
by Diane Cilento makes good reading.

Have fun...

I've just received, "Blind Faith" by Ben Elton as a Christmas present, and am looking forward to reading it. It's supposed to be a look into our future (dark and very Orwellian). Should be interesting.