Kat with a K

Books for November

The Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perrotta
Genre: Literature
Pages: 358
Rating: 4.7
This novel revolves around the interaction between a sex ed teacher and her daughter's soccer coach, and evangelical Christian. They initially clash and assume that they will hate each other, but they find they are somehow attracted to each other and things become complex, both in their personal lives and in their small New England town. Perrotta does a very good job of writing about both sides of the abstinence-only education debate without making it into a clearly "good guys vs. bad guys" thing either way. Some of the characters are quite cliched, but others are surprisingly complex. I couldn't put this one down.

On Strike for Christmas by Sheila Roberts
Genre: Women's fiction
Pages: 339
Rating: 4.3
Members of a knitting group feel that their families don't appreciate everything they do to prepare for Christmas and decide to go on strike. The local media hears of it, and the whole thing spirals out of control, with somewhat predictable results. I won't say that this was overly original or anything, but it was a cute, feel-good Christmas read and I'm a sucker for those. The writing was decent and I got attached to some of the characters. I'm hoping Roberts makes this a series.

Well-Schooled in Murder by Elizabeth George
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 414
Rating: 4.5
This is one of George's series of Inspector Lynley mysteries. These are traditional British mysteries at their best (although George is actually not British, contrary to popular belief). This one had a boarding school setting, which I always love. I definitely recommend this series - start with A Great Deliverance.

Candy Cane Murder by Joanne Fluke, Laura Levine, and Leslie Meier
Genre: Mystery, cozy/holiday
Pages: 390
Rating: 4.4
This is a collection of Christmas mystery novellas. I hadn't read any of these authors before, but they all sounded interesting, so I figured I'd give it a try. I loved the one by Leslie Meier, and the Joanne Fluke was quite good too. The Laura Levine was okay but not great. Overall, it was a fun Christmas read, and has gotten me reading Leslie Meier's and Joanne Fluke's series. I've tried a few of the recipes included, and they're quite yummy.

An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving by Louisa May Alcott
Genre: Juvenile, classic
Pages: 62
Rating: 3.5
This little book wasn't much longer than a short story. It is about a farm family in early 1800s New Hampshire - the mother is called away at Thanksgiving and the children decide to make Thanksgiving themselves. Alcott's writing is always fun to read, but this wasn't anywhere near as good as most of her work. I kept being distracted by the "country" dialect that Alcott gave her farm characters, to point out how they were so good-hearted despite their lack of education, I suppose. It just seemed unnecessary - but, of course, these things must be seen in light of their times, and Alcott is, if anything, more politically correct by today's standards than are most writers of her time. I thought this story was interesting in light of the effort in the late nineteenth century to create the "history" and tradition of Thanksgiving, given that this story was set decades before it was written.

Books for October

Apparently I was on an alphabet kick in October. (And apparently I was doing something other than reading much, though I can't remember what. Actually, I think I started some books in October that I didn't finish until November. Or didn't finish at all. Or something.)

The End of the Alphabet by CS Richardson
Genre: Literature
Pages: 119
Rating: 4.3
This was a quirky but moving little novel. I often have trouble with books that are so studiedly "different" and "artistic," but I decided to try to let that go and just enjoy this one, and I succeeded, most of the time. It's the story of a man who finds out that he is ill and about to die, and he and his wife try to go to a place for every letter of the alphabet. The characters are surprisingly well-drawn for such a short book, and the ending had me in tears.

ABC by David Plante
Genre: Literature
Pages: 247
Rating: 3.8
My review is here.

Books for September

Yes, trying to catch up a bit before the end of the year. I know I still won't have posted about all the books I read, but I at least wanted to mention some of them from the last part of the year. I'll try to do better next year! :)

Jinx by Meg Cabot
Genre: Young adult paranormal
Pages: 262
Rating: 4.5
We all know how much I love Meg Cabot. This is another fun YA from her - as with many of hers (fantasy or not), the premise is pretty ridiculous, but as long as you can get past that, the book is a delightful read. It's probably more similar to Avalon High than to any of her others. Jean, or Jinx, is an unlucky 16-year-old who moves from small-town Iowa to the Upper East Side to live with her wealthy aunt, uncle, and cousins. Unsurprisingly, she doesn't fit in, and she and her cousin have all sorts of conflict about many things, including their family legacy of witchcraft. As with almost all of Cabot's novels, there's a great male lead and sweet romantic subplot. Highly recommended.

