Do you need more cheap books?

I don't, but never mind, I shopped the clearance sale of bargain books at Barnes and Noble anyway. The best part is that four of these were books that were on my to-buy list anyway, not entirely superfluous purchases. Seven books, $26.88! Pretty good. In case you're curious, I got:

Diary of a Fairy Godmother, recommended by Holly
Igraine the Brave, by Cornelia Funke (whose The Thief Lord and Inkheart series I've enjoyed)
The Secret Order of the Gumm Street Girls by Elise Primavera (which just sounded cute)
The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz (supposed to be Stephanie Plum-ish)
The Akhenaten Adventure by P.B. Kerr (juvenile fantasy)
Book of Lies by James Moloney (another juvenile fantasy)
If Looks Could Kill by Kate White (this is a long shot, the first Bailey Weggins mystery about a crime writer for a women's magazine who solves mysteries--written by the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine)

More New Books!

So I think we have all established that I like to receive free books if I can. :-) I received more fun mail the other day. My Bookmarks Magazine arrived, as well as a copy of Lauren Weisberger's Everyone Worth Knowing. Today, I received Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Klay. A little bit ago, I was sent a chain letter of sorts from a friend of mine. The instructions said to pass the letter on to 6 more people and send one paperback book to the previous person. You then have the potential to receive up to 36 books from various people. Now, I usually scoff at chain letters. I would typically ignore it, throw it in the recycling or delete it from my email. But this one A) had me intrigued and B) gave me the potential to receive free books! Okay, you got me! I've received 2 books so far and that's far better than receiving zero!

I thought I'd also mention a few giveaways that are currently going on:

Heather over at Book Addiction is giving away 5 different Jodi Picoult books!
Dewey at The Hidden Side of a Leaf is giving away an entire BOX of 14 books!!
Amanda at A Patchwork of Books is giving away 5 copies of The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson.

Happy Reading!

For Kids of All Ages

I picked up The Penderwicks (A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy) by Jeanne Birdsall probably a year ago, on the 4-for-3 table at Borders, and I hadn't gotten around to reading it, likely because I choose fantasy when I read kids' books. But I noticed a sequel in Borders recently, and decided to dig out the first one. What a charming story! Reviews everywhere call it the kind of book you read when you were a child, and it's true. It's very familiar, but updated as well. It reminds me a bit of the Peggy Parish Jed, Liza, and Bill books that I recently reread (starting with Key to the Treasure), but a bit more sophisticated, and solidly in the 9-12 age group. The Penderwicks, Dad (their mother is dead), Rosalind (the oldest), hot-tempered Skye, Jane (a budding writer), Batty (the youngest, at only 4), and Hound, their dog, head to a cottage for their vacation, their usual spot having been taken off the market. The cottage is on the property of Mrs. Tifton, a snooty woman preparing to host a Garden Club competition. She has a lovely son, Jeffrey, and a less-lovely boyfriend who wants to send Jeffrey off to military school as soon as possible. Jeffrey and the girls strike up a friendship, and the result is utterly charming, with a few disasters thrown in. It's a fun summer vacation story, with new friendships, ominous grown-ups, wholesome adventures, and slightly harrowing situations. And lots of humor--perhaps because I was an only child until age 7 I always loved books about siblings and their struggles. Definitely a cute read for kids of all ages!

I somehow missed The Sisters Grimm series by Michael Buckley, but came across it by chance. I picked up the first, The Fairy Tale Detectives, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Sabrina and Daphne Grimm are presumed orphans and shuffled among orphanages and foster homes until a grandmother they had thought dead claims them. It turns out the girls are descendants of the Brothers Grimm, who brought fairy tale creatures (Everafters) to live in safety in Ferryport. When Granny and her companion, Canis, are kidnapped by a giant, the girls must find a way to save them. This starts out pretty dark; Sabrina, the almost-twelve-year-old, plans on running away from Granny's as soon as possible since she can't believe Granny has good intentions. Seven-year-old Daphne warms up to Granny right away, though. The fairy tale characters are fun, and the adventures entertaining. Sabrina and Daphne are engaging kids, and the situation in Ferryport is rich and complex, with some characters supporting the Grimms, while others want their freedom (while they're safe in Ferryport, they also can't leave). I really enjoyed this one, and I'll be getting the others that are out in paperback on amazon's 4-for-3 promotion. A nice combination of mystery and fantasy elements.

Bitter is the New Black by Jen Lancaster

The full title of this book is: Bitter is the New Black: Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smartass, Or, Why You Should Never Carry a Prada Bag into the Unemployment Office. It was our book club pick for June. We have yet to meet and discuss but several members had already read or started it at our last meeting and they overwhelming felt it was hysterical and a fun read.

This memoir describes about two years of Jen Lancaster's life in Chicago. We open with her in a Vice President position in business sales something or other. (I am sort of lost in the business world myself, since I was in the non-profit world when I did work outside the home.) She was young, cute, and very successful at her job, but ended up laid off after a corporate merger and 9/11. This left her VERY bitter. She tried for nearly 2 years to get a job with progressively less standards. She saw her opportunities, money and friends dwindle. She started a blog to entertain herself during the day (currently known as jennsylvania). Then her husband lost his job as well and they REALLY were in DIRE straits (according to her). She had to move to a non-penthouse apartment in a less desirable neighborhood, work for a temp agency (once). Eventually, her husband found a job and Lancaster tried her hand at writing (hence this book). They got back on their feet and there you have it.

Although, all of this sounds really depressing, it's not at all. Lancaster writes with a fun sarcastic tone and has absolutely no filter when it comes to anything. While her style of writing is entertaining, knowing this is a real person's life and that she actually thinks this way, annoyed me a little. I mean really, she was surprised when people looked at her Prada bag at the unemployment office and then rolled their eyes? Come on. Lancaster just seemed like such a snob to me. I think I would have thought this was more funny if I read it as a fiction book instead of constantly thinking, "Wow! She's really like this?!"

I guess I think of myself as a fairly practical person so it was hard for me to take in some of her shopping obsessions and her "need" for really expensive things. It just seemed so stupid to me that they didn't move out of their super expensive apartment long before they did and she just frittered her unemployment checks away. I just had no sympathy for her at all. So I say again, if you're a practical, hard-working, money-saving person, read this as a fiction book and you'll probably be very entertained (ala Confessions of a Shopaholic) and not annoyed.

I actually feel like I'm being a bit hard on the book and maybe I'm taking it a bit too serious. Normally, I wouldn't even think to second guess my feelings on a book, I would just write what I feel and be done with it, but I'd heard so many things about it being sooo funny. Maybe I had too high of expectations. I guess I'll be curious to hear what other book club members thought of it at our meeting next week. :-)

The Master Bedroom by Tessa Hadley

The Master Bedroom by Tessa Hadley is the first book I've received through LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program. Oddly, I received the book on June 11, about six weeks after the book was available in paperback, and the copy I received was an actual trade paperback, not an ARC. At any rate, I selected several books and received this one, possibly the one book I was unsure I even wanted to read. The synopsis was intriguing, but in a Jerry Springer/train wreck sort of way: Bored Kate Flynn leaves her London academic job and returns to her childhood home to care for her mother. While she is there, a married childhood friend and his seventeen-year-old son "set about their parallel courtships" and "Kate cannot quite resist either man." This all sounds rather seamy, in (I am happy to say) a completely inaccurate way, and I was delighted at the whim that led me to request this book. Tessa Hadley is a gifted writer of lyrical, evocative prose who has crafted a novel (her third) that is touching, funny, and complex.

Kate is both sympathetic and infuriating in her midlife crisis. Hadley has drawn her as a woman who has come untethered; though she has taken a one-year leave of absence instead of quitting her job and let her flat instead of giving it up completely, there is a sense that these steps are just delaying the inevitable. Speaking to David, a public health doctor, she calls her academic life "a kind of dream, a mistake. A life lost in books. What an abyss of difference, between your usefulness and mine. How did I choose it: this play life? I should have been a nurse. We carelessly make one choice after another and our lives pile up." She is not always nice, to put it bluntly, and there were times I didn't like her. Though her purported reason for moving home to Wales is her aging mother, it's clear that her mother is a means of escape from a life she had thought she wanted. When she first comes home, she finds her mother asleep and nearly decides to drive back to London without waking her, and she can be sharp with her mother. She takes her childhood friend Carol (who should be nominated for sainthood) for granted. She throws a lavish party purely to spite the practical David and his wife, Suzie. She tells seventeen-year-old Jamie, who has fallen in love with her, that he's too young to be her friend. But despite all these flaws, or perhaps because they make her real, I hoped that she would find what she was looking for by the end. I was expecting, rather dejectedly, for the story to end without any meaning found, without the hollows of life being filled, and I was both surprised and satisfied by the ending. Kate remakes her life, but not in any trite way, nor in the way I had expected.

This is a quiet book, with many small movements rather than a single dramatic action. Hadley's prose is well-suited to the story (or rather, stories, as the subplots share a dance floor with Kate's midlife crisis, even if they don't cut in), with simple, accurate language, like this description of her reunion with David: "They were falling into a pattern of friendship that had been, before Kate came back to live in Cardiff, exactly her idea of the sort of thing that would evolve in a place like this between grown-up cultured people" and elegant description, as when she first arrives at home: "The falling rain was blotted up overhead by the tall monkey puzzle tree or pattered onto the evergreen bushes. Below, on the lake, an invisible duck blundered splashily. A cold perfume of pines and bitter garden mulch seemed to her like the smell of the past itself." I marked dozens of pages where I found beautiful, lyrical prose or turns of phrase so elegant and perfect they made me smile. Hadley is funny, too. David's wife has fallen in with new hippie friends, and this is his parenthetical description of Menna and Neil's old van when they come to take Suzie camping: "its puttering filthy exhaust more polluting, surely, than anything they could make up for with their puritanical veganism." After Jamie cuts the grass, she tells him, "I think it looked better with the grass long. That grass was beautiful, it blew in the wind, it was blond like hair, the sound it made was like the sea. Now what does it look like? Stubbled and ugly, a poor cropped head." When Jamie looks crestfallen, she laughs.

