6. Certain Girls

Certain Girls, by Jennifer Weiner (2009).

I really liked Weiner's Good in Bed (2002), so when I heard she was writing a sequel, I made a mental note to check into it. On my way back from Las Vegas earlier this month, I broke my no-new-book-buying rule at the airport and grabbed a copy. I'm glad I did.

Certain Girls takes place thirteen years after Good in Bed, when Cannie's married to Peter and baby Joy has grown up and is about to have her bat mitzvah. The book is narrated in the first person by Cannie and Joy, in alternating chapters. Although I really enjoyed the book, I liked Cannie's chapters better than Joy's. Maybe this means I'm getting old and can relate much better to an overprotective mother than a bratty teenager, but it's mostly because the narrative exposition in the Joy chapters was in a voice that didn't sound like a twelve year old's thoughts. The story really made me see Cannie is a different way than in the first book. She's a really overprotective, even smothering mother.

Cannie's a best selling author of the book she wrote about her experience in GIB, but she hasn't written under her own name since. Instead, she ghostwrites a sexy action series. Mostly, though, she spends her time smothering her daughter, who of course rebels in small, secret ways. Joy reads Cannie's book and is horrified by what she thinks she learns about her mom and the circumstances of her birth. Weiner is so good at this--her characters are frustrating, endearing, and so real. I liked this a lot.

5. The Perfect Scent

The Perfect Scent, by Chandler Burr (2007)

I don't read a lot of non-fiction for pleasure, mostly because I read so much of it for work. Maybe I should change that, because I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Burr, who also wrote a book I have sitting in my unread stack from Midwinter, is a really engaging writer. The book tells the stories of the creation of two different perfumes: one is Sarah Jessica Parker's Lovely, the other is a commission for Hermes. It was interesting to see the similarities and differences between a celebrity perfume that would be mass marketed and one for a luxury brand that would be sold in much more exclusive markets. He explains the intricacies of both the way perfume is created and the way the industry works without getting so detailed as to be technical and boring.

The personalities of the people he met really come through in the story. Little details like what they wear and how they speak help flesh them out as real people, rather than caricatures. SJP seems like really smart and opinionated busineswoman, which isn't necessarily surprising, but it was a different side of her than we get to see when she acts. I also liked learning about peculularities of communication among the different groups of people--the French, PR people, perfumers, executives. Very human and funny stuff.

4. Cathy's Ring

Cathy's Ring, by Sean Stewart (May 2009)

I read this one soon after picking it up at Midwinter in Denver. Driving to a big conference meant I came home with 36 free books, and it's taking me a while to get through them. And to blog them, I guess.

This is the third installment in a series, and I haven't read the others. The publisher rep told me this series is controversial because of the promotional tie-ins and multimedia enhancements (the email addresses and phone numbers in the books actually work). I didn't try any of this stuff out, so I reserve judgment.

The story is pretty engaging and exciting, though I'm missing context from the earlier books. To the author's credit, he doesn't re-explain everything to the readers, something I find really annoying in series fiction. Cathy, the main character, is in love with an immortal. There's a whole cabal of immortals, most of them evil. For some reason, the main baddie, Ancestor Lu, is trying to kill her and she goes on the run with some friends. There's a semi-bad doppleganger, a love triangle, and some family intrigue to make things interesting. Maybe after I finish up my huge stack of unread galleys, I'll check out the rest of this series.

3. Psych Major Syndrome

Psych Major Syndrome, by Alicia Thompson (2009, August)

Light reads are really appealing right now, while I'm super busy at work, reading some more serious stuff, and just looking for fast, easy entertainment. Psych Major Syndrome was a good choice. It's about Leigh, a freshman at a small liberal arts college in California, who is majoring in Psychology. She's going through some drama with her high school boyfriend, who also goes to her college. Andrew, the boyfriend, is a total ass, and really believable. Leigh is a great character, because she's likeable, but not perfect or even totally clued-in to what's going on around her.

There's not much to say about the story, other than I enjoyed it. It was also nice to read a young adult novel with college-aged characters for a change.

2. Absolutely Maybe

Absolutely Maybe, by Lisa Yee (2009, February)

I came home from ALA Midwinter with a huge stack of galleys, as usual. In fact, my stack was even huger than ever because we drove down to Denver and I didn't have to worry about how to get it all back with me on a plane. Also, the vendors were practically shoving books into my hands this year.

This one's about a kind of typical outsider girl in Kissamee, Florida named Maybelline "Maybe" Mary Katherine Mary Ann Chestnutt, who runs away from her trainwreck of a mother in search of her biological father in Hollywood. She and her odd-duck best friend Ted tag along with "Hollywood," their only other friend, who's headed for USC for a summer film school program. Hijinx ensue, of course.

The series of events is too neat and implausable for me to suspend my disbelief: Hollywood is indeed a film prodigy, Ted goes to work as the personal assistant for a famous movie vixen of old, and Maybe lands on her feet in ways I won't spoil. Still, unrealistic events aside, I liked these kids and th0ught their relationships and the way they spoke rang true. Maybe's likable, but kind of an ass sometimes--just like a real teenage girl. It was a fast read and I enjoyed it. I might check out Yee's three previous books at some point. Probably after I finish the four dozen unread books sitting in my living room alone!

1. Fault Line

Fault Line, by Barry Eisler ( February 2009)

Here's one of my Early Reviewers books, which arrived while I was back home for Christmas. I haven't read any of Eisler's other work, but I probably will now that I've finished Fault Line. Thrillers aren't my favorite genre, but I enjoy them now and then when they're done well. This one's good--the plot, the characters, the pacing--it's all there. I particularly liked the way the story began from Alex's perspective and made him sympathetic and relatable, then introduced Ben, the real protagonist of the story. As the reader, it was possible to see things from both of their perspectives and understand how they don't see eye-to-eye.

The story isn't that original. We've all read books or seen movies where somebody develops a new technology that bad guys want, and then black-ops government agents get mixed into things. Still, I was interested in what was happening, probably because I was invested in the characters. Even though the premise is a little shopworn, the events weren't completely predictable, and provided a few hours of entertainment.

28. The Cat Who Dropped a Bombshell

The Cat Who Dropped a Bombshell, by Lilian Jackson Braun

It's kind of sad to end the year on this book, but it's the last one I finished in 2008. I was done with Bridge of Sighs and was staying in the guest room at my parents' house. Its bookcase is stocked with my mom's romance novels and a few mysteries. Desperate for something to read, I chose this one.

Don't get me wrong, I've read this series before, and the books can be sort of charming in a really idealized, completely out-of-touch-with-reality sort of way. But this one is dumb. There's not really any mystery here, and Qwilleran doesn't do any detecting. The famous cats really don't even provide many wacky antics. We know what happened from almost the start, and there are no surprises to speak of. I'm not sure why the author even wrote it, besides the obvious profit to be gained from another installment of the series. Oh, well. It kept me occupied on a snow day.