Ghostwalk by Rebecca Stott
Genre: Mystery, academic/paranormal
Pages: 304
Rating: 3.9
I had mixed feelings about this one. I thought that Stott was definitely a good writer, and I was impressed by the way she demonstrated complex relationships and histories between her characters. But I was unimpressed by the actual mystery. There were many threads of the plot, both in present-day Cambridge and in the Cambridge of Newton's time, and they never connected the way I wanted them to, and thought they would. Most of the individual threads were resolved, somewhat, but the connections between them ended up being some sort of "Oh, look, everything in the universe is connected" thing instead of anything actually interesting or satisfying. Still, I'll probably give her next book a try to see if she improves.

Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War by Nathaniel Philbrick
Genre: History, Colonial
Pages: 461
Rating: 4.7
I love love loved this one. I find the early Colonial period fascinating in general, and this book provided much more of the "real story" of the Plymouth community than is usually heard. Don't let the title mislead you - it goes far beyond the actual Mayflower voyage and covers King Philip's War, which was a fascinating conflict that I didn't really know much about. I definitely recommend this for anyone interested in that period of history.

Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs
Genre: Mystery, forensic
Pages: 411
Rating: 4.3
For those not as obsessed as I am: Kathy Reichs is the executive producer of Bones, which I feel is the best show currently on TV. Although the main character of Bones has the same name as the main character in Reichs' novels, but the show is actually based on Reichs herself, not her books. The character, Temperance Brennan, is, like Reichs, a forensic anthropologist who writes mysteries. ANYWAY. I knew all this going in, but since I love the show so much, I still had a hard time getting past the fact that this Temperance wasn't the Temperance from the show. Other than that, though, it was quite a good book, and I will be looking for more in the series. It is set in Montreal, so it included some interesting things about the law enforcement/criminal justice system there.

Review: ABC

My review of ABC by David Plante is here. No, I don't know why it says Amy Diaz at the top - if you scroll down, you'll see that my name appears correctly at the end.

August Books

One Perfect Day: The Selling of the American Wedding by Rebecca Mead
Genre: Sociology
Pages: 245
Rating: 4.5
This was a fascinating exploration of the business side of weddings. Mead talked to wedding planners, photographers, ministers, travel agents, and many brides; she went to a wedding dress factory in China, various wedding business conventions, and wedding-oriented resorts in Aruba and Jamaica. Her main point was to show the way that the wedding industry has shaped the perception of what is "traditional" or even "necessary" for American weddings, and to explore what this says about American culture in general. To some extent, she is trying to find out what weddings really "mean" now that they often don't mean the start of living together, having sex, etc.; she concludes that a lot of the consumerism associated with modern weddings serves as a substitute for meaning. Mead has a somewhat holier-than-thou attitude which is finally explained in the epilogue, when she mentions that she herself got married halfway through writing this book. (Personally, I would have liked to have had that information in the beginning.) I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who is getting married, participating in a wedding, or just interested in weddings or social history.

Back to Mr. & Mrs. by Shirley Jump
Genre: Romance
Pages: 192
Rating: 3
I don't read series romance often, but this one is by a writer I've known a bit on various forums, so I figured I'd give it a try. It wasn't anything particularly memorable, but the story was cute enough, and the writing was decent.

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
Genre: YA fantasy, romance
Pages: 629
Rating: 4.4
This is the third novel in the Twilight series, about a girl who falls in love with a vampire. Now, there are lots of teen books about girls falling in love with vampires, but this series is actually good. The characters are complex and real (well, except that some of them are vampires and werewolves and things) and there are all sorts of literary references and the whole thing is wonderfully atmospheric. I read this whole book on the plane on the way home from Texas. It dragged a bit at times, but overall, it was great, as I've come to expect from this series. Definitely start the series at the beginning, though, because this one wouldn't make any sense read on its own.

Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key by Jack Gantos
Genre: Juvenile, slice-of-life
Pages: 196
Rating: 3.6
The paper I write for gave me the newest book in this series to review, and because I'm insane, I felt it necessary to start at the beginning of the series. My feelings about this book were somewhat mixed. Basically, it's the story of a boy who has ADHD and a fairly awful family situation. The writing is amazing - Gantos really gets inside his character's head and (I assume) does a good job of portraying the thought processes of someone with ADHD. And it's all quite funny, and then you stop and think about what's actually happening, and it's sort of devastating at the same time. But the problem is that these are supposed to be children's books, and I think most of what made them so good would be lost on most young readers (especially the "reluctant readers" to whom these are often recommended). The writing is difficult and I'm not sure a lot of kids would catch some of the things that are actually happening, as it's all seen through the boy's eyes and therefore is somewhat difficult to figure out at times. So. I can't decide.

