Kaijsa Reads

catching up

2010-12-12T15:10:00.001-07:00

It looks like I didn't post anything I read in 2010. The next few posts are the things hanging around in draft for since the end of 2009, then I'll get cracking on what I can remember from 2010.

27. Revelations

2009-12-28T23:07:00.000-07:00

Revelations (A Blue Bloods novel), by Melissa de la Cruz

I've reviewed the first two Blue Bloods books here, but this time, I actually bought a copy instead of picking up a galley at a conference. I was shopping for groceries, and bought this on impulse. I tend to like to stick with a series once I've started it.

Schuyler Van Allen is kind of a cross between Harry Potter and Serena Van Der Woodsen. She's gorgeous and talented, but a poor relation from a once-powerful supernatural family. In this installment, Schuyler is still in love with Jack Force, but he's still creepily promised to his evil sister, Mimi. The soulmate twins thing really and truly gives me a the creeps. The silver bloods are still sneaking around trying to kill off the blue bloods, and nothing else much has changed. There are some confusing fight scenes and some drama as several people come under suspicion of being a silver blood, but still, the characters all seem to be in the same places as before. Mimi is obviously a bad seed, but she's cleared of being truly, truly a baddie. The Leviathan under the Christ statue in Brazil seemed to come from out of nowhere, but maybe we'll get some of this cleared up later. Ah, well. It's entertaining while I'm reading it, but then pretty much forgotten.

26. True Blue

2009-12-27T23:25:00.007-07:00

True Blue, by Luanne Rice 2002)

Another pick from Mom's guest room, True Blue seems like a typical romance novel. The story is about Rumer, a vet who lives in a tiny Connecticut town. Her one true love Zeb, dropped her for her older sister Elizabeth. Years later, Zeb returns, divorced and trying to connect with his son and, not coincidentally, his son's aunt Rumer. You all know what happpens next.

23-25 Tea Shop Mysteries

2009-12-27T23:19:00.003-07:00

This winter break, I picked up more of Mom's books, this time the tea shop series. The heroine of this series is Theodosia Browning, who owns the Indigo Tea Shop in Charleston. Theo is a little different from Carmela, the scrapbook protagonist. She's a never-married thirty-five-year-old with no living family. She comes off as a lot older than her age, is kind of buttoned-up, and has a seemingly chaste relationship with her boyfriend Jory Davis, who for some reason, is almost always referred to by his full name.

The language in these books is a bit flowery and the characters seem kind of old-fashioned. If there weren't references to text messages and email, I'd think they were set in the seventies or eighties. They're nice reads, though, and the characters are likeable, if kind of simple and unbelievably talented at whatever they do (except detecting). The descriptions of the teas and foods are great, and probably contributing to me overdoing it on baked goods this winter.

One big gripe I have is that Theo is a such a terrible investigator. She's always lying and hiding evidence from the police and totally misreading every clue she comes upon. If she was a bumbling amateur working with Tidwell, instead of at cross-purposes with him, I'd probably like the books better.

23. Shades of Earl Grey, by Laura Childs (2003)

During an engagement party for a well-to-do Charleston woman, niece of one of Theo's frenemies, at the Heritage Society's house, the greenhouse roof caves in, killing the groom-to-be. The heirloom engagement ring is missing, and doesn't turn up in the rubble. Theodosia decides to nose around and root out the killer, despite grumpy Detective Tidwell's warnings not to get involved. Soon, Theo realizes there's a cat burgler on the loose in Charleston, and the plot thickens!

24. Gunpowder Green, by Laura Childs (2002)

At a yacht club regatta, Oliver Dixon is killed when an antique starting pistol explodes. When it starts to look less like an accident and more like sabotage, Theo looks around for suspects. Is it Dixon's much younger wife of a mere few weeks? Ford Cantrell, whose family has been fueding with the Dixons for generations? A business rival? Of course Theo locks horns with Tidwell in her hunt for the killer.

25. Jasmine Moon Murder, by Laura Childs (2004)

The murder hits closer to home in this installment. During a "ghost crawl" in a historic cemetary, somebody murders Jory Davis's uncle Jasper. Theo literally stumbles over a hypodermic needle, the first clue about the cause of death. Jory begs Theo to look into the murder and figure out who killed his beloved uncle. A fox hunt, a second murder, and a really implausible motive round this one out.

22. Frill Kill

2009-12-27T23:16:00.005-07:00

Frill Kill, by Laura Childs (2008)

I'm sure I've mentioned here before that when I visit my parents' house, I stay in a guest room stocked with plenty of paperback romances and mysteries I probably wouldn't otherwise choose for myself, but that I tend to really enjoy. For the past several months, my mom has been really into the Laura Childs scrapbooking and tea shop mystery series'. When I was here in October, I chose this scrappin' story because it takes place at Halloween.

This series centers on Carmela, the owner of Memory Mine, a scrapbooking shop in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Carmela has just reunited with her cheating scoundrel of a husband when she finds his uncle murdered. Of course, the amateur sleuth gets in the middle of the investigation and decides to ferret out the murderer. As in many mysteries aimed at women, Carmela's best friend Ava is the requisite gorgeous, sassy sidekick, and Carmela herself is beautiful and fashionable. The mystery itself is pretty typical, but the writing and characters were entertaining enough to make me decide Laura Childs' books are a good way to spend a few hours when I'm here with family.

Thanks for the Memories

2009-12-27T23:10:00.003-07:00

Thanks for the Memories, by Cecilia Ahern

Sometimes I pick up really interesting stuff at conferences. This one is a bittersweet story about two people who start to share each others' memories. I thought it was going to be kind of lightweight, but it really stuck with me and wasn't as chicklit-ish as the pink cover led me to believe--not that I have a problem with chicklit if it's good. Anyway, I remember not being able to put this down until I finished it.

The story is set in Ireland. There are two main characters, Joyce, who has recently had a miscarriage and had to have a blood transfusion, and Justin, who donated the blood Joyce received. It doesn't take long before they start running into each other all over town and taking one each others' thoughts and some characteristics. It's not realistic, but it's believable in the universe of the story. I can't ask more than to be completely entertained by a book, and this one did that for me.

21. Sophomore Undercover

2009-12-27T23:03:00.006-07:00

Sophomore Undercover, by Ben Esch

When I was headed for Casper over Thanksgiving break, I hurriedly grabbed a couple of unread galleys from the pile, and this was one of them. The story follows Dixie Nguyen, a Vietnamese orphan adopted by a college professor who ended up dying in a car wreck. so he ended up being taken in by a different family that doesn't understand him. Dixie, the titular sophomore sleuth, is the sole reporter for the school newspaper.

The story Dixie's trying to uncover is a student athlete doping scandal, though his newspaper adviser has ordered him to drop it and cover homecoming instead. I had a hard time getting though the book because Dixie is an almost-impossibly naive and clueless kid who reads every situation incorrectly and unfailingly says exactly the thing that will get his ass kicked by the jocks who love to torment him. All in all, the hijinx are wacky, the comedy crude, and the situations completely implausible. Not my thing, but it might well appeal to its target audience of teen boys.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

2009-12-27T23:01:00.006-07:00

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Steig Larsson (2009)

Rick drove me up to Casper on his way to Newcastle for Thanksgiving 2009, and we met up with Nina at Wind City Books. He was looking for something to read, and ended up with this. He read the whole thing over the holiday weekend and gave it to me when we got back to Laramie. I'm glad he did.

Of course, over a year later it's old news, but I loved this book. Honestly, it took me a while to get into it, like four or five chapters, but once the story started unfolding I was hooked. There are probably too many storylines going on at once, but I liked the unfolding of everything happening gradually. Personally, I'm more interested in the Blomkvist character than that of Lisbeth Salander, but that's just me.

At this late date, I probably don't need to say much about the plot, though the mystery of the missing Harriet was pretty disturbing and creepy. I usually don't go for really gritty mysteries, and hate reading about violence against women, but it was nice to find a book that portrays it in a completely unglamorous way. TGTDT is top notch, even if it does have as many endings as the first Lord of the Rings book.

20. Double Cross

2009-12-27T22:51:00.002-07:00

Double Cross, by James David Jordon (2009)

I didn't realize at first this was Christian fiction, a genre I don't generally read. That said, I appreciated that the narrative wasn't really preachy or sappy, and that the protagonist was kind of a doubter, a critical thinker (a quality I think is important for everybody). The protagonist, Taylor, is a secret service agent-turned private security provider. What I didn't like about her was her voice, which didn't ring true as a woman. I kept thinking of her as a man, and then would be jarred when references to her dating, looks, etc. came up again. I haven't had this problem with other women characters written my men, either.

The story was interesting enough--Taylor is trying to solve a suicide that might be murder and figure out who might have been blackmailing the victim. At the same time, the mother who abandoned her shows up and Taylor tries to reconnect with her and figure out what's happened in the twenty years since they were together. Still, I wasn't that engaged with any of the characters because I couldn't get a good sense of them. Their motivations weren't clear and it seemed like the author was doing a lot of telling and not a lot of showing.

It's not a terrible book, but not my cup of tea, either.

Lone Star Legend

2009-08-30T17:51:00.005-06:00

Lone Star Legend, by Gwendolyn Zepeda (January 2010)

I've been reading Gwen's writing for more than a decade, since I "met" her on a message board sometime in the mid-90s and found out she had a blog. She's one of the smartest, most genuine storytellers I've encountered and it's been really awesome to start to see her work published. I loved her story collection, To the Last Man I Slept With and All the Jerks Just Like Him (2004) and was excited to get my hands on an advance copy of this novel.

It follows Sandy, a blogger who ends up writing for a gossip website, Nacho Papi. When she meets Jaime, a friend of her great-aunt Linda's, she discovers a storyline for the website that makes her one of the site's most popular authors. Unfortunately, Sandy starts to cross the line with the stuff she writes and has to deal with the fallout with her friends and family. Gwen's writing is really sharp, and all the characters are fully formed people I'd love to meet. Each chapter begins with an entry from Sandy's personal blog, and sometimes includes reader comments. Read this one.

19.Fearless Fourteen

2009-08-14T23:01:00.002-06:00

Fearless Fourteen, by Janet Evanovich

Sometimes, it's nice to read mindless candy. I picked this up at the grocery store in a weak moment when I was sick, then stayed in bed all day reading and eating Popsicles. Stephanie Plum mysteries are the perfect books for that.

I had forgotten where I left off in the series, so I might have skipped right over thirteen (or twelve). It doesn't really matter, though. I vaguely remember being dissatisfied with the last one I read, but I found Fearless Fourteen had just the right mix of trashy characters and wacky hijinks to entertain me when I was flat on my back.

18. If I Stay

2009-08-14T22:55:00.001-06:00

If I Stay, by Gayle Forman

I loved this book. It's short and totally engrossing, so you'll want to read it all in one stretch. Even though I read the jacket, I didn't really get what it was going to be about until I read it, and I'm not sure what I should say about it in order not to spoil anything.