The word "hollow" and variations on it appear too many times to count, and this is no coincidence. At forty-three, Kate feels hollow, that her life is empty. She doesn't take care of herself; she smokes and drinks, but rarely eats. The return to Wales doesn't immediately help; she reflects that "She had screwed up her own professional life as if it didn't matter and stepped outside it into where she was no one." She talks of being unmoored, of longing to be broken down and remade. Even literature is hollow: "Nothing written now has enough in it. I have to swap about, as soon as I get the hang of what they're up to; they're only ever up to one thing at a time." This is certainly not the case with this novel. In addition to Kate's search for meaning, we have glimpses into David and Suzie's failing marriage, Billie's failing health, Jamie's youthful search for meaning in his life (which makes for an interesting contrast to Kate's). This is the sort of book that I would have loved writing papers on in college. The story is unbelievably rich, and I could easily make this review pages and pages long, but I'll stop here. I'd recommend this book to anyone who looking for a rich, complex novel about the human experience, written in gorgeous, decadent prose.

Cedar Rapids Flooding

I know this is a book blog, but I just had to post a picture of the main branch of the library in my childhood hometown of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It is the low rectangular building in the center of the picture.
It only has two floors with most of the books housed on the first floor and the children's section on part of the second floor. I read an article somewhere that library workers and volunteers were working hard so I'm hoping they were able to get most, if not all the books to a safe location before the flood water destroyed them all. But the building does not look like it will be in very good shape when the water recedes (whenever that may be). I spent so many hours here in high school studying. It makes me so sad.

Luckily for my family, they are fine. Their house is on the highest point in the city so no worries there. But if you have any extra thoughts and prayers, the people of Cedar Rapids sure could use them right now. The river was supposed to crest today and now it looks like that won't happen until tomorrow.

If you are interested in more flood images, check out the Cedar Rapids Gazette's website.

More Bobbie Faye!

I finished Bobbie Faye's (kinda, sorta, not exactly) Family Jewels by Toni McGee Causey. It can be hard to review the sequel to a fresh, surprising, laugh-out-loud book like Bobbie Faye's (very, very, very) Bad Day. It was easy to rate the first one: it was a five on a scale of five, filled with humor, action, romance, and the unique character of Bobbie Faye, who attracts disaster like nobody's business. And when I finished it, I thought, "There's no way she can top this." But I was dying to read the sequel anyway. The sequel is flawed; the humor is a bit more forced, there are too many bad guys, and the plot is neglected a bit to make way for an expanded role for the Love Triangle. Does this mean I don't recommend this book and I won't be first in line to buy Bobbie Faye #3? Absolutely not. The first book was so good that the second pales in comparison, but it was still a fun ride.

Bobbie Faye is having another Bad Day. This one begins with a weird dream in which she shoots a man, and then she wakes up with blood in her hair. Uh oh. Cousin Francesca brings her a huge problem: Bobbie Faye's Aunt Marie has run off with some diamonds and Marie's husband has put a hit out on her. Bobbie Faye JUST HAS TO find those diamonds. Unfortunately for Bobbie Faye (and the state of Louisiana) Francesca isn't the only one looking for the gems. There are THREE groups of bad guys, and to be honest, I didn't always bother with keeping them straight. Which group has the sniper on the roof? Whatever. Who's using which tracking device? I don't care. Bobbie Faye sets off to find the diamonds/escape from the three groups of nutcases trying to kill her, and becomes the main suspect in the murder of a jeweler along the way. This is fun stuff, and if there weren't as many laugh-out-loud moments as in the first, that's understandable. More time is devoted to her evolving relationship with Trevor and some realizations about her past relationship with Cam. Bobbie Faye is so likeable that I just want her to be happy!

A revelation at the end suggests that book #3 is probably in the works. I personally hope it involves retrieving that one thing from book #1 and going on the adventure it would suggest, because that sounds really fun. I expect that future books will be even more involved with the relationship stuff, but as long as Causey keeps up the smart, funny writing, I'll keep reading.

Holly's Review Here
My review of the first book here.

Mystery Sequel Round-Up

I've accumulated a few mystery reads, and thought I'd group them. I'm never exactly sure how to handle reviews of series books: do I treat each book as an individual or do I review the series as a whole? Do I judge the book based on its context in the series or as a stand-alone? Certainly, if I'm reading #2 in a series (and particularly later books), I consider the series worth reading, and that's going to color my review. I think I tend toward reviewing the series and I try to avoid revealing anything about subsequent books (in terms of larger plot and character developments) that might spoil things for someone who decides to start with the first. Anyway, onto the books:

Murder at the Murder at the Mimosa Inn by Joan Hess: The title is not mistyped! This, the second entry in Joan Hess's Claire Malloy series (the first is Strangled Prose), takes place at a murder mystery weekend held at the Mimosa Inn. Farber College's theater troupe stages several disagreements, clues are planted, and Claire is excited to show off her investigative skills. Things change abruptly when the murder victim turns out to have been actually murdered. Claire must sift through the fake motives and alibis provided for entertainment to unmask the unscripted killer. I find Joan Hess to be really funny in a dry, erudite sort of way (I hope that's not off-putting--she seriously cracks me up!). Sometimes if I'm skimming a bit, I realize I almost missed a funny wordplay joke. Claire is likeable and her trials with her fourteen-year-old daughter, Caron, are entertaining. Her competitive streak with regard to investigating murders manifests itself in funny ways, too. I thought this was an excellent entry in the series--the confusion of the murder mystery weekend was an enjoyable venue, and the supporting characters are a lot of fun. Caron, annoyed at having been dragged on this trip with her mother, is particularly overdramatic. I've enjoyed the first few in the series and am re-reading them after a few years (I think I read 1-4 or something). The first novel was published in 1986 or so, I believe, so they might seem a bit dated. I think of them as historical :)

Dear Miss Demeanor by Joan Hess: In #3 of the Claire Malloy series, Caron begs her mother to investigate the allegations that Miss Parchester, Journalism teacher at Farber High, has embezzled funds. Caron's interest in the matter is entirely self-serving; the senior who pens the Dear Miss Demeanor etiquette column in the school newspaper has mono and Caron is up for her job as long as Miss Parchester can return to work. Claire goes undercover as Miss Parchester's replacement. Her total apathy for what the students learn under her wing is hilarious, as are her descriptions of the other teachers. Not surprisingly, scandals abound and the stakes are raised when the principal's last meal turns out to be poisoned compote left in the teacher's lounge by Miss Parchester herself. I really thought the high school setting and supporting characters were fun; the overworked/underpaid teachers, the vice principal obsessed with rules and regulations, Caron's desperation to make her mark as Miss Demeanor, all make for good entertainment. There are enough red herrings that I was guessing until the end.

Here's my review of Strangled Prose.

Dig Deep For Murder by Kate Kingsbury: This is #4 in the Manor House series, and I enjoyed my visit with Lady Elizabeth and the tenants at Sitting Marsh during WWII. The solution to the mystery in this one was rather obvious to me early on, but no matter. The real entertainment here is the soap opera. Will Lady Elizabeth and her American Major get together this time? What's up with the ghosts the butler keeps seeing--is he just barmy or is something more sinister at work? Will Rita finally lead the Housewives Brigades to invade Germany (kidding!)? I've read that her Pennyfoot Hotel series (set in Edwardian London, I believe) is better, so I started with this one. The first is A Bicycle Built for Murder, and I think this series is a wonderful guilty pleasure. You can pretend it's historical and therefore weightier than it is :)

Here's my review of A Bicycle Built for Murder.

New Book Stash!!!

I recently went a little crazy and took advantage of Amazon's 4-for-3 promotion and bought several books. I haven't bought any books in awhile so I splurged a bit. They all came in the mail today!! Oh, what fun!


I got a couple chapter books that looked fun for when my daughter is ready to move on from Easy Readers. I've been on a Harlan Coben kick lately so there are a few of those. A friend recommended Steve Berry's books to me so I picked up a couple of those. I've always been curious about Sue Grafton's Alphabet series, but I'm anal and like to start at the beginning of the series, so I got A is for Alibi. Kathy Reichs 3rd Temperance Brennen installment, Deadly Decisions, because I enjoyed the first two. I like Sarah Strohmeyer's writing with the Bubbles books so I thought I'd try one of her fairy tale books with The Sleeping Beauty Proposal. Someone reviewed The Chatham School Affair on one of the book blogs I read and I thought it sounded interesting. And Shadow Catcher sounded good to me when I read about it as a Tournament of Books selection so I threw that one in the cart as well. Whew!

And as if those are not enough new additions to my overflowing bookshelves, I received a box from Allison in the mail last Saturday! Thanks so much Allison!


I'm so excited to read Jodi Picoult's Change of Heart (Thanks again Gwyneth!!), and Allison has been waiting forever for me to read the rest of the Bubbles books. (Allison, admittedly, you have me very intrigued now!) She also threw in the Pauline Sokol series as well as a Jennifer Crusie and Joan Duett. Oh, and Laura Lippman's What the Dead Know, which sounds right up my alley as well!

