What I've been reading

"The Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" by Junot Diaz, as a book on CD. The book is, ostensibly, about a Dominican-American science fiction and comic book nerd named Oscar, who is on a quest to get laid, but who is hindered by a family curse. However, the book also examines his sister's story, his mother's story, and the story of the Dominican Republic under the dictator Trujillo.

and 

"Dared and Done: The Marriage of Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning" by Julia Markus. I really loved this book! It is not a dual biography of the two married poets but rather, as the title indicates, a biography of their marriage -- how it came about, how the poets influenced each other before and after marriage, and how, in Elizabeth Barrett Browning's case, she influenced her husband for decades after her death.

My full comments on both books here.