The main character, Mia, plays the cello well enough to get into Julliard, has a family she loves, and a great boyfriend. (Isn't it nice to read a young adult book with a functional family?) She's a little serious and nerdy, but she's pretty happy with her life. The only thing stressing her out is deciding whether to pursue her music or stay with her boyfriend after high school. Then, all of a sudden, everything changes and she has a completely different, much more difficult decision to make.

Do not read this in public. Have tissues on hand. Stay hydrated.

17. The Temptress Four

2009-08-14T22:43:00.001-06:00

The Temptress Four, by Gaby Triana

This book kept me entertained on my flight to Chicago. After high school graduation, Fiona and her best friends, Yola, Alma, and Killian, go on a cruise from Miami through the Caribbean. Right before they depart, they visit a fortune teller who tells them one of them won't return from the trip. DOOM!

But this isn't really a mystery. The girls fight, make up, meet boys, go dancing, explore the ports of call, and figure out their futures while on the cruise. One of them doesn't go back to Miami, but I won't spoil it for you and tell you how or why.

16. The Big Dirt Nap

2009-08-14T22:37:00.002-06:00

The Big Dirt Nap, by Rosemary Harris

This book's okay, but I wasn't that impressed. Paula Holliday is a gardener-journalist-detective, who has an assignment to write a story about a corpse flower at a local hotel. When her friend Lucy doesn't show up to meet here there and a guy she meets in the hotel bar ends up dead in the alley with a bullet between his eyes, Paula starts sleuthing around. The story has some interesting bits, like a subplot about Indian casinos, but still seemed to fall a little flat for me. Maybe I didn't like Paula enough to care about her.

15. Peace, Love, and Baby Ducks

2009-08-14T22:29:00.000-06:00

Peace, Love, and Baby Ducks, by Lauren Myracle

I'm on a YA roll here. Carly is about to start her sophomore year of high school and is just back from volunteering outdoors in Tennessee, which is a far cry from her wealthy suburban Atlanta home. Carly doesn't feel like she fits into the country club set and vows to hold onto her hippie girl ways as she returns to her private Christian high school full of preppy kids.

Carly looks forward to her younger sister, Anna, starting high school and joining her and her best friend Peyton at school. But when she returns home, she finds that Anna has grown up and looks hotter and older than she does, and Peyton has a new boyfriend she's obsessed with. All of a sudden, Anna and Peyton seem to have more in common with each other than with Carly. The rest of the story is Carly coming to terms with things changing and learning how to be a sister and a friend throughout all that. This is a fun, quick read, and I will keep a look out for this author.

14. Karma for Beginners

2009-08-14T22:22:00.001-06:00

Karma for Beginners, by Jessica Blank (August 2009)

I wasn't sure about this one, but since it was a free ARC from the ALA conference, I thought I might as well give it a shot. Right off the bat, I liked that the book was set in the mid-1980s instead of current day. Tessa is fourteen and lives with her flaky mom, who pulls up stakes and moves them around pretty often. This time, they move to an ashram near the Catskills, where Tessa feels out of control and out of place. Her mom becomes even less interested in her as she becomes creepily close to the guru of the group, and Tessa finds refuge in a wholly inappropriate place--the arms of the twenty-year-old college dropout who works as the ashram's mechanic.

This is definitely one some parents will find troublesome because, with this older guy, Tessa has sex and does drugs. But the story really reinforces how important strong parent-child relationships are and the importance of supervision and care. It can also bridge the generation gap, showing today's teens that the same problems existed when their parents were kids.

13. Heist Society

2009-08-14T22:10:00.001-06:00

Heist Society, by Ally Carter (out February 2010)

Ally Carter is the author of the Gallagher Girls series, which I have enjoyed. At ALA this year, the Hyperion rep was out of the third GG book, but gave me an ARC of this one. It's so early it doesn't even have priliminary cover art. It's similar to GG, except this time, instead of a teenage girl spy, we meet a teenage girl thief. Katarina Bishop is part of a family of master thieves, though she's trying to live a normal life after grifting her way into an elite boarding school. Then her friend Hale drags her back into the heist life in order to save her father from a powerful mafioso. It's good fun.

12. Firefly Lane

2009-08-14T22:04:00.000-06:00

Firefly Lane, by Kristin Hannah

Firefly Lane is a lovely story of a friendship that lasts a lifetime. Kristin Hannah is an excellent writer, and I'm so happy the EarlyReviewer program introduced her to me. Both Tully and Kate seem real and true to me, though I had a hard time sympathizing with Tully a lot of the time. Kate, who seemed kind of boring and unambitious in the beginning of the story, really grew on me and I eagerly looked forward to "her" chapters.

I'm also sucker for novels set in western Washington state, since that's where I'm from. Kristin Hannah gets a lot of the little details right, dropping in both local favorite hangouts as well as the important news of the day. It makes sense for a book that follows a journalist through the years to include the major events of the day, but it also helps set the tone for the various decades the characters inhabit.

The only criticism I have is that the story dragged a bit and the book is overly long (and I like long books). Especially toward the end, there seemed to be a lot of repetition. I'm trying not to spoil anything, because I do recommend you read the book, so this might sounds vague. The final section was kind of dragged out and there seemed to me to be too much of the "resolution" after the climax, if that makes sense. Still, I loved it and look forward to reading more from this author.

11. Any Given Doomsday

2009-08-14T22:00:00.000-06:00

Any Given Doomsday, by Lori Handeland

I've been gravitating toward fantasy more and more lately, but this book was not for me. It's a huge red light for me when every character is impossibly gorgeous, but I was willing to try to overlook that. The mythology wasn't well-built--I felt like the author tried to cram every supernatural being in too early. If she would have focused on vampires and skinwalkers and then brought in the fairy and werewolves in subsequent books, she might have been able to flesh out the back story.

There's also lot of sex that's very clumsily woven into the plot. Elizabeth can take on the powers of the Nephilim she has sex with? Sounds like something out of a bad porno. I'm not opposed to well-written sex scenes, but these aren't it. If you're into supernatural romance, this might be worth a shot, but I'm not likely to read the rest of the Phoenix Chronicles.

10. Take Your Shirt Off and Cry

2009-08-14T21:46:00.000-06:00

Take Your Shirt Off and Cry, by Nancy Balbirer (2009).

Memoirs aren't always my thing, though I do go through phases where I read them.This one didn't work for me. Some of the stories, particularly those about David Mamet, were kind of amusing, but the author's life is just not that compelling. A good memoir makes the reader care about the author, but this one just irritated me. Balbirer is pretty candid about some of her own mistakes, but she comes off as bitter and jealous to me. I found myself unsympathetic to her struggles because I didn't particularly like her.

9. Motif for Murder

2009-08-14T21:40:00.000-06:00

Motif for Murder, by Laura Childs (2007)

Whenever I visit my parents, I raid their bookshelves. Mom's gotten into Laura Childs' scrapbooking and tea shop mystery series' lately. If you're not familiar with the scrapbooking series, it's set in New Orleans, post-Katrina. The scrappy (I can't resist) heroine is Carmela Bertrand, who in this book, is trying to reconcile with her husband Shamus, the scion of a wealthy family. Shamus is kidnapped, his uncle is murdered, and Carmela sets out to solve the crimes.

While this was kind of a typical amateur sleuth story, I liked the characters and the settting a lot. Usually, my taste in mysteries runs toward those set in Seattle, Sweden, or England, but I'm branching out a bit lately. I'd read more of these, probably when I next go see my parents.

8. Breaking Dawn

2009-08-13T17:43:00.000-06:00

Breaking Dawn, by Stephenie Meyer

I can't believe I never blogged the final episode of the Twilight Saga. Maybe I was so burned out on it by the time I finished the fourth book that I mentally blocked it out. But I'm committed.

This book is terrible! I hated, hated, hated it. Now, I'm not the first person to point out the terrible messages in Stephenie Meyer's books. And I'm not going to repeat myself and talk about the clunky writing--after all, I was entertained enough by the first three books to read the fourth. But the story here is CRAP. I've hated Bella's choices from the start, so I should not be surprised that she marries Edward at age 18, births a demon baby, and becomes a vampire. Just because she can't see the point of life without her perfect stalker lover. Grody.

I refuse to read any more Stephenie Meyer! Besides, Host just sounds creepy.

7. Along for the Ride

2009-08-13T17:36:00.000-06:00

Along for the Ride, by Sarah Dessen (2009).

How have I not discovered Sarah Dessen before? Probably because she writes for teens, though I assumed from the cover that this was adult chick lit and nothing inside the book made think otherwise until I was halfway though it. I remember thinking that more writers should try out protagonists Auden's age, because the summer after high school/before college is such an interesting time.

After her parents' divorce, Auden lives with her college professor mother, who treats her like an adult. She decides to get away from her mom and go stay with her dad, new stepmother, and new baby sister. Her dad is just as absentee as her mom, but Auden starts to develop a relationship with her young stepmother, who she previously though was a dumb blonde. I really liked how Auden begins to see her parents as people with flaws, rather than just parents who don't live up to her expectations.

I'm wishing I posted about this when I first read the book, because some of the details are getting fuzzy. The romance between Auden and Eli is really nice, and starts out so realistically for the age of the characters. The beach town setting also helps show how much waiting around and hanging out teenagers do in real life, which is so different from the urban jet-setting teens in a lot of books.

6. Certain Girls

2009-07-08T15:55:00.001-06:00

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

2009-04-22T09:46:00.010-06:00

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

2009-04-22T09:46:00.007-06:00

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

2009-02-07T00:22:00.004-07:00

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

2009-02-07T00:09:00.003-07:00

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

2009-01-04T16:07:00.005-07:00

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

2008-12-28T21:30:00.002-07:00

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.

27. Bridge of Sighs

2008-12-28T21:00:00.002-07:00

Bridge of Sighs, by Richard Russo

Stuck at the Denver airport with no reading material and flight after flight being canceled, I headed to the bookstore to buy something to keep me occupied. I thought I'd just get the last Twilight book, but then scanned the shelves and came upon Bridge of Sighs. I vaguely remembered reading that Russo had a new book out, but didn't know any of the details, but I grabbed it up and am so happy I did.

Like the amazing Empire Falls, this one is the story of a regular guy in a small town. This time, the guy is Lou, or Lucy as he's known, much to his dismay. Lucy's writing the story of his life, starting at around age five. We read his story interspersed with his present-day reality and later, with his estranged best friend Bobby's present-day and earlier stories. It sounds complicated and it must be so difficult to write, but Russo does it so elegantly that it's perfect. The world he invents is as real as our own and I didn't want the book to end. It's amazing.

26. Eclipse

2008-12-28T15:46:00.001-07:00

Eclipse, by Stephenie Meyer

It was annoying to find out the third Twilight book is still only hardback, because I knew I wasn't going to be able to wait for paper. At least I pass them on to a friend when I'm done!

Again, the love triangle causes trouble, even though we know there's no love like Bella and Edward's love (gag). There's a rash of murders in Seattle that have everybody on edge, and that definitely plays a big part in the story, but the central tension in the story is the ancient war between werewolves and vampires and how that plays out in the modern world.

This book finally gets the pacing of the action right. Instead of impending doom but nothing happening until the end, we get more foreshadowing and people actually trying to figure things out. Shocking! Now I really have to read the fourth and final book.