August Books

One Perfect Day: The Selling of the American Wedding by Rebecca Mead
Genre: Sociology
Pages: 245
Rating: 4.5
This was a fascinating exploration of the business side of weddings. Mead talked to wedding planners, photographers, ministers, travel agents, and many brides; she went to a wedding dress factory in China, various wedding business conventions, and wedding-oriented resorts in Aruba and Jamaica. Her main point was to show the way that the wedding industry has shaped the perception of what is "traditional" or even "necessary" for American weddings, and to explore what this says about American culture in general. To some extent, she is trying to find out what weddings really "mean" now that they often don't mean the start of living together, having sex, etc.; she concludes that a lot of the consumerism associated with modern weddings serves as a substitute for meaning. Mead has a somewhat holier-than-thou attitude which is finally explained in the epilogue, when she mentions that she herself got married halfway through writing this book. (Personally, I would have liked to have had that information in the beginning.) I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who is getting married, participating in a wedding, or just interested in weddings or social history.

Back to Mr. & Mrs. by Shirley Jump
Genre: Romance
Pages: 192
Rating: 3
I don't read series romance often, but this one is by a writer I've known a bit on various forums, so I figured I'd give it a try. It wasn't anything particularly memorable, but the story was cute enough, and the writing was decent.

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
Genre: YA fantasy, romance
Pages: 629
Rating: 4.4
This is the third novel in the Twilight series, about a girl who falls in love with a vampire. Now, there are lots of teen books about girls falling in love with vampires, but this series is actually good. The characters are complex and real (well, except that some of them are vampires and werewolves and things) and there are all sorts of literary references and the whole thing is wonderfully atmospheric. I read this whole book on the plane on the way home from Texas. It dragged a bit at times, but overall, it was great, as I've come to expect from this series. Definitely start the series at the beginning, though, because this one wouldn't make any sense read on its own.

Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key by Jack Gantos
Genre: Juvenile, slice-of-life
Pages: 196
Rating: 3.6
The paper I write for gave me the newest book in this series to review, and because I'm insane, I felt it necessary to start at the beginning of the series. My feelings about this book were somewhat mixed. Basically, it's the story of a boy who has ADHD and a fairly awful family situation. The writing is amazing - Gantos really gets inside his character's head and (I assume) does a good job of portraying the thought processes of someone with ADHD. And it's all quite funny, and then you stop and think about what's actually happening, and it's sort of devastating at the same time. But the problem is that these are supposed to be children's books, and I think most of what made them so good would be lost on most young readers (especially the "reluctant readers" to whom these are often recommended). The writing is difficult and I'm not sure a lot of kids would catch some of the things that are actually happening, as it's all seen through the boy's eyes and therefore is somewhat difficult to figure out at times. So. I can't decide.

July Books

See? I'm catching up...

On My Own Two Feet: A Modern Girl's Guide to Personal Finance by Manisha Thakor and Sharon Kedar
Genre: Personal finance
Pages: 191
Rating: 4.6
I've been wanting to become more educated and informed in regards to money matters, and a few friends recommended this book, so I thought I'd give it a try. It was great. It managed to explain things on a basic level without sounding patronizing, and it had a very good balance of information and advice. It covered a wide variety of topics, from budgeting to retirement savings to investing to getting out of debt to buying a house. I'm not going to necessarily follow all of their advice word for word, but it was definitely helpful. Based on this book, I was able to make a plan for how I will save to buy a new car in the next few years. I got this from the library, but I'm planning to buy a copy eventually so I will have it for future reference.

All I Want Is Everything by Cecily von Ziegesar
Genre: Young adult
Pages: 215
Rating: 3.6
This is the third in the Gossip Girl series, and there's not much to say that I didn't say in the review of the second one (under June books). The books are fun in an artifical sort of way, and I thought some of the characters were more annoying in this book than the last. I may read more; I may not.