Oh, what fun it will be for me to go in search of a new book on my shelves! So many choices, so little time! :-)

Diary of a Fairy Godmother by Esme Raji Codell

In sticking with Allison's current theme of reading youth novels, I picked up Diary of a Fairy Godmother off my shelf. I was in the mood for something light, fun and easy to read after America America. I bought Diary of a Fairy Godmother a while back during Barnes and Noble's Bargain sale. It looked like a fun book my daughters might like someday. I read it extremely quickly and enjoyed it very much.

It's the story of Hunky Dory who according to her mother will be "the wickedest witch wherever the four winds blow". But Hunky Dory discovers she might be more inclined toward wishcraft than witchcraft. Once this is known, she is ostracized by her family and friends and cast out on her own. She comes up with a very successful idea to make a living granting wishes; the wishing well. She finds that she is very satisfied with granting others' wishes and becomes a bona fide Fairy Godmother. In the end her old family and friends accept her for who she is and everyone appears to live happily ever after.

This is a very cute story with retellings of Sleeping Beauty (Aurora), Rumpelstiltskin, and Cinderella, and also mentions Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel, among others. It's fun to see how the author puts these fairy tales into Hunky Dory's world. This is listed as a book for ages 9-12. I'd say that's right for actual reading level, but I think kids as young as 6 or 7 could enjoy having this book read to them. There are some larger vocabulary words that are defined in the same sentence or the next one. Younger readers might find the actual reading of it a bit difficult, but they would probably know the fairy tales well and think it was fun to listen to the story. There are entertaining illustrations throughout the book as well.

Fablehaven Book Two

Fablehaven: Rise of the Evening Star by Brandon Mull. I so enjoyed Fablehaven that I took my $5 in Borders bucks and dragged Lilah to pick up the sequel! And having finished it fairly quickly, I'm ready to take my 30% off coupon to Borders to get #3. Book Two does not disappoint. The story starts off with a bang. A new boy shows up in Kendra's class at the end of the school year. Her friends all have crushes on the handsome boy, but Kendra realizes that he isn't human. When she and Seth are approached by Errol, who knows all sorts of things about the two kids, they agree to help him get rid of the boy. They are soon taken back to Fablehaven, where it will be safer for them. Their grandparents have assembled a potions master, a magical creatures expert, and a magical objects expert to help protect Fablehaven by recovering a lost artifact. When strange occurrences suggest a traitor is in their midst, Kendra and Seth once again become key to saving Fablehaven. We end on a big huge cliffhanger, so have Book Three ready!

The story was compelling right from the start. Kendra and Seth are believable kids and have the affection and rivalry of real siblings. ("What are you doing?" "I'm thinking. It's what some of us do before we talk.") They care deeply about each other, but still snipe and tease. We see even more of Fablehaven, and I enjoyed seeing the familiar characters as well as the new ones brought in for this story. Mull's writing is simple, clear, and often funny. The plot and character developments move along at a brisk pace, and the suspense is very well carried throughout the sequel. I thought this book might have been even better than the first, but at any rate, I recommend both to those who enjoy Harry Potter and the like and are looking for an imaginative, fun journey to a well-drawn, magical place!

Read my review of Fablehaven here.

Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo by Obert Skye

Reading kids' books rarely makes me feel old. I *get* them. I've always wanted to go to Hogwarts. I can't wait for the final book in the Inkheart series. I pre-ordered Percy Jackson. But after reading glowing review after glowing review of Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo, I have to say...I just don't get it. Don't get me wrong--it's not completely unlikeable (more on that later). But one of the characters has the special gift of turning things to ice, which I thought appropriate, as this book moves at a glacial pace. In case you're like me and would expect to get to Foo sometime during this book, let me tell you right now: You're not going to get there in the first 340+ pages, except in glimpses of the super-annoying and one-dimensional bad guy. We spent the ENTIRE book trying to get to Foo, in the most methodical way possible. Skye (is it just me, or does Obert Skye sound like one of those names you create using your first pet's name and the street you grew up on or something?) has obviously taken a lot of time developing Foo (to a Tolkien-like level of detail, complete with an unnecessary map at the end and a glossary of the types of beings found in Foo), but we never get to SEE it. Presumably, the next book takes place in Foo, but I'm not sure I'm going to get there.

The writing is not great, but with some really funny bits ("I'm sorry, I think even if you're going to be sinister you can take five minutes a day to floss and brush"--hahaha!), but there is far too much overwritten prose like "The hot windy sky quickly became a thick sticky trap" and "Weaved together like a rug that humanity was about to unknowingly wipe its feet on." Is there a quota on adverbs and adjectives that Skye is trying to meet? Speaking of adverbs, rarely does a character just "say" anything. They "shiver" or "smile" or "sigh" their words, and if they do "say" anything, it's modified by an adverb. In fact, within six sentences, Geth says two different things "strongly." But enough grammar/style nitpicking; after all, JK Rowling herself is guilty of over-modifying dialogue tags, and I try to ignore it with the Harry Potter books. Overall, I felt this book read more like the first chapter or two of a more exciting book, and since it is the first in the series, maybe subsequent books move along a bit better. This one went back and forth between the several points-of-view so that we learn all past and present events in excruciating detail, and all the back stories of all the characters. Seriously, I felt a little like I would be quizzed on Foo trivia at the end. It lacked the joy of fantasy reading that I found in Fablehaven, and I was really slogging through for the first 80 or so pages until Leven and Winter finally meet and the Fellowship sets out to destroy the ring...oops, I mean portal. Skye seems to feel that if you can tell it, why bother showing it? This is a constant source of reader-frustration in the book. The bad guy is bad, I'm told over and over and over and over, primarily through his long, megalomaniacal speeches (in which he italicizes all references to himself, which drove me nuts).

An important note: If you're plowing through this book thinking that Leven's poor eyesight (I didn't count the number of references, but I believe it exceeded a dozen) is somehow important to the plot, I can save you some annoyance at the end: it has no impact on anything. At all.

Harry Potter checklist:
Parents dead? Check!
Raised by mean aunt? Check!
Distinguishing mark? Check!
Unusual gift? Check!
Told about otherworldly nature by strange creature? Check!

I almost did a Lord of the Rings checklist, too, and this Harry Potter one could be much longer, but that would be really self-indulgent of me. Okay, moving to the positive. The idea of Foo, a world that exists so we on earth can dream, is really cool and clever. Winter and Leven are funny together (when Leven isn't whining about how he isn't good enough, smart enough, etc.), and the glimpses of Foo we get through Clover's candy collection are pretty funny. I guess I would recommend this to very patient fantasy readers who need a Harry Potter fix and are willing to make it through this book in the hopes that the sequels are better.

America America by Ethan Canin

This was another Advanced Reader Copy from the Early Reviewers Group on LibraryThing. In America America, a young man, Corey Sifter is swept up into the lives of a small town’s most wealthy and powerful family. Corey comes from a working class home and accepts a job on the Metarey Family’s estate in the late 1960’s. Before he knows it, the family patriarch takes him under his wing offering him advice about succeeding in life and the chance to further himself by attending a prestigious private boarding school. The story is told through alternating chapters in at least three different time periods (all at once!); Corey in high school, Corey in college, and Corey as a middle-age adult. The tale is told mostly through Corey’s eyes, but every now and then strays to one of the lesser characters’ point of view.

The book centers on a political campaign (of Senator Bonwiller) run during Nixon’s second presidential campaign and focuses on the Metarey family’s and therefore Corey’s involvement with the campaign.

There are many facets to this book. It is modern historical fiction and contains a portrait of the proverbial American Dream. A Scottish man (Eoghan Metarey) coming to America and rising from nothing to become wealthy and powerful through hard work (and perhaps some questionable decisions). And then the legacy he leaves behind for his family. The book centers a great deal on what one generation can learn from the next and how each generation affects another. It also portrays the political world of the late 1960’s, early 70’s before the world of the computer age when newspapers and reporters were an integral part of the campaign. Also, the lengths politicians will go during a campaign (not that any of this has changed much, just the medium through which the information is disseminated has). The American Dream is also shown through Corey’s family where he has the opportunity to learn more and have more of an education than his father did. There is an interesting storyline about the relationship with Corey and his father toward the end of the book.

It’s hard for me to decide if I liked this book or not. I think it is very well written and I think many of the characters are developed well. I like the way Canin creates the relationships in the book between Corey and his father, Corey and Liam Metarey, and Corey and the Metarey daughters. A good section of the book deals with the political campaign and I found some of these parts to be very boring and I wondered if I would actually be able to get to the end of the book. Through much of the book, Corey refers to his spouse as “my wife” and not by name, so we’re not entirely sure which character he has chosen to marry until quite close to the end of the book. There is also an “incident” that is talked about in much of the book that really has too much of a build up. I wasn’t that into the Senator’s character or his affair with a young woman and the ensuing incident.

The timing of the book is good (it comes out June 24th) with this being an election year and with as close as the primaries are, its sort of fun to read a bit about politics. I think overall this book is probably 4 out of 5 if I’m impartial about it. But for my personal tastes, I think it was a bit long and not quite as gripping as I might like (I’m also usually not very engrossed by politics) so it could be a 3.5. If you like the author, Richard Russo, I would recommend this one. It reminded me a great deal of Bridge of Sighs and Empire Falls.