25. New Moon

2008-12-28T14:35:00.001-07:00

New Moon, by Stephenie Meyer

I did end up grabbing the second Twilight book and this one was a much faster read. I don't think it will spoil things too much to reveal the existence of werewolves in this alternate Forks universe. This time around, Bella has an emotional breakdown, a love triangle emerges, and the vamps and Bella take a trip to Italy.

Bella's still annoying, Edward's still patronizing, and Jacob is still crossing all kinds of lines. What does it say about me that I most identify with Bella's parents and wish they were taken into more consideration? Basically, I'm too old for this series, but am hopelessly addicted.

24. It's Not About the Money

2008-12-28T14:27:00.001-07:00

It's Not About the Money, by Brent Kessel

A few weeks before Thanksgiving, I joined a book discussion at my yoga studio. The author of the selection had been on NPR a few days before, and I'd enjoyed hearing him speak, so I thought it would be interesting and another way to meet more people in the yoga community in Laramie.

This book didn't really float my boat. The exercises Kessel offers to get people thinking about their relationship to money are pretty good, and I like his approach to happiness and financial security. The problem is that it's too simplistic to tell people that they aren't happy or don't feel secure because they have unhealthy relationships to money. Sure, that's often true. But if you don't have enough money to pay bills, you're never going to feel secure. It's one of those middle class mindsets that always bug me.

Anyway, I realize there's a reason I don't like this kind of book, or this kind of book discussion. It feels like group therapy to me, and to me that always rings false.

23. The Satanic Verses

2008-12-28T14:24:00.001-07:00

The Satanic Verses, by Salman Rushdie

I actually read this one back in September, in preparation for Rushdie's visit to campus and because I had somewhat foolishly agreed to co-facilitate two book discussions.

It took me three tries to read the first chapter. It's totally disorienting and I couldn't keep the two main characters' names straight or what was happening. After this, it got easier, but I was never sure if things were happening for real or in somebody's dream.

The Satanic Verses is an amazing novel, and one I think needs rereading to appreciate. I was trying to move through it quickly so I'd have it done for the discussions, but slowly enough to have something to say about it. Next time I read it, I'll be more careful to make connections between the plot and characters and history and religious symbolism.

22. Twilight

2008-12-28T14:07:00.001-07:00

Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer

I hadn't even heard of the Twilight series when I heard a movie was coming out and that teen girls were freaking out about it. After looking into it a little and discovering the story is set in Forks, Washington, I decided I to read the books, or at least the first one. I try to read as much lit set in Washington state as I can, and I do seem to have a habit of testing out vampire novels.

The movie was coming out the next week, and I wanted to see it and get my fix of rainy and green landscapes, so I grabbed up the mass market paperback at the grocery store. For some reason, I have a really hard time going to a movie based on a novel without reading the book first, unless I have no intention of ever reading it. In this case, I thought I'd devour it in a sitting or two as usual for YA, but it didn't come that quickly.

To be honest, I considered giving up on this one several times during the first third of the book. I took to reading a chapter or maybe two before bed each night and wondering when the action would occur. The characters are actually kind of unlikable, especially Bella. Several times I felt like smacking her for either staring dumbly at somebody who just spoke to her or doing stupid things that put her and then, by extension, others in danger. So, I guess she's a realistic enough teenager.

I stuck with it and got hooked on the story, though, even though nothing, literally nothing happens until the last third. Maybe it was all the description of the Olympic peninsula, or maybe it was the dialogue, which is just corny enough to entertain, but not enough to lapse into total parody. In any case, I decided I needed to read the rest of the series to see what has everybody so hooked.

21. Compulsion

2008-12-02T11:25:00.000-07:00

Compulsion, by Jonathan Kellerman

I used to really like Jonathan Kellerman's books. I'll probably never forget Silent Partner, which creeped me out and fascinated me as a teenager. This one was an impulse purchase at the grocery store when I was sick and knew I would need something trashy and easy to read while staying home from work, since I don't have cable tv--no talk shows or soaps for me.

Alex Delaware, the psychiatrist protagonist, seems so boring and stiff as a main character. He seemed so irrelevant to the plot of this "mystery." The story starts with the gruesome stabbing of a retired teacher in a nice neighborhood, in full view of a neighbor. Delaware and his old friend, LAPD Lt. Milo Sturgis, figure out who dunnit really early in the book, so it's more like they're chasing the guy as he leaves a trail of bodies in his wake.

Milo is a far more interesting character, and I think Kellerman should consider writing from his perspective. The shrink plus cop buddy formula used to work pretty well, but only when Dr. Delaware actually did some in-person analysis of people instead of vaguely diagnosing sociopathy from afar, as he did here. There was really very little psychology involoved in the story. Maybe the author is just getting stale, but this book was pretty dang boring. I considered not finishing it, but decided I had nothing better to do on my sickbed. Don't waste your time.

20. Unspoken

2008-11-25T11:25:00.001-07:00

Unspoken, by Mari Jungstedt

Oh, hey. Turns out I did read another of Jungstedt's books. I'm going through my draft posts and reading notes and keep having to refresh my own memory of what I read this year.

I liked this book a little better than Unseen--I think the story was stronger. Again, Inspector Anders Knutas is investigating a murder. Reporter Johan Berg is also back in Gotland, and is still having an affair with Emma, whose best friend was the first victim in the earlier novel. See, I do remember some of the story. This time, there's a missing girl, a murdered photographer, and it's wintertime. The descriptions of the season really set the mood for the creepy mystery.

19. Unseen

2008-11-25T11:15:00.002-07:00

Unseen, by Mari Jungstedt

I'm really behind on posting these, so some of my reading is kind of hazy. This summer I decided to expand my mystery horizons and try out some Swedish authors. This one is a debut novel by Mari Jungstedt, who worked as a journalist. It's not surprising that one of the main characters is a reporter from Stockholm, who comes out to Gotland to cover a gruesome murder.

I'm not sure why, but all the Swedish mysteries I've read so far have a really dispassionate tone. Maybe that's a function of the translation, but it's keeping me from really getting into the stories. I should really start studying Swedish again and try to read something simple in the original language, but it will take me a while to get to that point.

Anyway, Unseen follows the investigation of the murder, which is followed by two more deaths. The serial killer has a pretty cliched motive, and I figured out who did it too early to really enjoy the climax of the story. Still, it was a good story. I think Jungstedt is a good writer and I'll be on the lookout for her other stuff.

18. Inside the Undergraduate Experience

2008-11-25T11:06:00.000-07:00

Inside the Undergraduate Experience: The University of Washington's Study of Undergraduate Learning, by Catherine Hoffman Beyer, Gerald M. Gillmore, and Andrew T. Fisher (2007)

This was a Center for Teaching and Learning selection from back in June. I invariably enjoy the books chosen for discussion, and this one was no different. There's a lot to get through, but it's not as dry as many research studies. The authors included plenty of direct quotes from the students they studied, which made it a much nicer read than I was expecting.

As a humanities librarian, I was most interested in a few specific chapters: Critical Thinking and Problem Solving (ch. 5), Writing (ch.6), and Information Technology and Literacy (ch.8). These sections really got to the heart of what I want to know about what students are thinking as they go through college. The chapters are framed by the researchers, but the students' learning processes are described in their own words. The other thing that really resonated with me was the way students made connections across disciplines and talked about how they became adaptive learners. Fascinating stuff.

17. World Without End

2008-05-20T00:44:00.003-06:00

World Without End, by Ken Follett (2007)

It's been a while since I felt like posting about my reading list. This one's from way back in May. I was vacationing on the Oregon coast with my family, and my dad brought this along in his stack of books. I snatched it up for myself and binge-read the entire thing.

It's a sequel to Follett's The Pillars of the Earth, which I remember really enjoying. I don't read a lot of historical fiction, but that one was interesting. My dad seems to like sweeping, epic stories, and whenever he's recommended something to me, I've liked it. He's the one who gave me Michener's Hawaii when I was in middle school (I loved it).

Anyway, this installment of the story picks up about 200 years after the cathedral was finished and centers on a young mason's apprentice and his romantic interest, the daughter of a wool merchant. I'm not going to pretend to be expert in the culture and history of the middle ages in Europe, but the characters didn't ring true. Caris, the female protagonist, was a very modern feminist and I couldn't help being annoyed by the obvious anacronistic behavior she displayed. Also, the story was a bit of a retread from the first book. Still, I liked it well enough to read all 1024 pages of it.

16. After

2008-05-20T00:43:00.003-06:00

After, by Francine Prose (2004)

Francine Prose wrote a book I liked a lot, called Blue Angel. It kind of fell apart at the end, but that didn't ruin the rest of it for me. She was a visiting writer on campus the first year I was here, but I somehow didn't get to her reading. I've always meant to read more by her, but hadn't until I saw this one at a discount book store in Seaside, OR, while I was on vacation. It surprised me that I hadn't heard Prose had written a book for young readers, and I was curious.

After takes place in a high school, just after a school shooting at a different high school not far away. The story follows the bizarre and frightening aftermath of the shooting, as the school installs a new administrator and enacts ever-tightening security and stricter rules. While pretty obviously an allusion to the erosion of civil liberties after 9/11, I think Prose manages this parallel gracefully. To a teen reader, I imagine it reads more subtly than it did to me. After really reminded me of early YA lit, like The Chocolate War and I am the Cheese, which I mean as a compliment. I'm again surprised I didn't hear about this one earlier--if it got attention, I completely missed it.

15. The Know-it-all

2008-05-20T00:42:00.003-06:00

The Know-it-all: One Man's Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World, by A.J. Jacobs (2005)

I've had this book on my shelf since it came out in paperback a few years ago, but never got around to reading it. By the time I picked it up and started reading, the only think I could remember about it was that it had gotten some good reviews, including some time on NPR, and that the author had written for magazines.

Jacobs, who I learned was an editor at Esquire, is a funny and engaging writer. He manages to make a really silly endeavor, reading the entire Encyclopedia Brittanica in a year, into a very personal narrative of his family, his wife, and his impending fatherhood. I particularly liked his wife, Julie--or, more accurately, the character of Julie--because she tempers Jacobs' tendency to run off in tangents. Very cool device.

I think this book really worked for me because I read it in fairly short chunks over a couple of weeks. Usually, I gobble up books really quickly. This can be like spending too much time with a good friend; the little things start to annoy me. The format of the book helped me divide it out nicely. Because Jacobs inserts sections that mimic encyclopedia entries, it's easy to say, "hey, I'm going to stop after finishing the 'H' section." Portion control is my friend, I've found. So, yeah, I liked this a lot.

14. Generation Me

2008-04-14T13:45:00.004-06:00

Generation Me, by Jean M. Twenge (2007)

Finally, something a bit more substantive! I read this one for a book discussion on campus, which I always like. Honestly, Twenge, who's around my age, kind of lost me with some really broad generalizations that didn't ring at all true to me. Some of my fellow discussors (discussioners? discussion members?) seemed to agree.