I Heard That Song Before by Mary Higgins Clark
Genre: Mystery, psychological suspense
Pages: 318
Rating: 3.7

I read lots of Mary Higgins Clark in middle and high school, so I was curious to pick up one of her new ones and see what I thought now. I didn't like it as much as I had liked them then, but I'm not sure whether her books have gotten worse or my tastes have changed, or both. This was enjoyable, but I didn't think it was as thrilling or clever as I remember thinking her older books were, but that is likely because I've read so many more adult mysteries now than I had then. This one is about a librarian who marries a rich recluse whose family her father used to work for. He was a "person of interest" in the disappearance of a friend long ago and in the death of his first wife a few years ago, and these cases are reopened around the time of his new marriage. The main character, whose name I have apparently forgotten in the month since I read this, has to decide whether to trust her husband and how to protect herself, as the killer is almost certainly someone in her husband's family or employ. There were lots of twists and turns, some more interesting than others, and I kept thinking it was about to become Rebecca, but it never did, quite. It was enjoyable enough, and made me want to read some of the books I missed in the 8-10 years since I stopped reading Clark regularly.

Reread: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
Genre: Young adult, fantasy
Pages: 672
Rating: 4.6
I had originally read this the day it was released, and realized that I didn't remember much of it, so I reread it to prepare for book seven. I thought it was very good, of course, but not quite as good as some of the other books in the series, as a lot of it was set-up for the finale.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
Genre: Young adult, fantasy
Pages: 759
Rating: 4.8
I don't want to give spoilers, just in case, but I thought this was the perfect end to this series. I read it in less than a day, of course, and it was actually a pretty emotional experience: a few of the deaths had me crying, and some others had me just stunned. I know the epilogue has been criticized by many, but it was probably my favorite part. In a few months, I'm planning to reread the whole series to see how various things in the seventh book were set up all the way through.

June Books, Part Two

So I was reading Rachel's comments on Nineteen Minutes (and other books she read in August) and realized that I never finished posting my June books, never mind July. Oh, and it's September 1, so I guess I owe you August too. We'll get there. Here are the rest of my June books:

Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know - And Doesn't by Stephen Prothero
Genre: Religion, current events
Pages: 296
Rating: 4
Prothero, a religious studies professor at BU, argues that Americans need to be more "literate" about religion in order to understand cultural references as well as current national and world events. Among other things, he believes that students should learn about the Bible and world religions in public school. His argument is pretty convincing, but I think in his zeal he underestimates how difficult it would be to enforce that teachers taught about religions without arguing for or against them. He certainly made me want to learn more about various religions, though. I thought the most interesting part of the book was the short history he provides of religion in American public life in general and in public education in particular. After his argument, Prothero provides a "dictionary of religious literacy" - almost 100 pages of terms, definitions, and explanations. He says that he concentrated on those concepts that have played a large role in recent political and other events, but it still seemed odd that he didn't even mention Wicca or other pagan religions. You'd think that would at least come up in Harry Potter/witchcraft/censorship discussions. Prothero could have used a better editor - I found a bunch of typos, and at least two different dates given for the Westminster Confession. And the subtitle bothered me, because it sounds like the "doesn't" means "doesn't need to know" rather than "doesn't know." Overall, though, it was a thought-provoking read.

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
Genre: Literature
Pages: 455
Rating: 4.2
I have a love-hate relationship with Jodi Picoult. (Well, it's entirely one-sided, so not really a relationship, but never mind.) I really like her characters and some of the situations she creates, but at the same time, she drives me crazy. Especially her endings. This time, she addresses the causes and effects of school violence by looking at it from the viewpoints of the shooter himself, his parents, local lawyers (one of whom was a character in Salem Falls as well), cops, and judges, and affected classmates (one of whom happens to be the judge's daughter). As usual, I got pretty attached to some of the characters, and had trouble putting the book down during certain sections. And, actually, the ending wasn't anywhere near as dumb as the ending of, say, My Sister's Keeper. (I have to confess that I peeked ahead at the ending of this one, so I'd be prepared if it were as awful as some of her others. And that's saying a lot, because I very rarely peek.) My main problem with this book was a few big factual errors. Glaring. In a scene set in 1990, a character refers to Elaine Chao as the head of the Dept. of Labor. Chao is the Secretary of Labor NOW (since 2001), not 17 years ago. And in a scene set in 1995, Jeanne Shaheen appears as the governor of NH. Shaheen was elected in 1996 and didn't actually become governor until 1997. Other than that, though, it was a pretty good read, even if the explanations it provided were a bit facile at times.

