still reading the marx biography. am also reading "the impossible country" by brian hall and "abandon" by pico iyer, both of which I've been reading for aaaaaaages, 'cos i only read them for a couple of pages at a time. they are both wonderfully written and good with little details. "the impossible country" is nonfiction, about the whole Yugoslavia Serb Croat Slovene debacle in the 90s. Part travelogue, part history, mostly told through anecdotes and conversations. It is sharp, self-aware, very funny at parts, heartbreaking at parts. The writer has a good eye for characters and knows how to capture them on the page.

"abandon" is fiction and so beautifully written, about a scholar of Sufism and the strange girl he takes up with and some ancient scrolls he's trying to find. i bought it back during my "omg deserts!" thing.