In the first chapter, somewhere during the Sudanese conflict in Darfur, God assumes the form of a woman armed only with a bottomless sack of sorghum and is killed by the Janjaweed. Subsequent chapters offer glimpses of how the world reacts in the years following God’s demise—from child worship to child anti-worship, to a bizarre world scenario in which Postmodern Anthropologists and Evolutionary Psychologists are the factions battling it out in World War ?.

As in Pillars of the Earth, to which WWE is the sequel, the city of Kingsbridge is brought to life with colorful, boisterous, endearing and occasionally excruciating detail. The story begins approximately 200 years after PotE. At 1,000 pages, it’s a hefty tome to lug around, but it’s a relatively quick and absorbing read.

In several ways WWE was almost like reading the first book over again. The protagonists’ and antagonists’ names have changed, but at times I felt, mildly disappointedly, that I’d read it all before. This was the only reason I gave it 4 rather than 5 stars. Still highly recommended as Follett’s prose is breathtaking as usual, but make sure you read PotE first.

Debbie Rodriguez went to Afghanistan in 2001 originally as part of a humanitarian group. In Kabul she soon became sought after for her hairdressing background, which gave her the idea of opening a beauty school for local women whose new skills would enable them to earn additional income for their families. The struggle to find funding for the school, in addition to all of the cultural and political hoops to jump through in Afghanistan itself make for a fascinating story. At the end I found myself wanting to know more about what happened afterward, about Debbie’s Afghan husband, their life there, etc.

That said, I fervently regret reading a more recent news article before writing my review as it has dampened my enthusiasm for the book somewhat. As of June 2007, Debbie has apparently left Afghanistan and her husband for good, and many of her former students fear for their lives since the book’s publication. It was a great story, but I now wonder if some of the book’s resolutions weren’t quite as rosy as suggested.

On the same day that a bomb explodes at a Planned Parenthood clinic, a local teenager is found murdered. Are the two crimes connected? Detective Jackson has his hands full as clues begin to point in politically unfavorable directions. Kera, a nurse at the clinic who is constrained by confidentiality, begins a little investigating of her own and discovers that the local teen bible study group isn’t quite what it appears.

The Sex Club has enough intrigue and suspense that you won’t want to put it down, and it’s a quick read. My complaints are few: Although Ms. Sellers would find me a friend on the same end of the political spectrum, even I had a hard time swallowing the big fat agenda being stuffed down my throat while trying to remain engaged with the story. It’s not subtle. Sellers’ primary “villain” is painfully 1-dimensional. It’s hard to believe that someone with such intense compulsions could have a genuinely successful semblance of a normal life. Finally, as others have mentioned, the chat room scenes are wholly unbelievable, for so many reasons.

Hitchens, like the recent works of Dawkins and Harris, implores 21st-century thinking individuals to reconsider the traditional views and roles of religion. Hitchens’ angle, however, is to demonstrate the ways in which religious beliefs do more harm on the large scale than good – and he is convincing. Religious influence clearly poisons humanity politically, physically, emotionally and in undoubtedly more subtle ways as well. I recommend Hitchens, as well as the authors listed above.

Born of Scots/Spanish parents in 1850s New Mexico and orphaned at a n early age, Fey is raised by poor neighbors. At 17, she hitches a ride out of town with Terry Dillon, a “special-elixir”-selling quack. While traveling the Santa Fe Trail, they marry and eventually arrive in Kansas with enough money for train fares to New York City. Predictably, Terry abandons Fey within days, just before Fey realizes she is pregnant. Alone, pregnant and without a source of income in the 19th-century metropolis, Fey must make some important decisions quickly.

I consider Seton to be one of my favorite authors, but I didn’t care much for this book. Seton’s prose is as usual superb, but there is something lacking in the appeal of the story itself. Fey’s financial aspirations didn’t ring true to me. I didn’t understand why she wanted money so badly, and then why she didn’t seem to care much about it when she did have it. This aspect of her personality felt like merely a plot device.

I recommend nearly all of Seton’s other works, especially Katherine.

John Tradescant (the elder) was one of the most skilled and famous gardeners in English history. He originally makes his mark creating gardens for Sir Robert Cecil before moving to Essex to work for the infamous George Villiers, favorite of kings James I and Charles I. Eventually, John’s talents are requested once again – this time by King Charles himself. Philippa Gregory brings John’s love for gardening and botany, as well as his yearning to discover and procure new species of flowers and trees, to life in such a way that the reader can easily share in John’s pride and fulfillment in his humble occupation.

My one complaint about the story is that John seems to step wholly out of character when it comes to Villiers, becoming decidedly wishy-washy and taking leave of his senses in a way that seems otherwise incompatible with his personality, even taking into consideration their lord/servant relationship. Despite this, I’m eager to read the sequel, which focuses on John Tradescant (the younger).

Having made her way in the world, Janice Erlbaum decides to give something back to the homeless shelter at which she was a resident herself in her youth. While teaching beading classes to the young women, she befriends Sam, a resident who is both brilliant and disturbed. Janice quickly finds herself emotionally invested further and further in Sam’s rehabilitation and deteriorating health.

Have You Found Her takes the reader on an engaging rollercoaster ride. Ms. Erlbaum’s husband Bill is either painted in an especially positive light or is an incredibly accommodating individual. I’m not sure I would have been as tolerant in the same situation! I regretted not finding out what the real story/mystery was involving Sam’s father, as that may have provided some answers or some kind of closure.

Lord John Grey, a minor character from Gabaldon’s Outlander novels, stars in this collection of short stories and novellas and is provided with various mysteries to solve. As usual, the stories are enjoyable, although at some point the thought occurred that an oddly disproportionate number of the people LJ encounters, both women and men, seem to want him. In the third story, I was worried that Ms. Gabaldon intended to kill him off. I’ve grown fond of Lord John, but I can’t help but wonder if he’ll ever find true happiness in love.

While published for children, Tracking Trash is definitely readable by all, and is especially poignant for anyone who thinks that trash/litter just eventually disappears. The discovery of a floating garbage dump in the ocean the size of Alaska attests to the contrary. A few years ago I had a sudden realization myself at how dependent we are on plastics. Look around you right now: What isn’t made of plastic? It’s astounding. Two facts that will stick with me: No organism on earth can digest plastic, and plastic doesn’t naturally break down into anything – except smaller pieces of plastic.