I think what I liked about Roots was that there were no "family member at critical juncture of history" moments, other than the general having family members who were slaves. Rewatching The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pitman recently had me thinking the same thing. Yes, she was connected with many black men who were politically active, but to me, that said more about the character of the woman than any freak coicidence.

I read about 100 pages of Sarum, and was still in the Stone Age. I put it down.

The Stone Age part of that book is really the only part I remember. Well, except the bit about the cathedral... which I remember because of the Stone Age figurine that gets in there.

I read an obituary today that started with "...he never met a book he didn't want to read. He even understood Dune." I don't know why reading that pleased me so.

I am trying to figure out some good books to buy for my best fried. She adores Austen and rereads her every couple of years. She loved The Alienist and The Crimson Petal and the White. She is reading Dunnett but finding it a little slow. Any ideas, oh Literistas?

Does she like modern British novels? I am in lurve with Jane Breen and can't get enough of her.

If she's willing to take a look at historical non-fiction written in an engaging style, I'd recommend Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. For fiction, maybe something a bit older, like Follett's Pillars of the Earth (which, full disclosure, I've yet to read, but my mom really adores it, and she's not one for historical fiction, normally).

Robin, has she read Karen Joy Fowler's The Jane Austen Book Club? I haven't read it myself yet, but it's supposed to be very good.

I was also going to throw in a rec for Devil and the White City, which I just read.

I read Pillars of the Earth last year and didn't really like it, although parts have stuck with me. It was too much problem-resolution-problem-resolution for me. Especially at that length. And the characters are extremely two-dimensional.

She is reading Dunnett but finding it a little slow.

Huh. I've never actually heard that complaint before, except from people bogged down in the first 200 pages of Game of Kings.

If she reads mysteries, she might like Kate Ross's Julian Kestrel mysteries, which are set in Regency-era London. City of Light was an interesting novel set in Buffalo around the time of the World's Fair. Has she read Georgette Heyer? Yes, they're romances, but they're well-written, frothy fun romances. Dorothy Sayers?

Ooooh, possibly Connie Willis' To Say Nothing of the Dog, which is officially SF -- it's a time-travel novel -- but it's got marvelous wacky stuff set in the Victorian era. I liked it lots.

I recommend Connie Willis to everyone.