Fablehaven by Brandon Mull

I'm taking a little break from mysteries to work my way through my juvenile fiction pile. I didn't have extremely high hopes for Fablehaven, to be honest. It sounded like a Harry Potter knockoff, and I was only expecting a reasonably competent one. I was very glad to be wrong! Thirteen-year-old Kendra and her eleven-year-old brother, Seth, are dropped off at their seldom-seen grandparents' house (can you tell that seldom-seen modifies 'grandparents' instead of 'house'? I might re-write that sentence if I have time) when their parents can't find other child care during their upcoming 17-day cruise. No one is happy with the arrangement at first, but Kendra and Seth soon learn that her grandfather is caretaker of Fablehaven, a preserve for mystical creatures that is guided by ancient laws. When Seth breaks one of the laws, chaos ensues, and after Midsummer Night's Eve, a crazy time at Fablehaven under normal circumstances, the kids awake to find their grandfather missing and the house in ruins. They must save their grandfather and Fablehaven itself from the evil trapped within the preserve. There are some minor annoyances that (for me) were overcome by exuberant storytelling, believable characters, and imaginative plotting. Kendra never breaks rules, and it's pretty obvious that she'll have to learn to judiciously break some rules in order to help save Fablehaven. Seth ignores rules (and the insistence of Kendra that he follow them), causing mayhem. With fewer than a hundred pages left, the action stops for some pretty heavy exposition. I also found the buying and selling of fairies, characterized as human-like (at least in appearance) and the treatment of the cow a bit disturbing. But these are minor quibbles with a magical story told by a capable, earnest storyteller. I'm looking forward to reading the next in the series, and I may not be able to hold out for #3 to come out in paperback.

I started Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo immediately following Fablehaven, and it's suffering in comparison. While Fablehaven is a fun story of siblings, family, and the otherworldly told by an enthusiastic author, Leven Thumps is methodical and overwritten, more a Lord of the Rings style of fantasy (and I love Lord of the Rings) where every aspect of the world has been planned out. It's slow going after the exuberance and sheer joy of Fablehaven, but I hope I get into it and enjoy it.

Mystery! Again!

Death Is In The Air and For Whom Death Tolls by Kate Kingsbury: These are #2 and 3 in the Manor House series. This is a mystery series set during WWII. Lady Elizabeth, the lady of the manor in the village of Sitting Marsh, has uninvited guests, a group of American officers billeted in the deserted East Wing of her home. Tensions are high in the village between the American GIs and the British citizens. In Death Is In The Air, a German parachutes into Sitting Marsh, coinciding with a brutal murder. In For Whom Death Tolls, an American GI is found hanging from the bell tower at the church. The mysteries in these novels (beginning with A Bicycle Built For Murder, which I confess I bought only for the title) are fine, but the real fun is in the portrayal of village life and the budding romance between Lady Elizabeth and an American officer. These move at a snail's pace (it's not until book #2 that Earl is allowed to call Lady Elizabeth by her first name), so they're almost like a longer serialized novel. I didn't mind the slowness--it's like popping into a beloved village to see what's going on with my favorite residents. If you're a cozy mystery fan (heavy on the cozy), I recommend checking out this series.

Strangled Prose by Joan Hess: This is the first in the Claire Malloy mysteries, which take place in Farberville, Arkansas. Claire, a widow, owns a bookshop, and ends up coerced into hosting an event for Mildred Twiller, who writes romance novels under the name Azalea Twilight. Mildred and her husband are both professors at Farber College (as was Claire's husband), and Mildred's latest book features barely disguised members of its academic community. When Mildred is found strangled, everyone is a suspect. Claire's daughter Caron and her wimpy friend Inez appear to know something about the murder, so Claire decides to investigate to protect Caron. I think Joan Hess is very funny, and I enjoyed this light, frothy mystery.

Is that Jack Frost?

For an inexplicable reason, I picked up The Candy Cane Murders about the same time I picked up Sugar and Spice (review here, both holiday collections featuring Hannah Swensen novellas by Joanne Fluke, despite the fact that both are Christmas-themed. I've been on a Hannah Swensen kick, reading the whole series (except for Carrot Cake Murder, which I'm waiting to come out in hardback), and I have a bit of a compulsive streak when it comes to series, and I really want to read the whole series, and in order. So publishers love me because they can trick me into buying collections featuring my favorite series characters, which exposes me to other authors with the same publisher. In the case of Sugar and Spice, it didn't work because it was more romance, while I'm more of a mystery gal, so I just read the Hannah Swensen and skipped the rest. But Candy Cane Murders was a big hit with me. Not only was the Hannah Swensen novella a fun diversion with great-sounding recipes, I read on and really enjoyed the Laura Levine entry. I think I read This Pen For Hire, the first in the Jaine Austen mysteries, but it didn't make much of an impression. The novella here, The Dangers of Candy Canes, was really funny and well-plotted, making me interested in trying Levine again. I also kept going and read the Leslie Meier novella, a Lucy Stone story told in flashback. I read several of the Lucy Stones at one point, and I think they're perfectly serviceable cozies, but not my favorites. This novella was surprisingly sweet and if it hadn't been 85 degrees, might have put me in the Christmas spirit. If you've enjoyed books in any of the three series, or are a mystery fan looking for some holiday cheer in your stocking, this book is probably worth picking up.

Another Giveaway!

This time Heather from Book Addiction is giving away Jodi Picoult's latest book, Change of Heart. I am currently 695 out of 730 to get this one from the library so I would love to win a free copy!! If you're interested, hop on over and post in her comments for your chance to win. If you post on your own blog you get TWO chances! Hence, my post here. :-)

Mystery!

I've been on a mystery kick again!

Through the Grinder by Cleo Coyle: This is the second Coffeehouse Mystery featuring Clare Cosi. The Village Blend has started offering a singles night with speed-dating, and one after another, women who frequent the blend are committing suicide. Or are they? I thought this was a weaker mystery than the first in the series, but we get a lot more development of Clare as she dates Bruce, dodges her ex-husband, and flirts with her cop friend. Coyle persists in thinking that passages from the deranged killer's point-of-view heighten the drama and tension, when in fact, they reek of cheesiness and drive me to distraction. At any rate, I thought this entry was a decent one in the series, although the brutal ending was sort of shocking. I picked up the third, Latte Trouble, but the first paragraphs were in deranged-killer-speak, and I wasn't in the mood, so I went on to some historical mysteries.

A Late Phoenix by Catherine Aird: Three words: Fun. British. Mystery. I discovered these when visiting my high school English teacher a couple of weeks ago. He had Catherine Aird novels strewn about, and I had never heard of her. A Late Phoenix was published in 1971, so they're not new. I think they're mostly out-of-print, but are easily found either used on amazon or in lots on eBay. Developers start a project at a WWII bomb site, only to uncover a skeleton, a woman not killed in the bombing. C.D. Sloane is assigned the case (along with Crosby, an idiot partner). Sloane is wry, witty, and astute, and he teases apart the threads of the mystery with interviews and even trips to the library. This is a good, old-fashioned detective novel with tight plotting and a bit of humor to lighten it up. I loved it!

A Bicycle Built for Murder by Kate Kingsbury: Along the historical mystery front, I found a used copy of this, Kingsbury's first Manor House novel. She has another series, Pennyfoot Hotel, that is devilishly hard to find (at least at a reasonable price). Anyway, Lady Elizabeth is Lady of the Manor, so when her tenant begs her to help solve the mystery of her teenaged daughter's disappearance, Lady Elizabeth agrees. At the same time, her house has been chosen to house some American troops (did I mention this takes place during WWII? Oops, I forgot, and it's kind of important). And the Major who liaises with her on this matter is really attractive. (Why do mystery novels written in the last 20 years or so HAVE to have a romance angle if the sleuth is a woman?) Kingsbury does a nice job of evoking the time period and Lady Elizabeth is a sympathetic heroine. The mystery is nicely done and the supporting cast enjoyable. I thought it was a good start to the series, and I'll be looking for more. I've read that the Pennyfoot series is actually better, so I'll have to try to find some of them.

Edited to add: I knew I was forgetting something! I also read Withering Heights by Dorothy Cannell, a recent Ellie Haskell mystery. Her first, The Thin Woman, is one of my all-time favorite mysteries. This entry was really quite good! It takes place in a huge old house and gently spoofs gothic mysteries. Ellie, Ben, and Mrs. Malloy head to Yorkshire to return Ben's cousin's teenaged daughter home and manage to solve murder, mayhem, and ghostly happenings while there. If you enjoy cozies and haven't read Cannell yet, order a copy of The Thin Woman used on amazon for pretty much the cost of shipping right now!

I think that's it for now. I'm reading Strangled Prose by Joan Hess, the first Claire Malloy mystery. I read a couple of these a while ago and then kind of forgot about Joan Hess. She also writes the Maggody series.

Bobbie Faye Returns

Bobbie Faye and the (kinda, sorta, not-exactly) Family Jewels by Toni McGee Causey follows up Bobbie Faye's Very, (very, very, very) Bad Day. This sequel starts up a couple months after the first disaster and many of the same characters appear. Bobby Faye is working at Ce Ce's store one day when her cousin Francesca shows up asking Bobbie Faye to help her find stolen diamonds her mother, Marie, hid somewhere. Francesca's father, Emile, head of a mob organization and the person Marie stole the diamonds from, thinks Bobbie Faye knows where they are at. Within the first several chapters of the book, Bobbie Faye is shot at, kidnapped on the same block by three separate groups of people, and her car blows up on a bridge, taking part of the bridge with it. So you could say the sequel starts off with a bang.

Throughout the book, we get to meet more of Bobbie Faye's crazy family, including her father, she blows up other things, comes near death several times, all while trying to figure out her feelings for Trevor (well those feelings are pretty obvious) and Cam (not so obvious). Bobbie Faye is also accused of murder not once, but twice through the course of the book. Trevor and Cam know she is innocent and try to figure out a way to keep every cop in the state from killing her on sight.

