Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

I just finished this book a couple of weeks ago. It took me a while to do so - I think mostly because life got in the way of reading (which while criminal, is sometimes inevitable). Regardless, I enjoyed this immensely. It is about two nineteenth century English magicians who are trying to "bring back English magic". It is written in such a way that it feels like straight fiction, not fantasy - even though magic is involved. In fact, magic is more like a character in the book, not so much a fantastical element. The characters are rich and come to life, you cannot help but love Strange and Norrell. There were several parts that made me laugh out loud - she writes in ways that appealed to my sense of humor. It was especially funny to me when Ms. Clarke (a British author) would mock the French in brilliant ways (though I have no quarrel with the French personally, of course). Many thanks (yet again) to my brother Darren for recommending it to me).