I lent my copy to Rick, so I don't have it on hand to find examples I can point you toward. Basically, I disagreed with the entire premise that the kids just now graduating from college and those coming out of high school have a bleaker work outlook that people my age, for example. Remember the early 90s? I'm not going to argue that I walked uphill both ways, but let's acknowledge that late adolescence and early adulthood are really difficult and transitional times, and always have been. I'm thinking of my grandparents and what they had to look forward to at that age, namely the tail end of the depression and World War II.

The other thing that really bugged me was Twenge's heavy reliance on pop culture, which she frames as evidence. No. I watched Dawson's Creek, too, but I wouldn't use one conversation between Dawson and Joey as some kind of revelation about teen hopelessness. Sure, pop culture is a reflection of our society (and sometimes that reflection turns back on itself in truly scary and meta ways), but surely there's some real evidence that could shore up what I would call cute illustrations of phenomena.

Still, I liked reading Generation Me. It made me angry and I often disagreed, but it made me think. It was also the object central to one of the best discussions I've been part of here on campus. Lots of people are critically examining the experiences of our students and working hard to improve their opportunities for learning and future success. So, it was pretty cool to read this and talk about it with smart, interested people.

13. Cheating at Solitaire

2008-04-14T13:42:00.005-06:00

Cheating at Solitaire, by Ally Carter (2005)

I thought I'd give Ally Carter another chance and see if her fiction for adults is better than her YA stuff. Cheating at Solitaire is about Julia James, a self-help author famous for writing about the benefits of being single. Of course, wacky hijinx ensue and she meets cute with a hunky struggling actor. The press makes it out to be a scandalous new romance, just as the actor hits it big.

Guess what happens next. Uh, yeah. They fall for each other and it's a series of misunderstandings culminating in a happy ending. To be fair, the characters are pretty appealing and Carter's style is engaging, so I read the whole thing without getting bored. I'd liken the book to potato chips, rather than a full meal. I enjoyed reading it, but it didn't satisfy me and I forgot most of the plot details and character names within days.

12. I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You

2008-04-14T13:37:00.006-06:00

I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You, By Ally Carter (2006)

Wow, it's been a while since I posted, and my "to-blog" pile keeps growing. This one came before Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy. As usual, I read the second book in the series first and then went back. Well, the first one was pretty unnecessary. It actually kind of irritated me. The idea of a boarding school for girl spies-in-training is a good one, but the execution leaves something to be desired. At least by me.

Maybe it's just that the Cammie character is kind of a drip. She doesn't interest me because she makes dumb decisions that made me continually question her spy ability. Also, the lack of any villain figure totally takes any suspense out of the story. Basically, it's just a fluffy teen romance.

11. Tall, Dark, and Dead

2008-03-31T11:32:00.006-06:00

Tall, Dark, and Dead, by Tate Hallaway (2006)

Last year, I read Halloway's Dead Sexy, the second Garnet Lacy book. I finally got around to reading the first. This was more of an adventure than I expected. I requested the book from a partner library and didn't read it right away when it came in because I always go on sprees and order several at a time. Then, I realized it was coming due soon and I couldn't find it anywhere, so I renewed it and hoped I'd run across it at home or in my office, but hoping I didn't do something stupid like take it with me to Midwinter and leave it in the hotel or on a plane somewhere. When the renewal was finally up, I still couldn't find it and just paid the replacement fee so I wouldn't have a block on my account.

Of course you know what happened. I moved offices a couple of weeks later and found the book wedged beween my desk and the wall, suspended in the air. I hadn't been able to see it when I crawled around the floor and rummaged through every stack of paperwork and books in the office, so I had thought it was gone for good. But, to make a long story a tiny bit shorter, I quickly read the book before turning it in for a refund of my fine.

I have to say I really like these books. The treatment of wicca, while very much magical in the spells and possessions kind of witchcraft, is still pretty respectful to the religion. The characters are interesting, and nobody's all good or all bad. Garnet, the main character, could easily go wrong, but she feels pretty real to me. She makes mistakes and hooks up with (the wrong) guys too quickly, and she doesn't always get what she wants. I like her. It's chick lit in the best sense of the term. I'm trying to get over that label, and was happy to read this in a Q&A with Jennifer Weiner she posted to her blog today:

The good news is, no matter how the publishers and booksellers label the books, and what the critics say (that’s if they bother to say anything at all), readers know what they’re getting with quote-unquote chick lit. They know they’ll laugh, they know they’ll identify with the heroine and her dilemmas, they know her voice will be familiar and that her story will end well. And if that’s what chick lit is, I don’t think it’s so terrible, or so dangerous.

Right on. I read more so-called chick lit and young adult lit than most other stuff, and that's okay. More "serious" stuff is great, but I don't always feel like it, especially these days when I'm reading about research methods, pedagogy, and library trends and services all day long. Sometimes I just want something fun to curl up with in the evening. The Garnet Lacy books really do the trick.

10. Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy

2008-03-23T23:16:00.006-06:00

Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy, by Ally Carter (2007)

I can't remember why I ordered this one from the library--it was probably something I saw at the Hyperion booth. I definitely like teen lit with interesting settings. This one's set in an elite private school for girls (pretty typical) in Washington D.C. (less typical), but the twist is that the school trains teens to be future spies (atypical). The protagonist is Cammie, the headmistress's daughter, who had gotten into some trouble in the first Gallagher Girls book, which took place earlier in the same school year.

I think I'm cursed to grab the second book in every series I encounter. I don't think it really made much difference in this case, because even though Cammie's previous escapades were referenced often, there was enough explanation to fill me in, as is often the case in series like this. The story is pretty simple, actually, but I still enjoyed it. I found the ending of the book kind of unsatisfactory, but I expect this in

9. Bye Bye Love

2008-03-12T16:31:00.003-06:00

Bye Bye Love, by Virginia Swift (2005)

This mystery is set in Laramie, where I live, so I was excited to read it. I wasn't familiar with the author or the series before this book, so I didn't really have any expectations. The heroine, "Mustang" Sally Adler is a professor at the University of Wyoming and singer in a local band. She's approached by a musical hero of hers and asked to look after his ex-wife, who lives outside of town. Of course, the ex-wife is murdered, and Sally goes to work to find out who killed her.

I like mysteries because they're entertaining and usually fairly quick, easy reads. I especially like ones set in places I know because it's fun to recognize the landscape of the story. The Laramie in this story didn't really feel like the town I'm still getting to know. I'm thinking that some of the bars and restaurants are renamed versions of real places, but I'm not sure. The mystery was pretty good, though. The victim was involved in an animal rights/environmental group, which was an interesting choice that build in good conflict with the hunting culture. Even though the local flavor wasn't quite what I was looking for, I'll probably check out more from this author.

8. Dead Dry

2008-03-12T16:23:00.003-06:00

Dead Dry, by Sarah Andrews (2005)

My friend Mary Ann lent me a couple of mysteries set in the Mountain West. I've been meaning to start reading more stuff set here, so this was a good start. The protagonist of the Em Hansen series was born in Wyoming, educated as a geologist in Colorado, and works as a forensic geologist in Salt Lake City. So, we've got the MW pretty well covered.

I generally don't have a lot to say about mysteries, but I enjoyed this one. There was a lot of discussion of the unique land formations in this area, which was cool. The discussion of the impending drought really freaks me out, though, because it's so real. Before moving here, I never considered that people would actually live on land on which they couldn't drill a well. I know a few people who haul their own water, which seems insane to me. Then again, I now live on an unpaved road and I never thought that would happen, either.

The Em character is appealing, and so were her friends and colleagues. I'll probably try to read more from this series, especially if any of the books spend time in Wyoming.

7. Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You

2008-02-23T01:52:00.000-07:00

Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You, by Peter Cameron (2007)

My friend SJ recommended this and I ordered it from the library immediately. I suggest you do the same.

The narrator, James, is an eighteen-year-old alienated misfit from a wealthy family in New York. Don't let that description turn you off. I really liked this kid and his descriptions of the people around him. There are lots of novels about angsty teen outsiders, but this one didn't come off as pretentious or derivative.

James can't really relate to most people, but he isn't cruel or weird. He's just uncomfortable and disinterested. I can't really explain what I liked about this, but I read it in a two-hour binge when I was tired and it was well-past bedtime (check the timestamp on this post). I just couldn't stop reading it. I especially liked the semantic arguments James has with other people, most notably his therapist. It made sense for this character to really care about using the right words. I also liked all the art references in the book. James' mother owns a gallery, and three pivotal scenes take place in museums. It works.

6. Notorious

2008-02-23T01:37:00.000-07:00

Notorious, by Michele Martinez (March 2008)

This book wins the prize for creepiest cover I've run across in a while. Seriously, look at the obscenely long toenails on the woman pictured. The trend of showing just a woman's feet or legs on a book cover is getting kind of old in general, but they could have at least given this model a pedicure before taking the picture.

Anyway, there's nothing remarkable about Notorious, really. It's well-written and the story was interesting enough to make me finish it, though it did take me almost a week to get through it. I generally read books in one or two sittings, but the last two haven't grabbed me enough to sit still. This one's the fourth in a series, which I didn't realize when I picked it up. I'd never heard of the author, but then, I don't really follow the genre.

The protagonist, Melanie Vargas, is an Assistant U.S. Attorney on a big murder case against a ganster-turned-rapper named Atari Briggs. Her opposing counsel is blown to bits in front of her, right after approaching her with an offer of cooperation. The story follows the case as Melanie and the feds unravel the story of who killed Lester Poe and why, at the same time they continue their investigation and case against Briggs. The problem I had was that there's really no mystery. We know from the beginning who's good and who's bad and the conspiracy is pretty easy to figure out. The characters rang true, and that's probably why I kept reading, but I think the story suffered because we knew too much about too many of them. Maybe I harp on this too much, but it's not fun to know more than the hero of the story. I wanted to figure out the case right alongside Melanie, but I was always two steps ahead of her because Martinez let us inside the heads of the other characters. It was disappointing.

5. Night Road

2008-02-20T20:39:00.000-07:00

Night Road (A.M. Jenkins, 2008)

Vampire novels are fun, and I enjoy seeing the different mythologies authors come up with. This story is the first that makes being a vampire seem completely unglamorous. Jenkins' vampires don't even like to be called vampires--they're hemivores and regular humans are omnivores, or "omnis."
The story is about Cole, who's part of a hemi collective in New York City, but spends most of his time traveling alone on the road. Johnny, the leader of the group, calls Cole back to the Building and charges him with the task of mentoring a new and problematic young hemi.

Night Road is very well written and I was interested in the characters, but the story is pretty flat. Not much actually happens. This is pretty effective, because it reinforced how dreary and repetitive the lives of the hemis really are. I liked the novel, but I wasn't completely captivated by it. It has potential as the start of a series, but I don't know for sure that's what's going to happen. The pots would have to get more interesting, but the characters are interesting enough that some excitement would keep my interest. So, I have mixed feelings about this one.

4. The Loser's Guide to Love and Life

2008-02-12T08:59:00.000-07:00

The Loser's Guide to Love and Life (A.E. Cannon, June 2008)

Teen lit is so easy to read between journal articles, and I'm afraid I won't be able to get into adult lit for a while. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

I'm not familiar with the author's other work, but she's won some impressive YA awards. The book is pretty entertaining. It focuses on four teens, but I'd say that Ed is the main character. He works at a video store and doesn't have his own name tag yet, so he wears one left behind by a former employee named Sergio. You see where this is going, right? So a cute girl comes into the store and thinks his name is Sergio. Ed takes the opportunity to create a suave alter ego and doesn't correct her. It kinds of reminds me of John/Giovanni in Hard Love, not that the situations or stories are the same.