The Fortune Quilt by Lani Diane Rich
Genre: Chick lit
Pages: 262
Rating: 4.6
Frankly, the synopsis of this book didn't grab me: a television producer does a story on a psychic quiltmaker and is given a quilt with psychic reading, and then her life falls apart and she blames the quilt. So she goes back to the quiltmaker and ends up living for a while in the eccentric small town where the quiltmaker lives. And then elements of her old life resurface and she has to decide how or whether to combine her lives. It sounded pretty formulaic and gimmicky, what with the psychic quilt and all. It ended up being much much better than I'd expected, though. The main character is sufficiently flawed as to be likeable, and the situations in which she finds herself are a bit weird but not ridiculously extreme. And her struggle to decide what she wanted in her life was exactly what I was in the mood to read about. There's a large cast of interesting (if wacky) secondary characters and believable personal growth in several areas. It's definitely a feel-good read, and I will be looking for more by this author.

You Know You Love Me: A Gossip Girl Novel by Cecily von Ziegesar
Genre: Young adult
Pages: 227
Rating: 3.6
This is the second book in the Gossip Girl series, which I started reading because there's a TV show of it (with Kristen Bell, a.k.a. Veronica Mars) starting in the fall. They're complete trash, but fun and addictive. Total candy. Cotton candy, actually. Very little substance. The characters in this series are superrich teens at snobby private schools in Manhattan. They spend lots of time shopping, drinking, and smoking pot in Central Park. They all have Issues, of course - family stuff, eating disorders, etc. But these are just touched on, not explored in any deep fashion. Much of this second volume revolves around college visits and applications. Some of the characters are pretty awful, but most have redeeming qualities of some sort.

Looking for Alaska by John Green
Genre: Young adult
Pages: 221
Rating: 4.5
This novel has been much-discussed in YA circles, and it was one of those books I almost didn't want to read because I was afraid it wouldn't be as good as everyone said it was. And... it wasn't, honestly. It wasn't the Best Book Ever. But it was extremely good. It tells the story of a somewhat pretentious loner who goes to boarding school and meets, among other people, a unique, captivating girl named Alaska. The book revolves around a tragedy that occurs in the middle of the story, and I could tell what was coming practically from the beginning, but I don't think that really ruined anything. This story is more about how the characters react to events than it is about the events themselves. The pretentious tone annoyed me until I realized that it fit with the characters perfectly. The book may have been taking itself way too seriously, but the fact that the main characters took themselves way too seriously made this okay. I'm planning to read another book by Green soon, so we'll see if the tone really belongs to him or the characters.

Anyone but You by Lara M. Zeises
Genre: Young adult
Pages: 245
Rating: 4.7
I picked this up somewhat randomly from a display at the YA section of my local library, and I was very pleasantly surprised. It was great. It's about teenage almost-stepsiblings (Seattle's dad dated Critter's mom and then disappeared, leaving her with the ex-girlfriend) and what happens to them over the beginning of a summer. Seattle* and Critter have always been best friends, but suddenly they're growing up and things get weird. They each start dating someone the other hates, but what's really behind the hatred? How do they really feel about each other? And then Seattle's dad comes back, and things get really complicated. The chapters alternate between the two characters, and Zeises does a very good job of making these voices different from each other but both believable. Seattle uses a bunch of skateboarding technology I didn't understand, but that didn't really take much away from the book as a whole. The romantic in me sort of wanted a more idealized ending, but the actual conclusion of the novel is just how it should be, I think.

I was already pretty impressed, but a few hours after finishing the book, I suddenly realized** that at one point, Critter watches Clueless and then has a dream in which his girlfriend sort of becomes Alicia Silverstone but with elements of Seattle. This little detail seems very telling, as Clueless ends with Alicia Silverstone's character getting together with her almost-stepbrother. The whole thing is very subtle, but it would be too coincidental - Zeises must have done it on purpose. And this made me hopeful about Critter and Seattle's future. Because, as we've established, I'm a hopeless romantic. But anyway. Read this book.
* What's with the weird place name thing in the books I'm reading? Alaska, now Seattle...
** Confession: because I'm a dork, there was an intermediary step in this revelation. Critter/Seattle actually reminded me of Knightley/Emma, and then I realized the Clueless thing after that.