Causey's second attempt with Bobbie Faye does not disappoint. However, I don't think it quite lives up to the first one. A little less time is spent on the action and running around (just a little, there's still a lot of action) and more time is spent developing the relationship she has with Trevor and Cam. There are also a ton of characters in this book, sometimes a little difficult to keep track of. And I didn't laugh out loud quite as much as the first one. With all that being said, I was still highly entertained and liked the ending. I won't give too much away, but we find out a little more about best friend Nina at the end of book. Hmm.....perhaps we're setting up for a third installment?

My copy of Bobbie Faye's Family Jewels was an Advanced Reader Copy from LibraryThing. But you won't have to wait long, it will be in bookstores on May 27th!

A Couple of Little Things

I forgot to mention that I read On What Grounds by Cleo Coyle, the first in the Coffeehouse series. I had read this and maybe one of the sequels ages ago. It's a decent cozy mystery series with enticing recipes. A few things bug me. It starts out with a prologue from the stalker's point-of-view a la James Patterson or Jonathan Kellerman, which I think is super cheesy. Despite throwing around Italian terms like someone who knows what she's doing, Coyle (or her editor) has used the wrong accent over the 'e' in the Italian word 'caffe,' (It should be the opposite accent of the one over the 'e' in the French word 'cafe,' but I can't figure out how to do diacritical marks in Blogger) and spelled 'baci' (which means 'kisses') 'bocci.' There are other typos in plain old English, typical of this genre's mediocre editing. Despite some annoyances, the book is kind of cute and I enjoyed the coffee information, which I thought complemented, rather than distracted from, the narrative flow. Clare Cosi returns from suburban New Jersey to manage once again The Village Blend, an historic coffeehouse in New York City at the request of her former mother-in-law. You can bet the ex-husband will be around to bug her/be strangely attractive. One morning, Clare arrives at the coffeehouse to find it empty and dark. She finds her employee, Annabel, dead at the bottom of the basement steps. The police are treating the death as a tragic accident, but Clare thinks differently. Also, she thinks the detective is pretty cute. Typical cozy mystery investigating ensues, in more-interesting-than-average-cozy fashion. I'll read the second one, Through the Grinder, soon.

I also read "The Twelve Desserts of Christmas" by Joanne Fluke, one of four novellas in the holiday romance collection Sugar and Spice (available for the cost of shipping--used on amazon.com). I didn't read the other three, which are more typical romance, but I thought the Joanne Fluke story, featuring two teachers stuck with six kids at a boarding school over the holidays, was a cute confection. Hannah Swensen delivers desserts to the group and solves an innocuous little mystery. Most of the recipes are title recipes from previous books, but a couple may be new (I'd have to check Sugar Cookie Murder, which has tons). If (like me) you're waiting for Carrot Cake Murder to come out in paperback, this is a nice little diversion.

Bobbie Faye review, redux

Oops, I meant to link to Holly's review of this book, so I'm editing to add that in!

I read THE FUNNIEST BOOK in the history of the world! Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration, but Bobbie Faye's Very (Very, Very, Very) Bad Day by Toni McGee Causey had me laughing out loud. With a clever, official-looking map at the beginning labeled "Louisiana State Insurance Archive of Bobbie Faye Sumrall Disasters (Southwest Region)," you know you're going to be suspending disbelief. Each chapter has a quote about Bobbie Faye, and the first quote is, "You know how some people are born to Greatness? Well, Bobbie Faye Sumrall woke up one morning, kicked Greatness in the teeth, kneed it in the balls, took it hostage, and it's been begging for mercy ever since," attributed to "a former Louisiana mayor after Bobbie Faye accidentally ran her car into his office, knocking pages of fraud evidence into the street, which helped land him in Federal prison." Those two components at the very beginning could be setting us up for a fun ride or trying to compensate for a lackluster novel. Fortunately for us, it's the first!

Bobbie Faye is having the worst day of her life, and for someone inadvertently attracted to disaster like a moth to a flame, that's saying something. She wakes up in the morning to her five-year-old niece remarking that there's a swimming pool inside. She's caring for her niece while her sister is drying out, as ordered by the courts, and her trailer has flooded because her no-good brother Roy hasn't fixed the washing machine. The Sumralls have been fixtures in Lake Charles, Louisiana ("if someone had labeled it 'home of the hard drinkers who make Mardi Gras revelers look like big fluffy candy asses,' it might have staggered to attention and saluted") for generations, and Bobbie Faye is the latest in a long line of Contraband Days Queens since her mother died, complete with a battered tiara. It turns out that Roy has been kidnapped by someone demanding the worthless tiara, but when Bobbie Faye takes it out of the safety-deposit box (it may be worthless, but she didn't want her sister hocking it for booze), she loses it to bank robbers. She takes a guy hostage and goes in pursuit of the robbers, with the FBI and local police (led by her ex-husband of all people) following closely behind. This is a wild ride with abundant humor, a touch of mystery (who *is* this guy she took hostage? why would anyone want that tiara this badly?), and over-the-top action. Can Bobbie Faye find the tiara, save her brother, keep temporary custody of her niece, avoid mushy thoughts about her handsome hostage, and survive this day? I can't think of anyone who wouldn't compulsively read this one to find out!

Woman in Red by Eileen Goudge

This was our book club pick for May. I actually did not vote for this one when we were voting on new choices and I thought the description of it sounded really depressing. So I was not actually looking forward to reading this one. However, this is a case of don't judge a book by its cover. I really enjoyed it much more than I thought I would.

The book is about a woman, Alice, who spends nine years in prison for running over the drunk driver who killed one of her two sons. While in prison, her husband divorces her and eventually her son does not want to visit her anymore. She gets out and returns to the small town where she grew up. She tries to rebuild her life and get to know her son and family again despite the stigma of being an ex-con. She also meets a new man (Colin) who lost his wife in the 9/11 attacks and is just coming out a downward spiral himself. As if all of this is not difficult enough for her to deal with, her son is falsely accused of raping a girl and finds himself in trouble with the law. Hmmm...like mother, like son?

See, I told you depressing, right? BUT, it turns out, it's not quite as depressing as it sounds. And there is a back story interspersed throughout the book about Alice's grandmother and Colin's grandfather. A love story. This book actually somewhat reminded me of a Jodi Picoult book without the extra legal thriller part of it. The whole book is about different relationships old and new. And in the end all the different threads come together. I absolutely loved the epilogue. I think Goudge did a great job writing this and keeping all the characters interesting with a solid story line. It's as long as it needs to be without anything extra. This is definitely not one I would have picked up at the bookstore, but I'm glad I had the chance to read it. And really I had a hard time putting it down!

Honk if you love Percy!

Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan: The fourth installment of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series is action-packed, funny, clever, and original, with character and plot developments we've been waiting for since Book 1, The Lightning Thief. Percy is a clever boy (I think he's 12 in book 1) who's been kicked out of multiple schools, has ADHD and dyslexia, and a knack for trouble. In The Lightning Thief, he learns he's a half-blood, the son of a Greek god, and discovers there are others like him at Camp Half Blood. If you haven't read the series, I don't want to give away too many details of the plot of Book 4. Battle of the Labyrinth opens with Percy's orientation at his new school, which is equipped with monster cheerleaders (yes, that's literal) before heading off to Camp Half-Blood, which is in danger like never before. A chunk of this installment takes place in the Labyrinth, the monster-infested, ever-changing maze underneath the U.S. Any juvenile fantasy is compared to Harry Potter these days, and I have to say, I love both series. Percy Jackson is not derivative of Harry Potter, and Riordan manages a fresh and funny take on ancient stories (the Greek myths). I can't recommend this series and this installment highly enough, and I can't wait for Book 5 (and it's very clear there will be a Book 5, though I believe that will be the last).

Edited to add: I went looking for the source of my belief that there will be five books (sadly it's true--next year's will be the last, though the first film will be out next year, too), and discovered a short story that's available on Rick Riordan's blog. Here are the three parts (part 1 is at the bottom of the page). Here's fun bonus Percy!

Deep Dish by Mary Kay Andrews

Okay, after three books, I have to say I quite like Mary Kay Andrews. I think I actually liked Savannah Blues and Savannah Breeze a bit better than Deep Dish because I enjoy the mystery component, which is absent from Deep Dish, but Deep Dish was fun Southern chick lit. This one is set partially in Atlanta, too, which is fun when Gina is stuck in traffic on I-285. Hahaha! I'm always stuck in traffic on I-285! Gina has a regional cooking show produced by her boyfriend, Scott, that is canceled when Scott is found sleeping with the show's sponsor's wife. Oops. But it turns out that Food Network...erm, I mean The Cooking Channel...is looking for a Southern cooking show to add to their lineup. They're in town to look at Tate's kill 'em and grill 'em show (which is called Vittles, a really lame name--Kill 'Em and Grill 'Em would have been better) and decide to take a look at Gina. Soon Gina and Tate are in competition for the time slot in an Iron Chef kind of battle out on an island (yes, really). Tate and Gina go between attraction to each other and competitive dislike, and there's little suspense--if you can't tell they're going to end up together, you've probably never read chick lit before. There's also little suspense on the outcome of the cooking show, though Andrews throws in some unexpected challenges that bring in some laughs. The development of Tate and Gina's relationship from competitors to ready to get married isn't all that fleshed out, but I'm used to that in chick lit. All of a sudden, the man and woman are in love...whatever. I thought this was a cute, breezy summer read, but I'd wait until it's in paperback (it was lent to me, or I wouldn't have read it yet!).

