I have recently read two very good books, both by the same author. The first was called "Snow Falling on Cedars" and the second was "East of the Mountains" by David Guterson.

The first book is about a Japanese man accused of murdering a white man in 1954 in Northwest Washington state. The men had grown up together, but due to life's circumstances had grown apart. This is a story about race, love and bitterness. It is ultimately, though, a story that will change and inspire you.

The second book is about an elderly man, a doctor, who finds out he has cancer. Because he knows what the end of his life is going to look like, he decides to commit suicide. This is his story about his trip into the mountains of his childhood to kill himself, and what he learns along the way.

Both books are masterfully written. Guterson is wonderful at describing and developing his characters and locations. I could not wait to finish each book, but when I was finally finished I wished there was more. I really wanted to keep going with the characters.

My next reading endeavor is to finish Don Quixote. I bought this book before leaving Virginia in June, but have not had the time or the inclination to read it. I finally picked it back up the other night and decided to skip over the very boring (IMO) "Translating Don Quixote" chapter. I am now finished with the first two chapters and it going well. There are 74 chapters and close to 1,000 pages, so I think it will be awhile before I finish.

One of my goals is to slowly work my way through a list of classic literature, preferably in chronological order. This goal was birthed in me after reading Susan Wise Bauer's book, "The Well-Educated Mind".