I got to the citywide bee twice, and twice got stage fright and goofed on my very first word. Rabies (added an "i" after the "a" ) and department store (lost my place and left out the "-ment" altogether) were the words.

I'm an okay speller but a lousy typist, now.

Any readers have impressions of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay to share? I bought it a couple weeks ago when I saw a copy on sale for a ridiculously low price, but I've since seen Spider-Man 2 and am beginning to regard reading Chabon as an obligatory homework project rather than something enjoyable in its own right.

I loved Kavalier and Clay. There were a few points were I thought the story dragged a little, but other than that, I thought it was great.

Loved it loved it. I could have done without the end, but I think I'm in the minority on that.

I thought it was great. It took a little while for me to get into, but I did.

It's a wonderful read, Matt. It'll suck you in and transport you to its world in a really satisfying way.

I read K&C in three days, Matt. Couldn't put it down, and chortled out loud in many places. It's a geek's geeky joyful novel. Except for the sad parts.

I didn't love it as much as I thought I might after everyone said "oh my God I love it!" But that was probably as much a reaction to hype as anything, and I did like it a lot, in a "wah how could you do that?" kind of way.

I was 100 pages into K&C when it won the Pulizter that year, and I felt very smart for having chosen it. But aside from that ego-boost, I did like it -- for its style, and the way it grasped after Big Things. I admired its narrative ambition, even when it felt a little cockamamie; and I like Josef and Sammy a great deal.

Also, it's just got that tone that feels very engaging to me, the way some people can invite you to a party and even if you don't know anybody there the hosts make you very comfortable. (I haven't found this is the case for all of Chabon's novels, or anyway it didn't work quite right in the short stuff of his I've read, and Summerland was more of a children's novel anyway.)

Romance readers: A friend needs recommendations for romance authors to get for her 17-year-old niece. The niece likes "no particular period, just lords and ladies, fancy dress, butlers, footmen, ladies' maids, horses and coaches sort of stuff." The complication is that she'd like books with a minimum amount of explicit sex. I know that explicit sex probably won't harm a 17-year-old, but there's a nosy grandmother in the picture.

Any help would be appreciated.