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The Fall by Simon Mawer: Simon Mawer has given us a good novel, just not a great one.

It can be electrifying and dizzying at one point and then detached and mired in its characters' own lack of inertia the next. A more even novel would have been received better, but

The Fall is still an enjoyable read that will leave you guessing the truth until the very end.

The Havana Room by Colin Harrison: Still,

The Havana Room manages to capture the soul of a city, although it's not an honorable one. New York is as complex as the characters within

The Havana Room and just as full of secrets and desires for more. Perhaps the city is really the central character here, flawed, beautiful, and impossible to understand. Within its scope, Colin Harrison paints a portrait of a man struggling to understand himself and his place within it, and to give up wanting more and appreciate what he has. Enjoy the secrets of

The Havana Room. Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner: With Freakonomics, Levitt and Dubner have given us a new way to look at our world. This is a short book, about 200 pages, and reads very quickly. As each story gleaned from the data unfolds, you'll find yourself surprised, laughing, and reading passages aloud to someone else.

It is like a treasure hunt, with little secrets unearthed that were there in plain sight much of the time.

The authors have created a book that is both entertaining and educational.

The last thing you should do, though, is take my word for it. Get a copy and find out for yourself. His Illegal Self by Peter Carey: His Illegal Self is not an easy story to read, and it's tedious at times waiting for any sense of hope to come to its characters' lives.

It's the characters that are the highlight of this novel, though, and Peter Carey's expert handling of their relationships and emotions that binds it all together in a flurry of emotions that buffets the reader as well. Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon: While the usual thematic elements of good versus evil are played out in Gentlemen of the Road, there are no deep issues at work here. Michael Chabon has created a short, adventure novel (less than 200 pages) that delivers all the expected pleasures of the best of the genre, making Gentlemen of the Road a pleasureful way to pass an afternoon.

It's almost enough to make you wish you could read the further adventures of Zelikman and Amram, but perhaps that's too much of a good thing.

The morsel of temptation provided by Michael Chabon attains that desired effect – leave them wanting more.

Ironfire by David Ball: In Ironfire, David Ball has given us a prime example of exemplary historical fiction. Not only is it a realistic depiction of a faraway time and place, but he's populated his story with interesting and believable characters and keeps the suspense ratcheted in top gear all the way.

Ironfire allows a peek into different worlds that coexisted at the same time with the hatred and fanaticism that rings true to this day.

It's easy to divide the world into good and evil and be appalled at the actions of those opposed to one's religion or way of life. Part of what David Ball has presented with this novel is the perspective from both sides that considers the other to be evil, and the justifications of their actions as being God's or Allah's way.

In that sense, Ironfire also succeeds as precautionary tale for today with hope that we all learn from the lessons of history so that we don't repeat the same mistakes. Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips: Despite a few bumps along the way and some mean, pernicious behavior of the gods, Gods Behaving Badly eventually rescues itself from the traps it must avoid. When it tends to get repetitious or too over the top, Marie Phillips guides it back to a scene or setting that highlights human foibles or insights, and the novel is back on the road to being an entertaining read. Once Neil and Alice are confident enough to take over the novel, it glides full of humor to its immortal conclusion. Gods Behaving Badly is an original concept wrapped around a familiar theme, and the combination of the unique setting, absurd and lecherous as it is, with a sweet love story makes it a successful debut novel for Marie Phillips. While you can't necessarily count on the gods to do the right thing, reading Gods Behaving Badly is a safe bet for any reader. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke: Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is a wonderful, entertaining, and thoroughly enjoyable novel.

I am glad I came under Susanna Clarke's enchantment and I'm eager to press this novel into the hands of family and friends and urge them to read this book. Annette Lybacki hopes that you found this piece helpful and invites you to read her articles on Do

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