My friend Laura H recommended “Water for Elephants” by Sara Gruen to me probably a year ago. Sadly, I slacked off and just now got around to reading it (thanks to Frank at work).Shame on me! “Water for Elephants” is a great piece of fiction! Set in the heydey of circuses traveling by train, it’s main character is a veterinarian who lost his parents in his last semester at college. Bewildered, he wanders off and ends up helping out a circus.

Like “The Notebook“, “Water for Elephants” is taking place in both the present (as an old man) and in the past (when he was young). While there is a strong love story, this is NOT what I’d call a chick book. There’s plenty of blood and guts to appeal to male readers (I wouldn’t suggest this book to someone who gets queasy easily).

If you like “Water for Elephants”, you might also enjoy “The Mermaid Chair” by Sue Monk Kidd or “I Know This Much Is True” by Wally Lamb. Be forewarned that Lamb’s book is a slower read than “Water for Elephants”.

And for fantastic fiction (that is incredibly well researched) on most any topic, check out Jodi Picoult (click here to read my review of her book “My Sister’s Keeper“).