I feel honored to have you ask me. Let me see . . just between those two, or among any of them? If the latter, I would recommend Dombey and Son - it's very interesting and sweet and one of my favorites. I'm not sure what to say to the two you mentioned - they're both equally good, if my memory of them is correct, but I think that Our Mutual Friend was a little more interesting, and that I personally preferred it. Tell me what you decide to do!!
(goes and orders Little Dorrit so she can re-read it)

new 39 Clues series coming in August!
http://www.the39clues.com/part2
first book is by Gordon Korman! yes!

I see. I might give him a try some time. Which one of his works would you most recommend I read? (I can probably get most of them at my library. They have a pretty big Christian fiction section)

As Warrior 4 Jesus said, Thr3e is great. I never read the Circle books, but I've heard good things about them. My personal Dekker favorite is Blink of an Eye (which used to be titled Blink). It's a sci-fi/thriller type book, and it's fantastic: a runaway Muslim princess, a super-smart guy who gets glimpses of the future, assasins, CIA, romance . . . like I said, it's fantastic.

I just finished the Mallorean by David Eddings. I love his work. Anyone got suggestions for which of his series I ought to start on next?

Start on the Circle series! They are awesome!

Ithilwen: May I add my opinion regarding Ted Dekker's books? If your looking to try him out, start with Blink or Thr3e. If your looking for a long read try The Circle Series, Be warned: if you read the Circle series you're going to want to read the The Lost Books,Saint,Sinner,Showdown,etc because the characters keep popping up and the books are all connected in some way.

Overall, I highly recommend Ted Dekker. And, if you like him, try Frank Peretti.

Eleanor, I've ordered Dombrey and Son from the library. I'm going to save it for a long trip in a couple of weeks. I hate running out of things to read while away from my usual sources of literature.

Tarkeena, if you haven't read it already, I suggest The Diamond Throne from the Elenium. (Featuring one of my other favourite cranky horses. )

I'm currently reading Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the heroic campaign to end slavery by Eric Metaxes. I keep picturing the actors from the movie as I read about the various characters. Somehow, I doubt that Thomas Clarkson started out as a gray-haired student.

*feels like mar_girl* I have a light and fluffy book related link to share! Organizing the bookcase

I saw the Amazing Grace movie too Mel so I'll be very interested to know how that book is.

I just began reading robinson crusoe by Daniel Defoe for the very first time.

Also, previously reread The Hobbit again for the second time. Liked it just as much as the first time and look forward to the two movies.

Eleanor, I've ordered Dombrey and Son from the library. I'm going to save it for a long trip in a couple of weeks. I hate running out of things to read while away from my usual sources of literature.

Oh yay! Great Choice! Do tell me how you like it when you finish it!!
So like I promised, I'm starting to read Little Dorrit again. Since I've almost completely forgotten what happens, it's very exciting!

I have been reading a lot of young adult books recently. I have read Beastly, Shiver, and am now reading Hush, Hush. I am also still reading a biography about Marie Antoinette. Pretty wide variety

*is a fan of Beastly* Ooh, what's the Marie Antoinette biography called?? I'm a huge fan of her, and have read a few biographies about her.

Well I just read an abridged version of The Count of Monte Cristo and I really want to the read the unabridged version now!
The plot was really interesting along with the characters. I'm sure they are even better in the unabridged version though.

I'm also rereading the Silmarillion, which is excellent! I love the mythic grandeur of the whole story. Its beautiful.

I was just wondering, does anyone know any good historical fiction books that take place in an ancient civilization (Greece, Egypt, Rome)? Thanks.

Valiant, I love The Count of Monte Cristo. A similar book to that is Scaramouche But its set in France so may not be exactly what you are looking for.

I just finished Heaven is For Real, which was intriguing. Its a little boy's account of having been to Heaven. I took a lot of psychology classes in college, so I'm a little cynical about the premise, but I still really liked it and I want it to be true. Before that I read The Seven Daughters of Eve by Bryan Sykes. It was really good, very technical but good. Its about genetic research discovering seven different clans that everyone in Europe is descended from.

Oh, I really hope you get to read the unabridged version, Valiant! I can't imagine reading the abridged, every part of it is so important and shouldn't be lost! If you liked the latter, then you'll definitely love it in all it's glory.
I'm not sure I can help you with that request, as I'm not sure exactly what you mean. But some great Roman stuff is The Robe (it's REALLY good) and Quo Vadis, for Christian stuff.

GlimGlum, I think Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the heroic campaign to end slavery by Eric Metaxes was a good, well-rounded, biography. It did not suffer from something I've seen in other books about other famous folks--namely, they do the thing they're most famous for and then you get two paragraphs about the rest of their life. (Rebel in Bristol: Mueller-got-married-again-and-went-to-Africa-in-his-80's I'm looking at you...) I was rather surprised at how closely the movie paralleled the events in the book, so I'm feeling a wee bit skeptical about that--I would have expected larger deviations, if you know what I mean.

Valiant, if you want hi-fi for Rome, I suggest just about anything by Rosemary Sutcliff. Most of her books involve the Roman occupation of Britain. Mary Ray wrote a mystery called The Ides of April which takes place in Rome during Nero's reign, with a sequel called Beyond the Desert Gate.

For Egypt, Andre Norton wrote Shadow Hawk, Joanne Wilkinson wrote God King, and my personal favourite is The Golden Goblet by Eloise Jarvis McGraw. Not as big a fan of her Mara, Daughter of the Nile but that's just me. It seems to me that I read a book featuring Hatshepsuet as well but I can not remember anything else about it.

I'm drawing a bit of a blank for Greek, but Lloyd Alexander wrote The Arkadians which is set in a Greek-like culture.

Valiant, I second Meltintalle's recommendations of Rosemary Sutcliff's works, the two Mary Ray books and also The Golden Goblet. The others I haven't read, but have heard good things about.
If you can find it, you might check out another book set in ancient Egypt - The Egyptian Necklace, by Myron Tim Palmer. It is more of a children's chapter book, but it's also a fun mystery of decent historical accuracy. Also, there is at least one sequel, set in Crete. Both of these are out of print, unfortunately.
You might also try Hittite Warrior, by Joanne Williamson. This YA book is set in in the time of the Biblical judges, which is pretty rare for historical fiction. It is a clean, exciting, and interesting story.

Most recently I've finished North By Night, a YA hi-fi ( first time I've used that abbreviation!) about the Underground Railroad. It was a little more "Romantic" than necessary (the romance not being that well written didn't help), but the plot was interesting and the ending unique. I like that the author included some of the evils of slavery that are more "Adult" without adding unnecessary content
(I would feel comfortable sharing it with my little sisters).

Has anyone heard anything about a new YA book titled The Twin's Daughter? I saw it at the library the other day and it sounds good.