Southern Fried Nancy Drew

A negative reviewer on Amazon gave Savannah Blues by Mary Kay Andrews a single star and lambasted it with, "If you're craving a Southern fried version of Nancy Drew and her pals, then carry on." Well, obviously my taste is not as refined as this reviewers because while I agreed with her assessment, I thought this book was great fun, even with some flaws, but I love Nancy Drew, too! I would characterize it as Southern Chick Lit With Mystery. Anyway, the story is about Weezie, a divorcee who won the carriage house behind her carefully renovated once-home (which her husband and his new fiancee, the atrocious Caroline, now live). Weezie is a "picker," scouring yard sales and dumpsters for hidden treasures that she can fix up and sell to antiques dealers. Sneaking into an estate sale early to answer a call of nature, she stumbles over Caroline's body and is promptly arrested for the murder. The story is slowed a bit by chapters from the point of view of Uncle James, Weezie's attorney, which were really unnecessary and I can't believe they weren't edited out. Weezie, her best friend Bebe, and Daniel, the attractive chef at Bebe's restaurant, set out to solve the murder themselves and clear Weezie's name. There really wasn't much suspense in this one, but the bumbling crime-solving trio, Southern charm, and insight into the antiques business made it a lot of fun. I recommend this as an excellent beach read.

After reading Savannah Blues, I picked up Savannah Breeze, the sequel, which details Bebe's life following her financial ruin at the hands of a handsome con man (she's distracted by family issues at the time). Apparently, Ms. Andrews has trouble deciding which story she's telling, because in this one, too, there are chapters from a secondary character's point of view--this time, Weezie's. I found this distracting and didn't think it added to the story at all, but other than that, I thought this was even more fun than the first book. Bebe discovers that she is now owner of the Breeze Motel on Tybee Beach (the con man, Reddy, hadn't had time to unload it before splitting), and she decides to make a go of renovating and running the Breeze. With the help of Weezie and the Breeze's on-site manager, the handsome and unrefined Harry, Bebe sets out to get back what Reddy has stolen from her when the police decline to pursue him. Another fun beach read.

The Innocent by Harlan Coben

I enjoyed reading Coben's The Woods last year and when I saw The Innocent and Deal Breaker in the Barnes and Noble bargain sale I snatched them up. I've spent the last couple days reading The Innocent and thoroughly enjoyed it!

The blurb on the back of the book does not really give you full insight into the story, which in this case was a good thing. The main character, Matt Hunter, accidentally kills a man when a fight breaks out at a party during college. Matt serves his time in prison and manages to still have a life afterwards with a decent job and wife with a baby on the way. He receives a couple startling photos on his cell phone that make him think he does not really know his wife and he wonders if he can really trust her. Thus starts a journey of discovery that lasts a couple days and is filled with suspense. This book also has short chapters which actually added to the suspense. It switched back and forth between characters' viewpoints leaving you in suspense with one while catching up with another. Eventually all the points of view come together at the end. It wasn't entirely predictable and had a few nice reveals toward the end.

I don't want to say too much and give anything away because I think this story is much better if you go into it blind. I thought it was well-written and Coben unfolds the story very well. If you're a fan of more serious mystery/suspense I recommend this book. I believe I enjoyed it even more than The Woods. And I'm looking forward to reading Deal Breaker which is the first book in Coben's Myron Bolitor series.

Almost time for Percy!

The fourth Percy Jackson book comes out May 6th! Yeah! Camille over at BookMoot had a fun post relating to Percy and included the video below. Just thought I would share because I was amused by it. Don't get me wrong, I still like Harry Potter. :-)

The World of Bobbie Faye

I just finished Bobbie Faye's Very (very, very, very) Bad Day by Toni McGee Causey. This book was absolutely hysterical! I chuckled out loud several times. A must-read for any Evanovich fans. I actually think this is better than the recent Plum books. Bobbie Faye is Stephanie Plum amped up 50 degrees. There are a few similarities in the characters: Bobbie Faye as a very independent woman compares to Stephanie; Cam, her cop ex-boyfriend would play the part of Morelli; and Bobbie Faye's apparent hostage, Trevor could sort of be Ranger. Other than that, this book is purely original especially in the debacles Bobbie Faye gets herself into...in one day!

This book takes place in Louisiana and is filled with Cajun charm from French to voodoo. The course of the book is mostly one day, which seems unreal. It starts with Bobbie Faye's trailer being flooded and collapsing and her day just gets worse from there. She receives a call from her brother who has been kidnapped and needs her to bring a treasured family heirloom to the kidnappers in order to save his life. Bobbie Faye stops at nothing to reach her brother including robbing a bank, taking a hostage, demolishing a truck, running through a swamp, encountering a bear, and it only goes on from there (that's the first half of the book). There's mystery, adventure, suspense, and romance in this highly sarcastic, fun read.

The chapters are short so this makes for a perfect book for someone who can't sit and read for long periods of time. The beginning of each chapter has a quote from someone in reference to Bobbie Faye. Here are a few examples:

"I'm sorry, Mr. President, but even though you really like the governor of Louisiana, you cannot drop a civilian behind enemy lines. No sir, not even if she could take out the whole country."
-an anonymous senior aide to the president

"Sir, we do not draft civilians into our foreign service, even if you think she's of the devil and would make a good spy. Please do not offer her to us again."
--Elizabeth Smith, CIA undersecretary in a memo to the governor of Louisiana

"No, honey, you can't bring in Bobbie Faye as your show-and-tell exhibit for National Disaster Awareness week. I'd like to make it through this week alive."
-Ms. Pam Arnold, Geautraux Elementary's third grade teacher

I decided to pick this book up and read it because I received the second installment, Bobbie Faye's (kinda, sorta, not-exactly) Family Jewels as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) from LibraryThing's Early Reviewers group. I thought I should read the first one before I reviewed the second. And now I can't wait to read Family Jewels.

A few reviews

This is a pretty random assortment of reading here!

Death at Wentwater Court by Carola Dunn: This is the first Daisy Dalrymple mystery, and I thought it was lots of fun. These are set in the 1920s England and Daisy is a Town & Country reporter, shocking her family (I think her father is a baronet or something). Anyway, Daisy is likeable and I think Dunn evokes 1920s England well, at least to someone who's seen Gosford Park. The plot is well done. Daisy is at a family's country house when an apparent accident takes place. Daisy's photography uncovers a suggestion that it might have been murder. I'll have to find the second in the series--I think there are 16 or something. It was cute and well-written. I think cozy readers and those interested in historical fiction might get a kick out of this.

Duma Key by Stephen King: It's been hit or miss for me with recent Stephen King, but I had a hard time putting Duma Key down, even with 600+ pages. He's used his personal experience with recovering from a terrible accident and placed in on Edgar Freemantle, who loses an arm and scrambles his brain in an accident. His 25-year marriage ends, and when his doctor suggests "geographical therapy," Freemantle (randomly, he thinks) chooses Duma Key, an isolated island off the coast of Sarasota. He takes up painting with a vengeance, stunning gallery owners in Sarasota, and haunted by his phantom arm and the voices of the shells under his house, he begins to uncover the truth about Duma Key and its oldest inhabitant, Elizabeth Eastlake. His hired help, Jack, and Elizabeth's companion, Wireman (who has also suffered a head injury, as has Elizabeth), help him find the source of his talent. If any part of the novel dragged, it was pages 500-600 or thereabouts--the exciting conclusion was really kind of long. But I found Edgar's emerging talent engaging, and King did a great job of the terror gently creeping into the story.

Back on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber: I read the first of these, The Shop on Blossom Street, ages ago. It took me a while to get into this one. The intro in which Macomber basically explains everything that happened in the series so far was very long and dragged, but once I got into it, it was pretty fun. These are the most wholesome romance novels you've ever read, seriously, but they're also about the personal struggles of the various characters. She writes from the point-of-view of several, which is totally cheating, but it works for the stories she's telling. The prose is...saccharine is a good word to use here, maybe a really long Hallmark card is another way to put it. But if you're in the mood for uplifting, obviously telegraphed happy endings, and women solving their problems in a knitting group, this book is for you. I don't mean that as negatively as it maybe reads. I enjoyed the book, I did, it's just not particularly challenging and it's not my usual fluffy reading (very little sense of humor here). Anyway, Lydia owns a knitting shop and decides to have a class on doing prayer shawls. Each of the women in the class has a different problem going on, and everyone's happy at the end. There are really no surprises in this one, but it's pleasant and comforting.

I also zipped through How I Write: Secrets of a Bestselling Author by Janet Evanovich. She co-wrote this with a creative writing professor, to make it more credible, I guess. Anyway, the poor professor's parts are fairly dry, but useful and well-organized. The book is mainly Q&A with Evanovich, based on questions asked by fans on her website. It's often interesting to read how a writer writes, and Evanovich is funny and entertaining. As a writing book, it doesn't hold a candle to Stephen King's On Writing, but it was interesting, and samples of query letters and manuscript pages, and advice on joining groups and attending conferences, is worthwhile. All in all, not an essential read for writers, but a fun one for Evanovich fans.

Another Giveaway!

Maw Books is giving away some of the books in her collection in celebration of her 100th blog post. If you're interested, visit her blog and comment on her posts. You'll be entered each time you comment and can double your entries by posting on your own blog. Here is info on the giveaway and the list of books.

Freebies!

Stephanie over at The Written Word is sponsoring a contest to win one of five canvas bags with the book cover of Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs and one lucky person will win an Advanced Reader's Copy of Kate Jacobs new book. Jacobs is the author of The Friday Night Knitting Club, which I really enjoyed. I'm looking forward to reading Comfort Food. And I think there are a few of you out there who might be interested as well. So many of my friends LOVE the Food Network. I can think of several people I should recommend this book to. Now, I am sooo NOT into cooking, but I think this might be interestign. Jacobs' latest effort is about two women who end up co-hosting a cooking show together under not so great circumstances. Since I'm writing on my blog about Stephanie's contest, I'll be entered twice! Whoo hoo!

The Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett

I just finished reading this book yesterday. It tells the story of Rose, starting in 1968, who ends up at Saint Elizabeth's, a home for unwed mothers. She was married and found out she was pregnant. One day, she just decided to get in the car and drive across country and ended up at Saint Elizabeth's. In the end, she decides to keep her daughter and in fact, stays on at Saint Elizabeth's as the cook. The book is split into three sections: Rose's story, Son's story (Rose's second husband), and Cecilia's story (Rose's daughter). The title of the book is in reference to St. Elizabeth and the fact that all the pregnant girls that come there lie. They lie about who the father of their baby is, where he is, what they'll do when they go home, etc. Also, there are many lies of omission throughout the book, especially on Rose's part. But really none of the characters do much talking to each other. It's more of a dance around each other.

I picked this book up in the book store and read the prologue which describes a farmer who discovers a spring on his property. It turns out the spring has mystical healing powers and a grand hotel is built nearby to accommodate all the visitors to the spring. Eventually, the spring dries up and people stop visiting. The building becomes Saint Elizabeth's. I thought perhaps the spring would pop up again throughout the book or by the end. But it never reappeared.

Although the book took a slightly different course than I initially thought it would, I enjoyed it. It was a quick read. And I liked reading from the different character's point of view. Rose's character sort of annoyed me throughout the book because she was never happy and I'm not sure why she couldn't let herself be happy. But this puzzled the other characters as well. :-)

Since I haven't read her other books yet, I'm not sure how it measures up, but I liked her writing style and hope to read Bel Canto and Run in the near future.

Lady Julia Grey

Have you discovered her? She's a Victorian lady of the royal sort whose husband dies rather suddenly. A year later, she decides to hire an inquiry agent(detective) to determine if hubby died as a result of foul play. The inquiry agent is a very handsome, very mysterious man named Nicholas Brisbane.

Deanna Raybourn is the American author of this rather offbeat mystery series. She uses British spellings for words like colour which put me off at first. It was hard for me to deal w/a contemporary AMERICAN author writing in Victorian English. However, once I realized the language fit w/the life and times of her books' setting, the spelling and quaint words like draughty just add to the books' charm.

Raybourn's very first novel is SILENT IN THE GRAVE followed by SILENT IN THE SANCTUARY. Lady Julia is a member of the very large March family whose family crest includes a hare as in they're all crazy as a March hare! Each family member is eccentric and barely accepted in English society because of the family reputation for being wild and crazy. Lady Julia really tries to live a "conventional" life but as she turns 30 and decides to investigate her husband's death, she ventures where no proper British lady would dare to go. She surprises even herself when she dresses as a man and visits a gypsy camp as well as samples Brisbane's hookah. She just gets caught up in all sorts of improper adventures!

There's nothing ho hum about the plots in these books. They are page turners w/plenty of plot twists and always a surprise ending. Brisbane makes his appearance in each book in his role as the inquiry agent and Julia's potential lover. He always disappears before the books end and before their love affair gets very far along. The author is very good at leaving the reader wondering if the love affair will ever get beyond the kissing stage. After all, it is the Victorian age!

This series reminds me of Dorothy Sayers' very entertaining Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries written in the 1930's. Peter Wimsey is a very proper English lord who just happens to be very good at detecting in his spare time. He meets the Lady Jane, also a rather unconventional member of British society, and they end up detecting their way through many mysteries. Sayers also keeps you wondering if Jane and Peter's relationship will ever blossom beyond detection. Aside from the gripping drama, Sayers and Raybourn give you an entertaining picture of British society in a funny, literate and thoroughly satisfactory way.

One of these things is not like the other...

I picked up Don't Look Down by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer as a bargain book ($3.99--yay!). The reviews for this were really mixed, so I'd put off reading it. I do love Jennifer Crusie, whose Welcome to Temptation, Getting Rid of Bradley, Manhunting, and other laugh-out-loud contemporary romance-with-some-mystery novels have been very enjoyable, so I suppose I can blame Bob Mayer for this convoluted mess of a book. Mayer is apparently a military adventure-type novelist, and my guess is, not a very good one. I have no idea why Crusie, Mayer, and the publisher thought this was a winning combination. It's as if someone said, "People like peanut butter! People like pickles! Let's put 'em together!" Mayer appears to adore a certain word that begins with the letter 'F' and its variations (clusterf*** is a big favorite...I didn't count, but I believe he topped 20 incidences of this one alone). Now, I'm not offended by vulgar language, and I think in some settings, it's the way to go, but not in a contemporary romance novel. It just shows a lack of imagination on the part of the author--really? You couldn't come up with ANY other word to use? Besides, that annoyance, there are passages of military-speak that must be mind-numbing to most of Crusie's fans. Discussions of various weapons and military strategy just didn't go with the rest of the book. Speaking of which, the plot was confusing and convoluted, with an unnecessary and poorly explained plot by the bad guys and inexplicable responses by good guys. The best part of this book is a charming and adorable Wonder Woman Party for Lucy's niece, but even that is constantly interrupted by people knocking on the door in a tiresome fashion. I'm not even going to summarize the plot for you, just advise you to skip this one. They have a second collaboration called Agnes and the Hitman, that got much better reviews, and since I still love Crusie's humor, I may pick that one up at some point. But maybe at the library!

I've starting reading Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swenson mysteries from the beginning, and I'm having a great time with them. I think I may have read as many as the first 3 when they were first out, but I can't remember who the killers were, so it's like reading them for the first time. The first, Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder, has been re-released with a bonus 100+ page novella at the end that was pretty cute, and some additional recipes. I baked Peach Almond Muffins adapted from the Peach Bread recipe in Key Lime Pie Murder. Yum! Basically, I just dumped the batter into 18 muffin cups instead of 2 loaf pans and cut the baking time. Fantastic.

The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett

The Wee Free Men is part of Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. I've read good things about him as an author so I thought I would check this out. It's the story of nine year old Tiffany Aching. She lives in the hills on her family farm. Her Granny was a shepherd and a witch. Tiffany soon learns she also has the gift. Her younger brother gets kidnapped by the Queen of another world, and she begins her journey to get him back armed with a frying pan, talking toad, and an army of red-headed little men.

At first glance, this book seems like a fun young adult fantasy. I was about half way through it at the start of today and I tried to keep plugging through, but ended up skimming the last half. I stopped skimming and read the last several pages. I really wanted to love this book, or even like it. I think I only mildly enjoyed it. It was humorous. And I enjoyed the descriptions of the worlds and monsters. I also like the idea of Fairy tale monsters coming to life. My biggest problem with it is the language of the Nac Mac Feegles. It has a Scottish base and it got a bit tiring reading it as it was written. I think I would have enjoyed this much more if it were just stated that they spoke with a Scottish accent and then written with regular English. Instead it was written in the Scottish dialect and I found myself having to slow my reading down to catch what they were saying. This greatly annoyed me! Hmm....maybe I would really enjoy these books more as audiobooks! I'll have to think about that.

So now, I have A Hat Full of Sky sitting here from the library and I'm debating whether to read it now, or skip it all together and go right to Wintersmith.

Naptime is the New Happy Hour

This book by Stefanie Wilder-Taylor has a healthy dose of humor, sarcasm, and parenting advice. Her first book Sippy Cups are NOT for Chardonnay is an hysterical look at parenting in the first year. This sequel takes a look at toddlerhood and I suspect she will have a third book out in another year or two about raising twins. ;-)

Wilder-Taylor lives in Los Angeles and she captures the Mommy Culture there perfectly. Having lived there for almost 6 years, spending 3 of those in the Mommy World, I can honestly say her portrayal is right on! I found myself chuckling every few pages and nodding my head in agreement to her tips and anecdotes (yeah, LOVE the Target One Spot and kids really do think there is magic healing power in Disney Princess Band-aids!).

However, this book will translate across the board, whether you live in a big city, podunkville, stay at home or work. Read it! I think all moms go through those feelings of guilt about something or other, have no patience on some days, hate those seemingly "perfect" mommies because they make you feel inadequate. Wilder-Taylor says it all and tells you how to deal with those feelings....hence, the happy hour. :-) It's just nice to know that you're not alone. If you're looking for a fun, light-hearted look at parenting, pick this one up! And the first book too if you haven't read it already.

Oh, and for further reading, Wilder-Taylor has her own blog here.

Key Lime Pie Murder by Joanne Fluke

Okay, somebody else post something, quick, so I stop hogging the blog! I don't know what it is, but I've been reading a lot lately, at the expense of my knitting (I just started Matt's birthday socks, and his birthday was almost two months ago).

Anyway, I know Holly reads this series, and has probably already read this book. I thought it was an excellent entry in a cozy series. Besides the murder mystery, there were several fun subplots: What's behind Moishe's odd behavior? What is Hannah's mother's Secret Project? Will Hannah choose Norman or Mike or even Ross, who still sends her gifts? Will Hannah enter the 21st century world of cell phones and computers with internet access? Some amazon reviewers complain that Hannah's dithering over the men in her life is annoying, that it's unbelievable that she resists computers and cell phones, that the mystery doesn't happen until past 100 pages in. But to me, the fun of this series is small-town life in Lake Eden, Hannah's family, and Hannah's life, and those things don't bother me that much. This is a really fun cozy series. And oh yeah, there's a murder, and that part of the story was well-done, too. There are a few cookie recipes I think I'll be trying, though I'm not really a casserole (hot-dish) fan, so that's about it.

