Read any good books lately?

Peter Carey is usually a good read

What are you reading at the moment? Is it 'good'? Would you recommend it? Book hounds are always chasing insights from other readers.
The trouble is, every reader has a different idea of what constitutes a 'good read'. For some it involves a twisting plot line, like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Others find the intriguing netherworld of Murakami's landscapes spellbinding. Perhaps Hilary Mantel's historical characters are more to your taste.
Highbrow, lowbrow, crime, romance, mystery or thriller, the compulsion to find a new read, to replace the last book with the next book, seems an inherent part of our being. Just what is it we are looking for in our books: Escapism, relaxation, information, to pass the time of a long journey or to forget the events of the day before sleep.
From where does this deep seated love of fiction, which is an imaginative work even if based on fact, come. Does it stem from childhood days when parents and teachers encouraged imaginative thought by reading to us. Or are we reaching, not for a guide to life, but for a tangible connection to the interior life of humanity.

What makes you pick up the next book, examine the cover design, scan the blurb on the back, then turn it back over and look at the cover for a second time to see if it will be a good read?