The Eyre Affair - Jasper Fforde

A whimsical funny crazy book which involves literary crime, time travel, and weird but interesting concepts. It is not just a clever book, it has heart, with irreverent but likeable characters and a fight between good and evil. I did wonder before reading it whether I'd like it, and was pleasantly surprised. I look forward to reading the sequels.

The Heart's Code - Paul Pearsall

Interesting concept of the heart being the seat of memory, instead of the brain. The author, a psychoneuroimmunologist, is at pains to ensure the book is not a "new age" book but a scientific investigation of the heart's code, a subtle energy unlimited by space and time. There's some fascinating anecdotes about heart transplant patients' experiences of heart memory and lots of fascinating reading. My only complaint is that there seemed to be a lot of repetition of ideas.

The Almond Picker - Simonetta Agnello Hornby

Starts with the impending death of the main character, and then proceeds to intrigue and mystify you with the question of "who was she?" as you listen in on the gossip of the many village characters and the family members who were connected to her. It's evocative of life in a little Italian village with its intricacies and relationships. (translated from Italian)

Shanghai Baby - Wei Hui

A sassy and explicit writing style which is at the same time candidly honest. Vron said she found the "look at me" style irritating, but I found it refreshing and whilst it's not a book I would normally be attracted to, once I started reading it I was drawn from page to page until the end, finding it an interesting look into Shanghai's modern scene.