Curiosity Killed the Cat Sitter by Blaize Clement

Holly sent me excerpts from the improbably named Blaize Clement's most recent (and third) Dixie Hemingway mystery, Even Catsitters Get the Blues. It seemed well-written, with an interesting sleuth, so I picked up the first in the series, Curiosity Killed the Catsitter. This was surprisingly dark and complex for a cozy mystery series. Dixie was a sheriff's deputy on Siesta Key (off the Sarasota coast) until the deaths of her husband and daughter sent her over the edge. She regrouped and started a pet-sitting business. When she finds a dead man in a client's home, she's sucked back into the world of investigation, both as a suspect and a person with some inside scoop. I thought Clement pulled off the edgier heroine in a cozy setting quite well. The lifestyle and characters are Siesta Key were an interesting setting, Dixie is sympathetic, and the mystery complex and satisfying. There was one Clue (that's a capital C, as in "Scooby Doo, you've found a Clue!"), let's call it a MacGuffin, that Dixie comes across without recognizing its significance. That's fine, but as it became increasingly clear that the MacGuffin was really important, it started driving me a little crazy that Dixie wasn't picking up on it. However, since she had quite a bit going on and I was paying more attention to details as a reader, I tried to let it go. At any rate, I thought this was a fun, really well-written mystery, and I'll be picking up #2 in the series! I'd recommend it to cozy mystery fans who are open to a little bit edgier book, and even to private detective-type novel fans who aren't usually into cozies.

Public Service Announcement

I forgot to mention that bn.com is having a buy 2, get 1 free sale on all bargain books. This means 3 hardbacks for around $10-12! I was excited about this and grabbed a couple i had been meaning to read but hadn't wanted to pay $25 for. Unfortunately, you only get one free, no matter how many you buy.

I'm currently reading Curiosity Killed the Cat Sitter by the improbably named Blaize Clement. Fun!

And now for something completely different...

What Looks Like Crazy by Charlotte Hughes was a fun diversion, and a great break from the intensity of the Lippman novel. Hughes is co-author with Janet Evanovich on the Full House series, which I've enjoyed (though not as much as the Stephanie Plum books). When I see a no-name sharing author credit with a bestseller, my jaded opinion is usually that the no-name did all the work and the big name is there to sell books. It doesn't really matter, because I like Charlotte Hughes' writing, and if it hadn't been for Evanovich, this book likely wouldn't exist. Comparisons between this new series and Stephanie Plum are inevitable, but I didn't think this was a knockoff. Kate is a funny, smart, neurotic psychologist with relationship issues. In her job, she encounters plenty of "nutcases," as her wealthy receptionist Mona calls them, and they bring lots of fun to the mix. Kate's mother and aunt own a junk shop (from which Kate's condo is decorated) and they bring another element of fun. Kate's two exes bring in the obligatory romantic element. Hughes is a little drier in her wit, less laugh-out-loud and farcical, but it's a different kind of funny, not a lack of funny, if that makes sense. I think this is a good beach read, and I look forward to the next one.

What the Dead Know by Laura Lippman

This was a gripping, well-paced mystery (I hesitate to call it a thriller since no one is really in danger) that begins when a woman is apprehended leaving a car accident. She alludes to the Bethany sisters (whose disappearance thirty years before was never solved) but clams up without sharing her identity. She eventually claims to be one of the sisters, and the book is extremely well-paced, using flashbacks to explore the parents and sisters at various points during the thirty year gap. The current characters, a social worker and two cops, one who retired after the Bethany case (and to a lesser extent, an attorney) are well-fleshed out and the impact of the disappearance on their lives is believable. It was hard to put this book down. I really wanted to know who this woman was and what happened to the girls. I recommend this to anyone who's a fan of suspense.

ToB 2008 Winner

These are the finalists in the 2008 Tournament of Books. And the winner: The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz. I haven't really looked at either of these books. I'll have to check them out next time I'm at the bookstore. Please comment if anyone has read them!

Randomness

I went from not really being excited about any books I had in the house to having too many! I guess that's a good problem to have. A bunch of library requests came through at the same time so I have a few books from the library. I also received a free advance copy of a new book!

We'll start with that one: Off the Deep End by W. Hodding Carter. As a member of LibraryThing, you can choose to put your name in to receive advance copies of upcoming books, the only catch is that they ask you to review them. Well, to me, that's not much of a catch. I'd probably do that anyway. Usually there are 400-600 people for each book and maybe 15-50 copies of the book sent out. This was the first book I won. It's the story of Hodding, an over-40 man who used to be a competitive collegiate swimmer. He always dreamed of making it to the Olympics. He didn't have the chance when he was young and becomes obsessed with the idea as a middle-aged man. The book is his memoir of his journey.

It took me a while to get used to Carter's more conversational style of writing. It is very informal, and he tends to interject in the middle of his sentences. Anyone who was a competitive swimmer would probably really enjoy this book. I found it mildly interesting, but not incredibly fascinating. I had preconceived ideas that it might be more of an inspiring story, however, it is more about a man's mid-life crisis journey. Because its an advance copy, the end of the book is missing where you find out if he really did qualify for the Olympics this summer. Once it is published, I'll probably pick it up at the bookstore and just skim through the end.

In other book news, this week is Buy-a-Friend-a-Book Week. More info here. :-)

A while ago, I bought Terry Pratchett's Wintersmith as a bargain book. I've been reading very good things about Pratchett as a young adult author so I thought I would grab. I discovered this was part of a series of books in his Discworld. Discworld appears to be a large series with many tangents or several series within a larger umbrella series. Does that make any sense? At any rate, there were 2 books in this series before Wintersmith (The Wee Free Men and A Hat Full of Sky) so I picked up both of them from the library and plan on reading them before I get to Wintersmith. I'm sure I could have read Wintersmith out of order, but I'm kind of anal when it comes to that sort of thing and like to start with the first in a series.

I also have The Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett sitting here. I went to the bookstore to look for Run. I just wanted to check it out. However, they were sold out. So I picked this one up instead and read the first few pages. I was really engaged so I requested it from the library. Of course, I received it at the same time as some other books. ;-)

And the last book I currently have sitting around here waiting to be read is Naptime is the New Happy Hour by Stefanie Wilder-Taylor. She also wrote Sippy Cups are NOT for Chardonnay, which was hysterical. I can't wait to read this this. Her first book was so funny and true about parenting. I can only imagine what she has to say about the toddler years. I have a feeling I can recommend this one to other mothers without even having read it yet!

Well, I think that's all for now. I've been sort of schizophrenic about deciding which one of these to delve into, they all seem good to me. I guess I'll just see what clicks with my mood today...

Run

Run by Ann Patchett is everything you would expect from the author of Bel Canto. Patchett's prose is lyrical. Her writing is so beautiful. The similes she concocts are amazing. Her prose just flows through this sweet story of a Boston politician's adopted children and his expectations for their lives. Each character is so finely wrought. You feel like you could meet any one of them on the corner of your street. Patchett gives you a slice of life and her characters make the most of it. Enjoy!

ToB Reviews

I don't have any new books to post, but thought I would let you know that Girl Detective has created a reading challenge for herself. She is trying to get through some of the ToB books. So far she has reviewed the following:

An Arsonist's Guide to Writer's Homes in New England
What the Dead Know
Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name
On Chesil Beach

Just thought some of you might be interested. :-)
Happy Reading!

Possible ToB Winner Review

So, I read Then We Came To The End by Joshua Ferris, which is headed to the semifinals in the Tournament of Books. It was fantastic. Seriously, one of the best books I've read in a long time. It's extremely funny, with a unique voice (the corporate "we") that manages to explore group dynamics without losing the individuality of the group members. Who doesn't love a book with the awesome first line, "We were fractious and overpaid."? Excellent stuff. There is a lot of funny here as Ferris explores the contradictions, excess, and search for meaning in an ad agency just as the dot-com bubble bursts. The group dynamics shift and change as layoffs loom over the entire office and the employees wonder whether or not their boss has cancer. This would have been a fantastic bit of office humor, but Ferris goes deeper than Office Space for insights into finding meaning in one's life, how to face death, and how we break when pushed too hard. Brilliant, amazing, fantastic first novel, and I can't recommend it highly enough.

Back To The Stack

You know, I waited so long to chat about some of my stack I can't even remember what I read. I've been a big fan of Nora Roberts for years. She does a variety of chick lit. There's always a romance somewhere in her books. Besides writing under her own name, she writes a romantic detective series set in New York City in 2058 under the pseudonym, J. D. Robb. Her latest on the best seller list is Strangers in Death. Her tough cookie, very smart female detective, Eve Dallas, solves murders while living life in the fast lane of future NYC. I love Robb's descriptions of the clothing, homes, electronics, cars, food, etc as she imagines them to be 50 years from now.In this book, Robb's murderer steals the plot from Hitchcock's movie, Strangers On A Train. Like the TV series, Law & Order, you know who the murderer is by mid book. The author leads you through the evidence bit by bit until she has her case built and her suspect firmly in her clutches. It's Eve's job to get her suspect to confess which of course, she does by book's end.

Deep Dish by Mary Kay Andrews is a book right out of the reality TV series TOP CHEF. I LOVE TOP CHEF where a bunch of up and coming chefs are challenged each week to create some appetizing dish and then judged on who did the best. Deep Dish pits two chefs, one a former beauty contest participant who cooks healthy and the other, a studly male whose motto is "kill it and grill it," against each other in a battle to become the next host of a network cooking show. They travel to a remote island off the Georgia coast to cook for a trio of stereotypical professional chef judges. Love blossoms in this light and tasty novel which includes recipes at the end!

Other books in my just finished stack include Killing Ground, the latest Jack Higgins Sean Dillon spy thriller, Heart Sick by Chelsea Cain, a serial killer suspense, and Damage Control by Robert Dugoni, another murder suspense novel. Loved them all for their solid intrigue and nice tidy endings.