December 1, 2007 -- Saturday evening

On Mission Street, waiting for her fiancé and reading One Hundred and One Classic Love Poems, published by Contemporary Books.

She's trying select something to work into her wedding, two weeks away. The challenge, she said, is finding something accessible.

Her favorite books--The Prophet, by Kahlil Gibran; The God of Small Things, by Arundhati Roy; and Midnight's Children, by Salman Rushdie.

Usually she reads fiction--recently, My Name is Red, by Orhan Pamuk--but right now is reading a biography of John Adams by David McCullough, who writes history in a way that feels like fiction.

Her fiancé, who arrived just as I was leaving, is reading The Education of Henry Adams, by Henry Adams. From Wikipedia:

The Education of Henry Adams records the struggle of Bostonian Henry Adamseducational theory and practice. In 1907, Adams began privately circulating copies of a limited edition printed at his own expense. Commercial publication had to await its author's 1918 death, whereupon it won the 1919 Pulitzer Prize. (1838-1918), in early old age, to come to terms with the dawning 20th century, so different from the world of his youth. It is also a sharp critique of 19th century.

Congratulations and bon courage in selecting the perfect poem!