The novel is made up of alternating chapters from the four characters' persepectives. Ed and Scout, his best female friend, get first person narratives. Quark, Ed's next-door neighbor and other best friend writes in his lab manual, and Ellie, Ed's love interest, writes letters to her family and mentally composes unsent emails to her ex-boyfriend. I'm all about the epistolary device, but in this case, Quark and Ellie are less developed characters because of it. I'm also not a huge fan of shifting first-person narratives. It seems cheap and easy, instead of letting the reader see the characters through the eyes of the narrator, whether omniscient or a protagonist.

So, this one was okay, and a decent way to spend a couple of hours on a lazy Sunday, but it probably won't stick with me like some of the better YA fiction I've found.

3. Girl v. Boy

2008-02-10T12:32:00.000-07:00

Girl v. Boy (Yvonne Collins & Sandy Rideout, July 2008)

I picked up the authors' last book, The Black Sheep, last year at Midwinter and enjoyed it. So when I swung by the Hyperion booth and saw they had a new one out this year, I grabbed a copy.

This one's another story about an outsider. Luisa has two best friends, but she doesn't mix with other kids at school or participate in any activities. That changes when she starts writing an anonymous column for the school paper. Hijinx ensue, natuarally.

I liked that the book was about a bunch of mostly Hispanic teens in Chicago. And none of them are wealthy or fabulously gorgeous, except the stock evil, queen-bee bully, Mariah. That's pretty rare, in my experience. The kids were likeable and pretty realistic, although it did require a healthy suspension of disbelief that Luisa would all of a sudden attract not one, not two, but four cute boys at the same time.

It's a good read and recommended, though the ending was a bit too tidy for my taste and the big plot reveal was foreshadowed a little too much.

2. The Break-up Diet

2008-01-31T11:19:00.000-07:00

The Break-up Diet, by Annette Fix (August, 2008)

I finally got my first Early Reviewers book a few days ago, and decided to read a few chapters last night. Well, just over two hours passed by and I was finished with the whole thing.

I don't really think of my posts here as reviews, but that's what I signed up to do on LibraryThing. My reviews are pretty brief, but probably a little more meaty than the two sentences you often get from Publisher's Weekly.

This memoir reads like chick lit, the good kind. I kept forgetting it wasn't a novel as I read it. Every "character" feels real and Annette's voice is really authentic. It's a quick read and fun, even when working through some really tough, emotional stuff. It's not the kind of thing I usually read, but enjoyed it. If you like Jennifer Weiner's work (and I definitely do), you'll probably like this.

1. Ghostgirl

2008-01-28T14:37:00.001-07:00

Ghostgirl, Tonya Hurley (2008)

I picked this up at Midwinter at the YALSA booth. My friend Jenine, a teen librarian, handed it to me and said it was or was probably going to be a quick pick title. It was loud in there and I might be misremembering what I misheard. I totally can't resist free advance copies of teen lit, so I was happy to have it.

The book is about an unhappily unpopular girl named Charlotte Usher, who starts the new school year with a plan to become more popular and get the attention of Damien, the boy she adores. Of course, shenanigans ensue, and Charlotte chokes to death on a gummy bear right after managing to get partnered with Damien in physics class. The story follows Charlotte as she tries to adjust to her new afterlife in Dead Ed, the school for dead teenagers. At the same time, Charlotte isn't ready to move on from Damien and we get to see how she plots to get close to him.

It's really cute with all the allusions to literature and music, usually with a gothic flavor. Each chapter begins with a quote from somebody like Emily Dickinson, Martin L. Gore, or The Cure. It's clever without being obnoxious. When this comes out in August, I recommend checking it out. There's a website (and a MySpace, of course) for the book, too.

52. Blue Monday

2007-09-11T19:54:00.001-06:00

Blue Monday (Chynna Clugston-Major)

Vol 1: The Kids are Alright (2000)
Vol 2: Absolute Beginners (2001)
Vol 3: Inbetween Days (2003)
Vol 4: Painted Moon (2005)

I'm counting all four volumes of this comic as one book. I hadn't heard of Blue Monday until SJ included it in her two-part guide to women lead characters in graphic novels at BlogHer last month. Check out parts one and two.

It sounded perfect for me because it's set in the late 80s/early 90s and follows a group of kids into punk and new wave music. The musical references were great, and I liked the characters okay, but I got a little tired of it by volume four. I really think comics are best served up slowly over time. These collections make me gobble up the whole thing at one time because I have no self-control. But I liked it and will probably look for Clugston's other work.

51. Which Brings Me to You

2007-09-10T11:33:00.001-06:00

Which Brings Me to You: A Novel in Confessions (Steve Almond & Julianna Baggott, 2006)

More Steve Almond. I tend to request several things from one writer at the same time, so my holds often come in as themed batches. I liked this a ton, and think the collaboration worked wonderfully. The story opens on a failed wedding reception hookup between Jane and John. The two, who live in different states, decide to get to know one another through confessions they'll send back and forth through the mail. Except for the first and last chapters, the entire novel is made up of this correspondence. The premise sounds too cute, but the execution was really interesting and unexpected.

This book was devastating. That's overly dramatic, I know. But several passages, especially from Jane's letters, could have been ripped from my head, word for word. It's hard to see thoughts and feelings exactly like my own, laid bare on the page. The confessions are wonderful and terrible, and I believed in these two broken, sad people trying to make a connection. The final chapter let me down just a tiny bit, but don't let that stop you from trying this one out.

50. The Discomfort Zone

2007-09-10T11:17:00.001-06:00

The Discomfort Zone: A Personal History (Jonathan Franzen, 2007)

First off, I must confess I still haven't read The Corrections. I bought it when it first came out in trade paper because it was on ridiculous sale at the bookstore in Wallingford Center when I was buying my glasses, but have been resistant to starting it, probably because it was so hyped and can't possibly live up to expectations. Also it's fat and therefore sits unread on the shelf with its fellow weighty and intimidating tome, DeLillo's Underworld. I'm not too proud to admit this.

I ordered this for the library, and when it came in, something made me grab it up off the new books shelf. I was in a bit of a memoir phase at the time. Anyway, I really, really loved it. Franzen mostly sticks to his adolescence, which is of course a period rife with embarrassments and torments. This ground has been covered exhaustively by too many writers to list, but this is a pretty fresh take on a familiar subject. Also, I liked the way Franzen tells his stories in pieces, as interconnected essays. The deviation from a strict, linear narrative made so much sense. The point of memoir isn't to lay out a strict chronology, after all. I care about the feelings and experiences and how they fit together. Now that I've finished this, I think I might be ready for The Corrections in the next few months.

49. The Evil B.B. Chow and Other Stories

2007-09-10T10:46:00.001-06:00

The Evil B.B. Chow and Other Stories (Steve Almond, 2005)

I fell in love with Steve Almond because of the genius that is Candy Freak and have long vowed to follow up and read more of him. I'm just now getting around to it. Perhaps it's unfortunate that I chose this collection to start with. First, I have trouble finishing short stories. Then I don't know how to talk about them as a collection. I started this while I was in Seattle and finished it up over the weekend, so it didn't drag on as long as some of the other collections still sitting half-finished on my night stand.

The stories here are really varied. I think I was expecting a theme to emerge, but there really wasn't one except maybe that all the stories dealt with relationships of some sort. One particularly strange one is "Lincoln, Arison," which is about a relationship between Abraham Lincoln and Fredrick Douglass. A page or two into it, I was really tempted to skip it, but I was drawn in by the characterizations of both men. A couple of pieces really didn't work for me, like "The Soul Molecule" and "Skull." But I really enjoyed the rest, especially the title story and "Wired for Life." Almond does well with the female voice, which I appreciate.

48. Dead Sexy

2007-09-07T10:58:00.000-06:00

Dead Sexy (Tate Holloway, 2007)

A few pages into this, I realized it was a sequel. I hate reading things out of order, but it's okay. Most authors summarize what's happened before, so it doesn't take too long to get into the story. I can't remember where I heard about this book and why I thought I'd like it, but it came in on request at the library. I'm borrowing so much stuff that it's hard to keep track of it.

Basically, the Garnet Lacey books are chicklit romances with a magical theme. Garnet is a witch and both her boyfriend and ex-boyfriend are vampires. In the previous book, Garnet's coven was murdered by Vatican assassins. Lilith, the goddess who lives inside Garnet (and partially in her boyfriend--yeah, weird) slaughtered the assassins. A year later, the bodies surfaced and the FBI started investigating. I was not buying any of this for the first couple of chapters, but it was such a quick read that I thought I'd give it a shot. I ended up finishing the whole thing last night.

It's not a great story, really, but I ended up liking the characters. I'd like to call it a mystery, but besides the FBI agent, nobody's really investigating anything. It's more like Garnet and her boyfriends are trying to figure out how to keep themselves out of trouble. There's a subplot involving voodoo and zombies, but it doesn't amount to much besides a few extra action sequences. Dead Sexy is a fun, easy read, but I'm not sure I'll stick with the series.

47. JPod

2007-08-31T21:41:00.000-06:00

JPod (Douglas Coupland, 2006)

JPod was fun. It's definitely similar to Microserfs, as so many others have mentioned. That was a selling point for me, as I really liked Microserfs, the second best in Coupland's oeuvre. I still maintain that Shampoo Planet is the best Coupland and that Generation X is actually kind of boring. All true.

This time around, I actually enjoyed reading the weird stuff interspersed in the narrative. I'm not sure whether that means my attention span is improving or the weird stuff is getting more interesting. There's no plot worth describing. The characters and dialogue are what kept me interested. It's definitely a lightweight book full of pop culture references and a very odd self-referential storyline. It's like meta-meta. Don't read this unless stuff like that doesn't bug you. I liked it, but can see why it's annoying.

46. In Persuasion Nation

2007-08-16T21:31:00.000-06:00

In Persuasion Nation (George Saunders, 2006)

Last year at Bumbershoot, I went to the George Saunders reading because my friends Melanie and Ed wanted to go. I hadn't read any of his stuff and didn't really know what to expect. It turns out he's an excellent reader, and his work really lends itself to being read aloud. I read the first piece, "I Can Speak," out loud to my friend the other day, and while I don't think I'm all that good a reader, it was kind of fun. Anyway, after the reading, I was all excited and bought In Persuasion Nation and stood in line for Saunders to sign it. Then I forgot all about it, even though a different friend lent me two more of his books, which sit unread in my living room stack. (That reminds me I need to finish them so I can return them when I go back to Seattle at the end of the month.) I came across my untouched copy of In Persuasion Nation again recently when I was organizing my luggage. It seems I tucked the book into the outside pocket of my littlest suitcase, which I guess I didn't unpack completely. So I decided it was about time to read it.

