#1 GREEN DARKNESS by Anya Seton
My most beloved romantic historical novel of all time.

Technically, I haven't read the entire novel it since last summer, but it has been rereleased in a brand new edition by Chicago Review Press. For those of us who've been scouring used books stores for copies, this is very good news.

If I tell you I keep two (now battered) copies on my shelf, one to read, one to loan; that I read it six times the year I was fifteen; that I even made writerly pilgrimage to visit Igtham Mote, the English house that inspired Seton to write the book, you will understand that being asked to write the forward for this edition rates as one of the top five delights of my career.

But I'd really just like to urge a new group of readers to find this book and fall into the magic.

If you have not read GREEN DARKNESS, do. It's rich and luscious and wildly entertaining. Order it now, and when you've fallen in love with it (or haven't, though I'll be surprised if at least a few of you don't swoon!), come back and let me know.

And for those of you who've been waiting for a clean, shiny new edition: IT'S OUT, IT'S OUT, IT'S OUT!

Two other books I want to recommend today:

#2 KNITTING by Anne Bartlett.

A first novel by an Australian. A quiet, moving novel about two women coming to terms with their lives. Fans of English domestic novels will particularly enjoy it, as will any knitters out there.

#3 A SINGULAR PILGRIM, Travels on Sacred Ground, by Rosemary Mahoney.

This is one of the best books I've read this year, and one of the top travel books ever. Mahoney is an acute and tender observer, with compassion for the beings in her path and a sense of honor about life itself. I've been recommending it everywhere.

What have you read lately? Please share your recent favorites on the message board.