The Time Machine -- H.G. Wells, 1895 (read 18-19 June 2007)

Who was it that originated the phrase "cracking good read"? Google can't seem to tell me, but it can tell me that I'm not the first one to describe The Time Machine this way. It helps that I'm used to nineteenth-century use of language -- quite enjoy it, in fact -- and that the "now" of this story is a time period that feels familiar to me. In some ways, The Time Machine feels like Heinlein's science fiction -- visions of a new society, women as accessories to Men of Science (this is worse in The Time Machine than in, say, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress). One difference in style: Heinlein goes to a good deal of trouble to make his characters sound different and speak a futuristic language, whereas Wells's characters seem to belong very much to his own time.

I've got Anna Karenina on my to-be-read pile, and I've heard that it's a gripping, quick read like this. Supporting evidence to come!

The Westing Game -- Ellen Raskin, 1979 (read 5-9 June 2007)

This is one of the first books Adam's recommended to me that I've actually read.

I remember coming across this book in elementary school and thinking it looked horribly boring. I was wrong. It's lots of fun! Raskin's writing is engaging and clever; we don't have much time to get to know the many, many characters, but each one stands out as a distinguishable individual.

Clues, red herrings, and surprises come at you fast. I kept thinking I was clever for figuring something out, only to get knocked down a peg for totally misinterpreting something else -- just the way the characters do. Thanks to my omniscient readerly perspective, I got the main point of the mystery much faster than the characters did, but I missed a crucial piece that was obvious to them. (It was available to me, if I had read a little more carefully.)

I didn't find the ending quite satisfying -- there were still too many loose ends I was curious about -- but I've heard there's a sequel.