Ok, so I eventually made my way through The Decameron (Boccaccio). And I acutally really liked it. I read it cover-to-cover, but it'd be a fun book to randmoly flip open and read a story or two. Very humerous and raunchy, and you'll recognize many of the stories from later lore/fairytales.
Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen: Take Africa and a mid-20th century colonialist and you've got a winning combination in my eye. I love these types of books, and Out of Africa is without a doubt the grandaddy of this genre.
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden: I liked this quite a lot and am glad I finally got around to reading it, but like so many books that get hugely hyped I didn't seem to like it as much as the masses.
Gilgamesh: A Novel by Joan London: Meh. A miss for me. This won some prestigious awards and it sounds promising, but I found it a bit wishy-washy and annoying.
Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis De Bernieres: Love, love, LOVE this book. This is a re-read. I don't remember liking it as much the first time around, but I think that's because I was quite a bit younger and prefered fairytale endings. This is just a beautiful book, all the more humerous and understandable now that I live in Italy. The Mussolini satire alone is worth the read.
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephanie Meyer: It's simple, if you're a Twifan, or dare I go there, Twihard, read it. If not, steer well away. It's not great, and it'll leave you a little resentful for lining Meyer's pockets with even more money that she doesn't deserve, but it's a short, quick read, gives new perspective on Eclipse, helps tide you over until Breaking Dawn is released in the cinema (or better yet Midnight Sun is completed!), and part of the proceeds go to the Red Cross.
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon: SO promising and it starts out really well, but it fades a bit in the last third. It is worth a read (hey, it didn't win the Pulitzer for nothing), but I couldn't like it as much as I wanted to.
Currently reading The Museum of Innocence by Orhan Pamuk and hating it. I would burn it and bury the ashes if I had something else to read.