I found this collection a bit uneven. Some of the stories are great, but others left me cold. I particularly disliked "The Red Bow." Don't get me wrong; the best stories made up for the ones I didn't love. I'd definitely recommend Saunders after reading this and I'm looking forward to Pastoralia and CivilWarLand. Maybe books of short stories just aren't totally my thing. I have a really hard time finishing them. In fact, I've started and stalled on three other collections that sit here on my nightstand, mocking me. I always like reading one or two, but then get hungry for the satisfaction of an entire novel and move on without finishing.

45. We Are So Crashing Your Bar Mitzvah!

2007-08-16T18:29:00.000-06:00

We Are So Crashing your Bar Mitzvah! (Fiona Rosenbloom, 2007)

I didn't love this book. It was a really quick read (I read it in fewer than 40 minutes) and was pretty simplistic. All the action took place in the first week or so of Stacy and her best friend Lydia's eighth grade year. The two of them came home from a fun summer at camp to find that their other best friend, Kelly, has officially joined the cool girl group they were all on the periphery of the previous year. The "Chicas" are typical vapid followers with a mean girl queen named Kym.

When Kym's equally assy cousin Eben hands out invitations to his ultra-posh bar mitzvah, the Chicas are invited, but Stacy and Lydia are snubbed. So the crashing plan is born. I think the idea for the story could have worked, but the one-dimensional characters, Stacy's unrealistic epiphany, and the neatly tied up ending made the whole thing kind of lame. There's a lot better YA stuff than this.

44. Among Other Things, I've Taken Up Smoking

2007-08-14T00:01:00.000-06:00

Among Other Things, I've Taken Up Smoking (Aoibheann Sweeney, 2007)

My daily NYT habit has led me to a lot of good books this year. I read this review and immediately requested AOTITUS. That title is way to long for me to keep typing out. I have a weakness for first novels, even though a good one inevitably leaves me waiting years for the author's next attempt. So maddening.

This one's about Miranda, a kind of weird, lonely girl who lives on a tiny Maine island with her father, who's translating Ovid's Metamorphoses. Her mother died when Miranda was three, in what could have been an accident or might have been a suicide. Ovid's stories are woven into Miranda's in a wonderfully natural way. Miranda's father is withdrawn and interested only in his work and she's actually being raised by Mr. Blackwell, a mysterious friend of her father's. When Miranda graduates from high school, her father sends her to New York City to work at a library he founded years before. There, she meets people from her father's past and starts to realize the truth behind the her parents' mysterious past and how they ended up in Maine.

Coming of age stories can be painful and trite, but this one is lovely. I liked that the novel was separated into three sections (The Age of Silver, The Age of Bronze, and the Age of Steel), each named for parts of the origin of the world according to Book One of Metamorphoses, and each of which represents a different part of Miranda's story. It's clever without knocking you over the head. Sweeney has a real gift for language that's both spare and descriptive, and her facility with allusion is really amazing. I usually don't like books that use one source so extensively, maybe because I haven't read enough of the canon to be familiar with most of what's used, but this time it worked for me. Maybe that's because I've read Ovid more than once, and am pretty familiar with Greek mythology in general. But the book is definitely good, and through Miranda, Sweeney sneaks in enough explanation and interpretation that you don't even need to know the stories before coming to this book.

43. In the Drink

2007-08-12T20:55:00.001-06:00

In the Drink (Kate Christensen, 1999)

The New York Times reviewed Christensen's new book, which sounded interesting, so I requested it from the library along with her first novel, In the Drink. The blurbs on the jacket almost convinced me to give it a pass, but I'm glad I pressed on. Several reviews compare Claudia, our heroine, to Bridget Jones, but that's to be expected now that BJ is considered the prototype for chick lit protags. Claudia and Bridget aren't really all that alike except that they're both in debt and prone to making poor decisions.

Claudia's a different kind of mess, though. She drinks too much, has a terrible job she's terrible at, and spends her money on takeout and vodka instead of rent. She's unfortunately too believable. One thing that makes this book a little different from true chic lit is that it's really not a romance. It's kind of lightweight and quick, but it's not dumb. I liked it.

42. The Brooklyn Follies

2007-08-11T21:55:00.000-06:00

The Brooklyn Follies (Paul Auster, 2006)

Hey, two NYC books in a row. I don't know about you, but I often have amazing affection for authors I studied in school. I took a lot of really amazing classes in college, one of which was on narratives of the city. We read Paul Auster's New York Trilogy, and I've loved him and wanted to read more of him ever since. I just ordered some of his stuff for the library and snagged this one off the new books shelf as soon as it came in.

Read this book! It's all about family, especially the family you create for yourself. It's about having your heart broken, over and over, and figuring out how to go on and finally heal. I loved it. There's no way I can describe it without sounding cheesy. It should have read as cheesy, but it doesn't. Basically, the protagonist/narrator is Nathan Glass, who has survived cancer but has nothing to live for and no real plan for his life. He moves to Brooklyn and starts making re-making connections with other people. I can't describe it. Just read it.

41. The New Yorkers

2007-08-04T11:14:00.001-06:00

The New Yorkers (Cathleen Schine, 2007)

Several years back, I read Cathleen Schine's The Love Letter. I remember liking it, but most of the details escape me now. Of course I remember the love letter the woman found in a book and the affair she has with a very young man, but I don't really remember the tone of the book or the quality of Schine's writing. My lingering impression was that it was chick lit, light and easy.

I thought The New Yorkers would be similar. The conceit, characters linked together through their dogs, was appealing. I was expecting more chick lit, but that's not what I got. The (human) characters are all lonely and fragile, lacking many firm connections to other people. I felt for them even though I didn't really like any of them very much, but it was wearing to keep reading through their sadness. The tenuous connections the characters make with one another are interesting--some grow stronger and some break completely.

These relationships brought back memories of my neighborhood on Capitol Hill, where I knew people on sight, and even talked to them regularly, but we hardly ever even exchanged names. I guess that kind of acquaintance is a pretty urban phenomenon, but probably more so in certain cities. The dogs in the story really add another layer of authenticity. I can't count the number of times I knew a person and his dog by sight, but we only ever introduced the dogs by name.

40. The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl

2007-08-03T14:20:00.001-06:00

The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl (Barry Lyga, 2006)

Fanboy is a fifteen year old kid with one friend to his name, who's unhappily living with his pregnant mother and stepfather following his parents' divorce, is alternately bullied and ignored at school, and is obsessed with/writing comic books. Excuse me--graphic novels. Goth Girl is the fellow outcast who befriends him. The teenage alienation rings really true here. Nothing's exaggerated and the characters seem three-dimensional. It wasn't predictable and kept me interested the whole way through. So many YA titles seem to fall apart at the end. So I liked it.

The only problem I had with the book is that I kept comparing it to Hard Love, which features an angsty kid dealing with divorced parents, who has only one friend, and meets a cool and mysterious girl, and is obsessed with/writing zines. And as Hard Love is one of my all-time favorite books EVER, Fanboy and Goth Girl suffer from my comparison.

39. Why Moms are Weird

2007-08-01T04:04:00.000-06:00

Why Moms are Weird (Pamela Ribon, 2006)

I started this before bed with the intention of reading a chapter or two, but now it's 4am and I'm finished. I should know better; I can do the chapter-by-chapter routine with heavy, serious books, but not chick lit.

This has been on my list for a while. I was once a huge pamie.com reader, loved Pamie's Gilmore Girls recaps on TWoP, and laughed hysterically through her first novel, Why Girls Are Weird. (I have three words for you: tiny wooden hand.) Maybe my expectations were too high, but I didn't love this. Don't get me wrong, Pamie--er, Pamela--is an excellent writer. She's great at capturing what so many of us have thought or felt, only in a really beautiful and clear way. Like this:

I've been romanced, dumped, caressed, fondled, and destroyed in the confines of my car. It's the shell that protects me when the rest of the world can seem so infinite. When everything in love becomes too chaotic, I can take a man to the smallest place that can contain us, force him to look at me and tell me the truth.

Lovely, no? But wait. Benny, the protagonist, is achingly real. But I hated her family. Hated. I started to hate her for letting them treat her like crap over and over. Yeah, maybe that's real, too. Still, I thought the book was a downer. Not even the love interest, who was kind of an ass himself, kept me that interested. The alternate love interest was a total jackass and I was annoyed every time he entered a scene. I guess I was hoping for more ha-ha funny instead of mean funny. Huh.

38. American Born Chinese

2007-07-30T10:15:00.001-06:00

American Born Chinese (Gene Luen Yang, 2006)

The graphic novels I've been ordering are coming in, and I keep forgetting to grab and read them. This one was a National Book Award finalist and won a YALSA award, for good reason. I have a hard time describing books like this without making them sound cheesy. Three interconnected stories make up the book, and I really enjoyed the way Yang moved back and forth between them. It took me a while to get how they were related, but I didn't care because I liked it all so much. I enjoyed the story and the artwork are equally, which isn't always the case for me with graphic novels.

37. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

2007-07-22T03:27:00.000-06:00

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (J.K. Rowling, 2007)

Like eleventy million other people, I pre-ordered this and waited impatiently for the UPS truck to bring it on Saturday. When it still hadn't arrived after 6pm, I was vexed. A Twitter friend of mine told me hers came via USPS, and when I ran to the mailbox, I found that mine had, too. Why didn't UPS's tracker tell me they were handing it off to the (often unreliable in my neighborhood) mail delivery? Grr. In any case, I had an errand to run at dusk, so I was finally able to start reading it a little before 8pm. Interrupted only by an hour long phone call, I finished at 3:20am.

I'm not saying anything about the story, except that it was a really entertaining read that had me hooked from the first chapter.

36. The Black Sheep

2007-07-20T23:46:00.001-06:00

The Black Sheep (Yvonne Collins and Sandy Rideout, 2007)

Another entertainment industry teen story for you. This time, the story focuses on a sheltered New Yorker who's selected to trade places with a girl from a big hippie family in Monterrey and have the whole thing taped for a new reality show. I thought it would be really implausible, but the story grabbed me. It's not genius, but was super entertaining. I have a few problems with the end of the book, but all in all, this was one of the more entertaining YA titles I've picked up in a while.

35. The Posse/Starlet

2007-07-20T13:09:00.000-06:00

Starlet (Randi Reisfeld, 2007)

It seems this series was renamed before the first book came out. My galley was called The Posse, which is a better name and more descriptive of the story, in my opinion. Anyway, for a silly story about instant fame, it's pretty good. We follow the winner of an American Idol-like television show for aspiring actors as she hits Hollywood and becomes immersed in the movie industry. She brings two friends and her cousin along for the ride, forming the posse that gets into some of its own drama and conflict. The nasty anonymous blogger device is probably stolen from the Gossip Girls series, which I haven't read, but it worked nicely to create tension. The next installment comes out later this year, so if you can't get enough, you don't have long to wait. Starlet, as it's now called, is the literary equivalent of One Tree Hill. It's entertaining and quick, but you won't remember it in a week.

