stern men and psycho men

dave picked up stern men by elizabeth gilbert for me at the library yesterday and i've nearly finished it already, thanks to good weather, dave having mondays off, and my kids playing outside while i sat there and read.

the two of us read last night from 7:15 (ie, the moment the kids were in bed) until i finally turned out the light at 11:03. it was admittedly tough for me to put this book down, though. here's why:

1) it's set off the coast of maine. think classic new england and rugged lobster trappers with great disregard for the letter "r"

2) the main character, ruth, is a snarky, opinionated, fiery little thing

3) it's just so well written

4) i've loved elizabeth gilbert since the moment kristen told me to go and immediately read eat, pray, love a couple years ago

5) and i'm a HUGE sucker for a love story, though any love themes are much more subtle than overt at this point in my reading

i also read swimsuit by james patterson last week. i have enjoyed a lot of patterson's books (thanks to amber sharing her beach reads with me on our many spring break vacations), though i will admit they can begin to feel similar somehow. swimsuit, however, was co-authored with maxine paetro, and i have to tell you, it was the most disturbing patterson book i've read to date. in a league of it's own, really. think criminal minds goes unedited and raw. but the storyline was so gripping, the characters so interesting, the psychosis so captivating, i still couldn't put it down.

so what about you?
what are you reading?

any recommendations for me??