These are a few years old, so you may have to scrounge at the library for them, but Anita Diamant's "The Red Tent" is one I found un-put-downable. I started thumbing through in a Waterstone's in the airport, didn't have the money for it, then tore Milwaukee apart looking for a B&N that had it when my plane landed. It's historical fiction, the tale of Dineh, who's a footnote in the Old Testament, but an absolutely fascinating read of the Ancient Near East.
And if you're in the mood for Southern-Fried, there's always Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, which goes fast for the sheer period-ness of the deep south through the latter half of the 20th century. It also makes you feel good to be a girl and is much better than the movie. :D
I'm only now reading Jim Butcher's Dresden Files (I was writing something similar and didn't want to unduly influence myself), but I also hear from others who like Dresden and Buffy-type tales that LA Banks' "Vampire Huntress Legend" series (the first one is "Minion" but I can't remember offhand the rest--there are four or five) is good reading, too. The protagonist is a hip-hop diva and vampire hunter.
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And if you're in the mood for Southern-Fried, there's always Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, which goes fast for the sheer period-ness of the deep south through the latter half of the 20th century. It also makes you feel good to be a girl and is much better than the movie. :D
I'm only now reading Jim Butcher's Dresden Files (I was writing something similar and didn't want to unduly influence myself), but I also hear from others who like Dresden and Buffy-type tales that LA Banks' "Vampire Huntress Legend" series (the first one is "Minion" but I can't remember offhand the rest--there are four or five) is good reading, too. The protagonist is a hip-hop diva and vampire hunter.