34. Fun Home

2007-07-19T01:48:00.003-06:00

Fun Home (Alison Bechdel, 2006)

This book will definitely make my best-list this year. I'm a little annoyed with myself for not getting to it sooner. I picked it up for free at Midwinter on the last day, when the Houghton-Mifflin rep was trying to get rid of stuff (other scores included The Worst Hard Time and the latest Best American Short Stories, Essays, and Graphic Novels--worth hauling home). So it's been sitting in my massive, unwieldy pile for months. Damn.

What can I say that hasn't already been said much more eloquently than I'm capable of? I loved this book. The drawings are clever and funny and really descriptive. The dialogue is perfect and heartbreaking. I tend to shy away from stories of family drama, but I'm so glad I read this. It's wonderful.

33. Obsession

2007-07-19T01:48:00.001-06:00

Obsession (Jonathan Kellerman, 2007)

Back in the day, I read all the Jonathan Kellerman I could get my grubby, teenaged hands on. They all blend together, and the only title I can actually remember is Silent Partner, because of the creepy twin angle and the graphic sex. Obsession is already blending into the rest of Kellerman's oeuvre, even though this is the first of his I've read in probably ten years. It all feels like a retread: implausible "mystery," waif-like patient with obsessive disorder, creepy psychopaths, hints of incest. I should have followed Nancy Pearl's 50 page rule and bailed on this, but it was a fast, brainless read that got me through a half-day home with an upset stomach. So I guess it was worth it.

32. Flower Children

2007-07-15T11:54:00.000-06:00

Flower Children (Maxine Swann, 2007)

I read about Flower Children in the NYT recently, which prompted me to get it from the library. I like Swann's style and the dreamy quality of her prose, but I got kind of tired of the stories by the end of the book. A few of the stronger stories stand out and I'm betting those were the original material she published in lit journals. I'd like to read Swann's first novel, Serious Girls. From what I've read, I gather that Flower Children is almost a memoir, and I'd like to see what Swann does with different characters.

Several memoirs and memoir-style novels are in my vast bookpile, and for some reason I'm digging them right now. I keep starting and not finishing them, though. Maybe my next task will be to go finish all my half-read books or abandon them for good.

31. The Historian

2007-07-11T22:19:00.001-06:00

The Historian (Elizabeth Kostova, 2005)

This is the book that really slowed my progress in this reading project. For months it's been sitting in my "to-read" pile and I've been avoiding it like the plague. Several people have recommended it enthusiastically, but it was hard to get in the mood to read something dense. I finally decided to tackle it, but it took me a week to get past the first couple of chapters and then a couple more weeks to finish it.

Basically, this book stressed me out. Once I was almost halfway through part one I was hooked, but it was slow going because the subject matter made me anxious. It's probably good I read this during the summer because it would have freaked me out more during the windy, bleak winter. Now I'm finished and still don't know how I feel or what I think about it.

Kostova is an excellent writer and her story is full of amazing detail. I enjoyed the heavy use of letters and exerpts from the documents the characters were studying, as well as the mystery central to the story. I must say that when Dracula finally appears, I was disappointed. He was kind of a dud, in fact. The other part that bothered me was the epilogue. I think I would have liked the book to just end after chapter 79, which was itself mostly exposition. That last chapter was different enough in tone to almost take me out of the story, but then to add the epilogue seemed like overkill. That's just my opinion. I guess I liked The Historian, but it thoroughly creeped me out for many nights and I'm glad to be done with it.

30. Easter Everywhere

2007-06-25T21:08:00.000-06:00

Easter Everywhere (Darcey Steinke, 2007)

I'm not sure how I feel about Easter Everywhere. The first two thirds of the book were really interesting, but the end seemed to drag for me. It feels weird to criticize a book when it's somebody's life story. Steinke is a lovely writer and she tells her story without explaining the backstory or interpreting its meaning. Very unusual. Her relationship with religion is central to the book, but I thought it got a bit tiresome in the end. I'm sure that's my own bias creeping in. I read part one during lunch, then finished it off when I got home this evening, so it definitely held my attention for the most part.

I haven't read any of Steinke's novels and know of her only from her magazine work, which I've always enjoyed. Perhaps I'd have a better understanding or appreciation for her memoir if I had checked out her longer fiction first. I'm definitely intrigued enough to try.

29. Sunstroke

2007-06-03T14:37:00.000-06:00

Sunstroke (Jesse Kellerman, 2006)

I had heard about Jesse Kellerman's debut a while back, but only picked this up when I was at the newsstand and wanted something to read over lunch yesterday. Everything--from the blurbs I've read to the cover art--advertises Sunstroke as a mystery/thriller. Dress this up in trade paper instead of mass market and change the cover art, and I bet reviewers would start discussing its merits as a literary novel instead of in terms of the mystery.

It took me a while to warm up to Gloria because I hated her passivity. I was also annoyed that the author began the book with a serving of the standard cliches about single women filling their lives with cats and other "evidence of their solitude." It was the missing Carl who interested me. I wanted to know what happened to him and as his story slowly unfolded, I was hooked. Kellerman's descriptive passages are beautifully written, but subtly so and I think that's what drew me in. The first chapter of his next book was included here as a teaser, and it hooked me.

28. The It Chicks

2007-05-27T22:18:00.001-06:00

The It Chicks (Tia Williams, 2007)

Wow, this is an engrossing story. The title is a little misleading because the story focuses on more than just the "It Chicks," including other people in their orbit. In fact, I'd argue that Tangie, the central character, is less concerned with being one of the popular girls than she is with dancing. That's pretty refreshing.

The story begins with Tangie's first day at Armstrong, a selective performing arts high school in Manhatten, where she is going to major in dance. There's a lot jam-packed into the book, which just covers the first week of school. Tangie's best friend, Skye, got into the school a year before Tangie, and is one of the cool girls. Izzie, another new girl Tangie befriends, is kind of an outsider who the It Chicks find threatening. Tangie is a strong character who stands up for her unique new friend when other girls make fun of her. She also realizes that Skye is really self-involved and not a good friend, but doesn't abandon her. This character is such a nice change from the girls I've been reading about in young adult novels. She makes mistakes and has some insecuries, but is a smart, confident, good person.

The kids in the story are mostly African American, mostly well-off, and all quite talented. The rich kids in private school trope is nothing new, but I liked the change from the blonde barbies and slackers that seem to dominate this kind of story. There's plenty of the standard drugs, drinking, and sex stuff here, but it happens in a way that seems organic to the kids and their varying personalities. Even the peripheral characters seemed real. I was expecting the usual stereotypical competitive meanness and vapid teenspeak I'm used to, but I was pleasantly surprised. The only thing that bothered me is that the book just ended right as everything fell apart. I'm praying for a sequel.

As a bonus, I'll point you to Tia Williams's awesome blog. In addition to authoring books, Williams is Beauty Director at TeenPeople and has written for lots of other magazines, including Lucky. That must be why her name is so familiar to me. Also? She has wicked style and contributes to Glam.com.

27. Flight

2007-05-16T11:46:00.000-06:00

Flight (Sherman Alexie, 2007)

This was an impulse purchase at the airport. I knew Alexie had a new book out, but hadn't looked into it yet for some reason. I should just make it a point to go back a read everything he's written, because it's always awesome. Flight is different from anything else I've ever read, really. The main character, Zits, is a half-Indian, half-white foster kid in Seattle. He's always in trouble and has a bad attitude, but is a really engaging, funny character. If somebody described the story to me, I'd think it sounded hokey and wouldn't be interested, so I won't get into much detail. Basically, Zits travels through time, jumping into the bodies of a variety of people in history. It's all fascinating and realistic. Seriously, this is good stuff--I read it straight through on my Seattle-Denver flight and couldn't wait to foist in on all my friends. I've already lent it to one and promised it to another. Read this one!

26. Bleed

2007-05-16T11:31:00.000-06:00

Bleed (Laurie Faria Stolarz, 2006)

Bleed is the first set of short stories I've read this year. Each one is a first-person account from a different teen and the stories are interconnected. As you might expect, some stories work better than others. All the kids are messed up and I actively disliked some of them. Nicole, whose story opens the book is pretty sympathetic, and I felt terrible for poor Sadie. I also liked Sean, but the rest of them range from horrible to criminally stupid. I especially hated Mearl, who speaks in an affected and dippy way, talking about auras and calling people "wonderfully crimson." I didn't like this book, but it was all I had on the Denver-Seattle flight, so I finished it.

25. Masquerade

2007-05-07T14:52:00.000-06:00

Masquerade (Melissa de la Cruz, 2007)

Hey, look how timely I am. Masquerade is new and out this month! The second in the Blue Bloods series, Masquerade starts up right where Blue Bloods left off. I actually liked it better because the mythology is all firmly in place and Schuyler knows what's going on. There's less of the introductory exposition and more action. And we finally find out who the Silver Blood in disguise, though not before he or she attacks again! The two books are kind of mashed together in my head because I read them back-to-back on Saturday. I read the author's blog and see that she's working on the third enstallment (as well as books in two other series she has going, plus a new one) and it's due in fall 2008. Guess I'll be on the lookout for that one at the Hyperion booth at the next Midwinter. Seriously, Hyperion Teens has delivered consistently good YA stuff lately.

Back to the book. This one has a trip to Italy to find a long lost relative, a fabulous ball, and an exclusive masquerade after party. Schuyler learns more about her family and her link to the powerful family of her nemesis, the nasty Mimi Force. I love the names in the book; Schuyler's last name is Van Alen. Of course everybody is totally fabulous and glamorous, but I like that this is attributed to their vampirism. It's cute how we find out that fashion models are so thin and beautiful because they're usually vampires. It's kind of a sly way of pointing out how unrealistic those images really are.

24. Blue Bloods

2007-05-07T13:35:00.000-06:00

Blue Bloods (Melissa de la Cruz, 2006)

I picked up a galley for the sequel to this book at Midwinter, so I decided to start at the beginning. Blue Bloods is the story of teens who find out they're really vampires. De la Cruz created a completely new version of the vampire myth based on the fall of Lucifer and weaves in colonial U.S. history. The religious and historical themes made the story come alive; I really believed in the universe de la Cruz created for her characters and story. These vampires feed on humans, or Red Bloods, but don't kill them or make them into vampires. Schuyler, the protagonist, is sixteen, a misfit at her exclusive prep school, and just found out she's a Blue Blood. I liked that idea that, as in our reality, Blue Bloods are those born into nobility, but with the added dimension of being vampires.

Of course, there has to be a bad guy. We learn that there is an uber-race of vampires called Silver Bloods, who feed on Blue Bloods and kill them. Of course Schuyler decides to try to figure out where Silver Bloods came from and who might be one in disguise. In addition to the vampire stuff, there's a lot on the standard rich teens in Manhattan themes: drinking, fashion, nightclubs, love affairs. It's a fun soap opera with a gothic twist. It's also an ALA Quick Picks top ten book.

23. Sisters of Isis: The Summoning

2007-04-30T14:10:00.000-06:00

Sisters of Isis: The Summoning (Lynne Ewing, 2007)

I keep reading the first book in new YA series' with supernatural storylines. This time, three girls find out they're descendants of a line of Egyptian pharaohs, duty-bound to protect the line from the evil Cult of Anubis. The girls get to cast spells, call on Egyptian gods, and transform into animals. It's pretty great. It's a quick, fun read, and I think I'll return to the series.

