What I've been reading.

Richard Ford, Independence Day. An ordinary few days before the Fourth, in 1988 (though the novel was published in 1996), of a man named Frank Bascombe - former sportswriter, now a real estate agent in Haddam, New Jersey, divorced from his wife Ann who lives in Connecticut, remarried, with their two children. Frank wants to spend a couple of days of quality time with his troubled son. Ford is incredibly observant, and every page is filled with detail - again, quotidian, I guess, but endlessly fascinating. One of best novels I've read in the last few years. Recommended for fans of Frog and Toad.