Whacha Reading?(May 21st)

I'm going to make Fridays officially Whacha Reading day.  I'll post this each week just to do a quick end of the work/school week update of what's been/being read : )

I'm still reading Dragonfly In Amber.  It is starting to really pick up now, with some pretty good action going on.  Claire and young Mary Hawkins have been attacked and poor Mary was raped.  Someone they thought was dead is very much alive and has both Jamie and Claire very distressed.  I like how the book mixes a bit of true history in it's story.  Learning about King James and Louis, Bonnie Prince Charlie is a very neat way to get some lessons in there ; )

I have spoken once before about feeling connections with book characters and how Cody McFadyen failed to do that for both me and my hubs with Smoky Barret.  This is not the case with Claire and Jamie.  Diana Gabaldon has succeeded fabulously in weaving such brilliant characters that you really become attached to.  I love this couple and I want to learn what happens with all the characters she has brought to life.  That is the sign of a fantastic author.

When your emotions are so tied into what's happening to the character that you can weep along with them or feel the dread or heartwrenching hurt, or you can actually "hear" the accent of the character when he speaks, that author has truly done a wonderful job of pulling you right into that book with them.  Not too many have that capacity, Charlaine Harris, Patricia Cornwell, Stephen King, and Jeaniene Frost are masters of it imho(my humble opinion).  I love being so lost in a book that I can't even hear what's happening around me.  I don't think my family likes it too much, but sometimes you can't help it, you just get sucked in.

So what is on your nightstand or coffee table waiting for you to hurry back and finish up?