22. Dangerous Girls

2007-04-29T15:38:00.000-06:00

Dangerous Girls (R.L. Stine, 2003)

Keeping with the vampire theme, I read another book I picked up in YA materials class. I'd heard of Stine, but hadn't ever read his books before. It definitely wasn't what I expected. Upon returning from summer camp, Destiny and her twin sister Lizzie begin experiencing strange changes. Destiny sets out to figure out what's going on. The story is really creepy, and fun, so I enjoyed it a lot. It's really dark, and I know that's what I liked when I was a kid, and I see there's a sequel. I don't read a lot of YA series, but I'd probably stick with this one if Stine keeps them coming.

21. Vampire Kisses

2007-04-29T15:24:00.000-06:00

Vampire Kisses (Ellen Schreiber, 2003)

The first of two vampire-themed young adult books I read this weekend, Vampire kisses is an engaging teen romance. Raven, the only goth kid in "Dullsville," is obsessed with the mysterious boy who recently moved into the creepy mansion on the hill. While the love interest himself isn't that interesting, I like Raven a lot and really enjoyed her relationships with her family and the other kids at school. The secondary characters are really interesting, and I found myself wanting to learn more about Ruby, Becky, and even little brother Billy (aka Nerd Boy).

During my YA materials class in library school, some YA librarians gave us each a few review copies of books that were reviewed but not selected for YALSA awards. This was one of mine, but I only just got around to reading it. Since I picked this up in 2004, Schreiber has written three sequels, but I'm a little leery of its series potential. I rather liked the unresolved ending of this book, so I might leave it at that.

20. Booked to Die

2007-04-27T08:43:00.000-06:00

Booked to Die (John Dunning, 1992)

Cliff Janeway again, this time from the beginning. I liked getting to see Janeway when he was still a cop, and the book industry stuff was interesting. One quibble I have is that so much happened in the last ten pages that it got a little muddled. I was pretty tired by that point, as I read this one straight through last night, so it could have been me more than the narrative that was to blame. I'm definitely to blame for that train wreck of a sentence.

19. Choosing Civility

2007-04-21T20:18:00.000-06:00

Choosing Civility (P.M. Forni, 2002)

This is another selection from a book discussion group on campus. It probably wouldn't have been on my radar otherwise. I've always been fascinated with ettiquette and have developed strong opinions on the subject, parsing out rules that I believe in implicitly and those I have no use for. Forni's book isn't exactly a primer on ettiquette; it's more a reminder of how we should treat one another. It's mostly common sense, but bears repeating. I like that Forni calls the book " a handbook for the practical use of civility." The 25 rules are a nice guidelines for all aspects of life, both in the workplace and out. It's nice to see such a well-written little reminder of the ways we can be more thoughtful, or maybe mindful of the ways we interact with others.

18. The Bookman's Wake

2007-04-21T20:08:00.000-06:00

The Bookman's Wake (John Dunning, 1996)

I probably shouldn't have started with the second book in this series, but I guess I can go back to the beginning later. A colleague lent this to me because it's not only a mystery set in the Seattle area, but it's by a Denver author. The PNW and MW collide! I liked this a lot, too. Dunning, like most mystery writers I like, writes what he knows and it shows. He's a bookseller and so's his hero, Cliff Janeway. This story reminded me of Johnathan Kellerman's Alex Delaware mysteries a bit, in style more than theme. It's been a while since I read a 400+ page mystery, too. It seems like so many I read these days are half that length.

I'm sure I'll revisit Janeway again. Dunning has a great sense of just how far to take his readers into the intricacies of bookselling and collecting so they remain interested and don't get bogged down in tiny details irrelevant to the story. I dig that.

17. Exile

2007-04-18T14:02:00.000-06:00

Exile (Blake Nelson, 1997)

I promise to stop reading Blake Nelson's books for a while. I just got on a roll ordering them from the library and his seem to be coming in faster than others in my queue. Moving on. Exile isn't a young adult novel, but it's similar to Nelson's YA work in theme and setting. Appropriately for National Poetry Month, this story centers around Mark, a spoken word poet from NYC who takes a position as poet-in-residence at a Portland college. I was a little confused because he called it Willamette, but that's really in Salem. It would be pretty difficult to get around downtown Portland on foot if you lived near campus an hour away. But I digress.

Exile is okay. I think it's telling that Nelson calls it his "difficult second novel." Girl was so good that he might have been trying to go in a completely different direction. He's right when he says it doesn't suck. Mark is a seriously messed up guy, and I found him both attractive and repulsive--maybe because I see people I've known in him. Like (too) many of Nelson's protagonists, he stumbles through life not really understanding what's going on around him or how he should behave or react. I guess it's a change from the standard precocious teens or hyper-witty and ironic twenty-somethings in books, but sometimes it goes too far. Mark is also in a state of arrested development, living like a teenager who acts on impulse and does what he wants without thinking of the consequences, while needing a real adult to take care of him. I liked this book, but Mark's realization that he needs to grow up comes kind of suddenly and seems a bit tacked on.

16. Everyone Worth Knowing

2007-04-16T15:13:00.000-06:00

Everyone Worth Knowing (Lauren Weisberger, 2005)

Thinking I needed an airplane book, I picked this up at the grocery store when I was visiting my parents over Christmas/New Year. I ended up sleeping and listening to music on the plane and kind of forgot about it. It turned up again when I was trying to consolidate the piles of unread books I have scattered around the house, and I read it last night in an insomnia-plagued fit. While Weisberger kind of follows the same formula she laid out in The Devil Wears Prada, I actually liked this one better. TDWP seemed to drag and was pretty repetitive, but this book had a snappier pace and more interesting characters. It helped that Bette, the heroine of the piece, was much more likable than whatever-her-name-was in TDWP and that the love interest was a great guy. All in all, this is a fun book.

15. A Strange Day

2007-04-15T21:27:00.000-06:00

A Strange Day (Damon Hurd & Tatiana Gill, 2005)

I love this comic. The "backward" says it all--that the book is for the teenagers we once were. Basically, it's the story of two kids who meet while skipping school to buy the new Cure album and end up killing time together and getting to know each other a little. Very sweet and well done. I especially love the way Tatiana Gill drew the characters. I hear this team has a new book coming out soon and I'm looking forward to it.

14. The New Rules of High School

2007-04-15T19:23:00.000-06:00

The New Rules of High School (Blake Nelson, 2004)

This one's kind of more of the same Portland teen disaffection from Blake Nelson. It is a little different in that Max, the protagonist, is an overachieving good kid instead of a confused alternateen. The indie rock club element is there, but Max exists in the periphery of that scene. He's kind of a jerk, and there are some consequences for that, but it's not moralistic. Nelson is really good at capturing the awfulness of being a teenager and offering a little slice of a kid's life without making it too plot-driven. The little epilogue was kind of lame, though. I don't need to know what happens after Max graduates. I've always liked being left hanging a bit in Nelson's other books.

13. Heart on My Sleeve

2007-04-15T19:14:00.000-06:00

Heart on My Sleeve (Ellen Wittlinger, 2004)

Ellen Wittlinger wrote one of my favorite books of all time, Hard Love. She has a knack for writing really believable characters who aren't perfect kids but make you really root for them to figure things out and grow as people. Heart on My Sleeve is told all in emails, IMs, letters, and postcards, and it works nicely. When done well, I really enjoy the modern-day epistolary device because it's a slick way to do roving stream of consciousness without confusing the reader. This is especially important for younger audiences. Not everybody can create such organic character voices like Wittlinger, though.

This story centers around a boy and girl who meet at an college visit at the end of their senior years and strike up a correspondance over the summer. They each also talk to their friends, sisters, and parents. A lot happens during the summer that I won't spoil here. It's really interesting to see how the relationship affects their separate lives and the people around them, and what happens when they meet again face to face after months of writing and thinking they know each other so well. Read this.

12. First Avenue

2007-04-07T17:51:00.000-06:00

First Avenue (Lowen Clausen, 2000)

A colleague lent me this book after hearing I like Seattle mysteries. It's great. I was still a kid in Seattle in the 1980s, but I remember how gritty the 1st Ave area was back then. Clausen, who was a SPD cop himself, writes characters really well and captures the feeling of the rainy city,. A lot of the story takes place in cars or little businesses, giving the action an appropriately claustrophobic feeling. Officers Sam Wright and Kathleen Murphy are equally intriguing and not the typically emotionally damaged nior detectives, though Sam is necessarily a little mysterious. He also takes the lead in the story. All of the storylines--the murder, the lawyer girlfriend, the person from Sam's past--intersect a little implausibly, but the coincidences aren't so outrageous that it bothered me much. Now I have another author to follow.

11. Rock Star Superstar

2007-03-18T22:30:00.000-06:00

Rock Star Superstar (Blake Nelson, 2004)

I loved Blake Nelson's Girl, and had been meaning to get around to Rock Star Superstar for a while. Nelson stuck with Portland as a setting, but this time around the protagonist is a boy. Pete is really similar to Andrea from Girl. He's not super cool and doesn't seem to understand what's going on around him most of the time and they seem really self-conscious. That aspect of Nelson's characters bugs me because I don't remember being that naive as a teen. Don't we all judge kids through the lense of how we remember ourselves? I do. What Nelson gets so right are teen relationships. The way Pete's relationship with Margaret begins was so familiar to me. You know how you'd just kind of fall into dating somebody because you sat with them on the bus one day, got seated together in class, or even ran into them at the mall? That part of the story seemed really organic.

The big story here is that Pete's a musician, and because his dad is kind of a hands-off parent, can pretty much devote himself completely to music and skate by in school with no plans for college or the future, beyond playing music. I thought the local-band-makes-good story would be unrealistic, but it worked for me. I don't think I'm spoiling anything by telling you that Pete doesn't get famous by the end of the book, which kept the story grounded in reality. I think this book would appeal to both boys and girls equally. If I was a youth librarian, I'd probably try to sell Girl to a boy if he liked this one. I'll have to check out The New Rules of High School, Nelson's latest.

10. Homicide My Own

2007-03-09T10:15:00.000-07:00

Homicide My Own (Anne Argula, 2005)

I went to lunch with a colleague yesterday and, as tends to be the case among librarians, the conversation turned to books. We both read mysteries and were talking about what we like and don't like in a mystery. Neither of us are keen on supernatural elements and would prefer a good nior detective or fiesty female sleuth. It figures that of the two books I read last night, the second made me reevaluate my stance a little.

Homicide My Own follows a pair of Spokane cops to Salish Island to appprehend a bail-jumper. Quinn, the older, female half of the duo narrates the story. I wasn't prepared for Odd, her young, male partner to start channelling a long-dead island resident, but it worked. The two go about solving the cold case, and hijinks ensue. The books isn't perfect and Quinn uses some really irritating slang terms--maybe they're supposed to be Pennsylvanian, maybe they're just made up--and I can't completely fall in love with any character who doesn't like music, but I can truly say this is one of the most original mysteries I've ever encountered. It's offbeat, but not self-consciously so. In fact, I kept thinking it is surprisingly solid for a first book, but just discovered that it isn't: Anne Argula is a pseudonym.