Book Recommendations?

I'm hoping to get some actual pleasure reading done this holiday. So with that in mind I thought I'd check in with my f-list and see what people would recommend in terms of really good books. It can be fiction or non-fiction, "Great Literature" or an airplane read. Mainly, I'm just looking for new titles.

My own recommendation would be Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China which has got to be one of the most gripping non-fiction books I've read. It's an intensely personal look at China's recent history as experienced by three generations of women in a single family: a concubine, a Communist revolutionary and a Red Guard. For me, this book stands out of the non-fiction pack because it made me think about heroism and resistance from new angles. So yeah, I recommend it.

Leaving town...

I'm heading out of town on the 14th (Thursday), thus sadly missing the weekend's festivities. I'll be back on Jan 5th. I have two questions for my f-list:

1) Would anyone be able to take care of my long-suffering beta fish, Red Shirt? He's pretty easy to look after - he just needs to be fed twice a day, have his water changed, and be prevented from committing suicide in doomed bids for freedom.

2) Is anyone heading to the Indy airport area on the morning of Dec 14th? I'm aiming to be there around 9 ish, but hate, loathe and detest the shuttle.