Here's her list of recommendations:

"I've been doing some re-reading this past year ã things I read too fast the first time through but really liked, and wanted to go back and savor. I think all of these are interesting reads:

"Something to Declare by Julia Alvarez. Essays by a prominent Dominican-American writer, mostly on growing up bi-cultural and on 'the writing life.' I've enjoyed her novels, and was glad for the picture of the person behind them.

"Bitter Grounds by Sandra Benitez. Life in '90s El Salvador. Hard to read in some ways, it's about difficult stuff, but Benitez is not a shrill political polemicist, she's thoughtful in her approach to many sides of the 'haves/have-nots' issue. And she's a wonderful storyteller.

"Snowman by Carolyn Chute. A different view of the right-wing militia movement; interesting characters, some knotty questions.

"Stones For Ibarra and Consider This, Senora by Harriet Doerr. Doerr began writing in her 70's (or was it 80's?), and her novels are set in the north-central area of Mexico where she grew up, and are built around Americans who have come to make a life there for one reason or another. The books aren't really about her life, as best I can tell, but are infused with the feelings and experiences of growing up 'gringo.' Since as you know that was my childhood as well, these books have always been among my cherished favorites ã she nails the experience so precisely. But I believe they would be a good read for anyone; the characters are wonderful, and Doerr can really take you into a place.

"This House of Sky and Dancing at the Rascal Fair, by Ivan Doig. Doig is an all-time favorite writer of mine; I especially love his language. House of Sky is his memoir of being raised by his itinerant Montana cowboy father and iron-hard ranch-cook grandmother. He writes that, upon his arrival at Northwestern University, he realized he was almost certainly the only member of the student body who had ever sheared sheep, baled hay, repaired miles of fenceline... He became aware that he had witnessed the death of an entire way of life and that led him back for the interviews that produced this book. Rascal Fair is the first, chronologically, of his many novels about a Montana family who emigrated from Scotland to raise sheep in the area east of what is now Glacier Park. It's also the only book I've ever read in which the heroine has my name!

"The Sparrow (I think someone else recommended this in Reading awhile back) and Children of God by Mary Doria Russell. I liked Children better, but it makes no sense if you haven't read Sparrow. It's science fiction and a lot more. A group of humans visit an inhabited planet, and the cultural collisions are severe. This book asks us to think hard about cultural assumptions, and how we learn about each other, and how easily damage is done.

"As you can see, I'm only to the D's in my re-reading venture. I'll send another batch along when I'm farther into the alphabet.

"But, there are some new reads to recommend:

"Coming Home Crazy by Bill Holm. His account of a year of teaching in a city in interior China, full of musings on life and everything. I think it's fascinating.

"The Good German by Joseph Kanon. Set immediately after WWII, an American looks for a woman he knew during the war. Her husband is the 'good German.' The story asks us to look at levels of complicity, 'following orders,' and the human repercussions.

"Small Wonder by Barbara Kingsolver. Her latest book of essays, put together in response to 9/11 and what has come after. Some deal with it directly; but those of you who know Kingsolver's writing know she can tie these international events to seemingly mundane observations about things like her daughter's chickens and come up with amazing insights. I love the way she thinks.

"Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates by Tom Robbins. Folks who like Robbins will probably already have read this. If you haven't, or if you aren't a fan, I would recommend this one. It's a little less crazy than some, and while the ride is as exhilarating as ever, it actually seems to have a point.

"Cane River by Lalita Tademy. Semi-autobiographical, this book follows four generations of African-American women beginning in slavery during the Civil War. I say 'semi' because the characters are her real ancestors, and the history is as real as she was able to document, but she has created the interpersonal interactions.

"I hope you enjoy! Adair"