Because I had no internet with me in Quebec, I had time to finish three
books:

1. Brick Lane by Monica Ali: a rich, brilliant, detailed story of a
Bangladesh woman in an arranged marriage sent to live in England, and the
resulting culture clash. The author is incredibly observant, giving us a
setting so thick with detail that we can practically smell it! The plot and
characterization are realistic, the ending is satisfying, and I felt myself
still caring about the characters after the book ended, and wondering what
happens to them next. (Aside: I wonder if authors know what happens to
their characters after books end?)

2. Cosmopolis by Don Delillo: a witty satire/allegory of the dot com boom
and bust. All the action takes place during one drive across New York City,
all the characters are insane, and the whole thing feels unintentionally
hilarious, as though the author thinks he's serious. Very quick and easy to
read.

3. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon:
brilliant, definitely lives up to the hype. Portrays Asperger's quite
realistically for an author who claims to have done no research. The plot
is compelling, the point of view is enlightening, the characters are all
realistic, and it is often sweet and often hilarious. The only problem is
that the jacket flap blurb gives away a key clue to solving the mystery, and
it would be much more interesting to read the book without that piece of
information and see how quickly you can solve it. Read this book if you
haven't already, but don't read the jacket flap. I just have one question:
how did he know to pick that particular right-angle triangle?