<h3>wily wiley reads.</h3>

1.

watership down by richard adams

- this book is very close to my heart as it was my dad's very favorite book.  kind of sad that it took me this long to read it, but it was well worth the wait.  written in the 1970's, watership down is the tale of a group of rabbits working towards finding the perfect home and the adventures they face along the way.  the entire time i read this i thought about how i absolutely plan on reading this novel aloud to my future children.  i thought it might be difficult to get into a book with talking animals...seemed a bit too fantastic for me, but i was so wrong.  ten pages in and i was hooked.  i have to say, i will never look at a rabbit the same way again...or a seagull for that matter.

2.

the dud avocado by elaine dundy

- recommended to me by a fellow blogger, this book lived up to all of my expectations.  a combination of so many things of i love; paris, the 1950s and plenty of european adventure, sally jay gorce, the novel's protaganist, is an american in paris living out her dream to be a free woman.  along the way she meets many intriguing male companions and the whole novel makes you feel as though you are reading the diary of a close personal friend.  she says all of the things most of us keep to ourselves, which makes her undeniably perfect in my book.

3.

the big short: inside the doomsday machine by michael lewis

- a far cry from my typical read, this nonfiction book is about the inner workings of the mortgage crisis.  jeb and his dad both read the book and raved about it, and i thought i needed to give it a try since, honestly, i was not quite sure what this whole wall street crisis was about.  i have to admit i spent some time researching things like subprime mortgages, cdos and fico ratings, but i found lewis to be a great storyteller which kept me interested.  he does a stellar job of incorporating some of the more personal information about the key players in the crash and that helped me to keep on trucking through.  mostly just proud of myself for getting through it, i have to say that i enjoyed this one and look forward to blowing people away with my knowledge of subprime mortgages!  really, ask me anything...

4.

the devil tree by jerzy kosinski

- i really loved this one!  my friend lin said it was a favorite of hers and i knew i needed to give it a try.  kosinski writes in a fashion similar to bret easton ellis (one of my favorites) and the novel's main character, jonathan whalen has so many levels and so many neuroses.  it was interesting to read on a pyschological level and i found myself transfixed by whalen's complicated relationship with family and wealth.  very dark at times, the devil tree kept me hooked until the final pages.  i would definitely tell you all to give this one a go.

now it's your turn.  what do i need to read?  i have gotten such great responses in the past and am already looking forward to compiling a fall reading list to get me through those chilly days wrapped in blankets on my sofa.  i'm all ears!
(just picked up columbine by dave cullen and jonthan tropper's this is where i leave you.  thanks for the great ideas.)