Family Tree by Barbara Delinsky
Genre: Women's fiction
Pages: 358
Rating: 3
Rachel warned us that this was awful, so I had to get it from the library to see the awfulness. I'm not really sure why. Anyway, I read this book while home sick, and it was perfect for that sort of thing. Completely mindless, pretty bad writing, iffy characterization, but a page-turner. It's about a white couple who gives birth to a baby who looks African-American, and what they go through between themselves and with their families and communities. I have a feeling it was supposed to make me think about lots of Important Issues, but it really didn't, since it all seemed so bloody obvious. And the big shocking reveal at the end? It was exactly what I thought was going to happen. Basically, the whole time I was reading the book, I was thinking "this is really pretty awful," but I couldn't put it down.

June Book Reviews, Part One

Okay, my reviews are going to be out of order, but oh well. I'll go back and fill in later. I'm going to post my June reviews, a few at a time, copy/pasted from my SRP Reviews page. I have July there too; I'll paste those when I finish June. Then later if I have time I'll go back and write up the pre-SRP ones that I haven't written yet. (I do have a list of all the books and when I finished them.)

Back on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber
Finished: June 2
Genre: Women's fiction
Pages: 393
Rating: 3.8
This is the third* in Macomber's series about a yarn store in an idyllic place called Blossom St. I actually liked it better than the second. Each book rotates in perspective between Lydia, the shop owner, and a few of the students in her current knitting class. (The pattern being used in the class is included, too. I knit the baby blanket from the first book; it was quite nice, if a bit boring.) Each woman is generally facing some sort of family or life crisis, and knitting brings them together across their disparate backgrounds. There are definitely Issues with a capital I, and some are resolved pretty heavyhandedly - there are definitely Lessons Macomber is trying to impart to her readers. And it's all a bit saccharine. If you can get past that, though, they're enjoyable in a Hallmark TV movie sort of way. Plus, there's knitting. That helps.
* Or maybe the fourth? Before this one came one called Susannah's Garden, about another shop on Blossom St., not the yarn store. I'm not sure whether it's considered one of the series.


Inventing English: A Portable History of the Language by Seth Lerer
Finished: June 5
Genre: Linguistics, history
Pages: 305
Rating: 4.5
This fascinating book provides an overview of the history of the English language, focusing on the way it changed over time and what caused these changes. It starts with Caedmon's Hymn (7th century) and goes up through e-mail and the Iraq war. Along the way, it touches on the Norman conquest, the Great Vowel Shift, attempts at standardization and dictionary-making, and authors from Chaucer to Shakespeare to Twain to Dickinson. I have to admit that I found the earliest parts of the book to be the most interesting (and I really want to learn Old English now), but that is likely due to my own interests and has nothing to do with the book itself. Lerer explains things remarkably clearly, and at times I was shocked at how much of his sometimes technical explanations I (with no formal linguistics training) could understand. I did have some trouble "hearing" some of the things he was trying to explain about pronunciation, but I don't think that took much away from my enjoyment of the book. My one caveat in recommending it is that I sometimes found myself having trouble keeping track of where he was when I tried to read too much of the book at a time; his chapters stand alone nicely, so make sure you take lots of breaks to process and mull over the wealth of information Lerer provides.

Calculating God by Robert J. Sawyer
Finished: June 8
Genre: Science fiction
Pages: 334
Rating: 3.6
An alien arrives at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto and asks to speak with a paleontologist. That paleontologist happens to be dying of lung cancer. They become friends and share information and argue about the existence of God. For about 200 pages. And then, finally, something sort of happens. And then something big seems like it's happening, but then it doesn't. But at that point I didn't really care, because Sawyer had been telling me, not showing me, about these characters and ideas for 300 pages and I was sick of it. And I ended up being really disappointed, because it seemed like this book had a lot of potential; it kept being on the verge of being really good, but then it wasn't. Which was worse than if it had just been mediocre. And then the paleontologist makes a decision that infuriated me, so at that point I sort of just wanted him to die. And even though I was pretty annoyed at the whole thing by the end, the last chapter still almost made me cry. Which just made me hate the whole thing. So, basically, this book had me on an emotional rollercoaster, but not at all in the way the author intended. Don't bother.

Review: Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off

Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off
Genre: Knitting humor
Pages: 218
Rating: 4.5

Another book of knitting culture humor from our dear Yarn Harlot. I loved it, but I have to admit that I didn't think it was quite as hilarious as her previous books. This might have been because the "travel guide" format, while very fun, was a bit of a stretch at times. Still, it was great. I'm impressed by the way that Steph has used different formats for all of her books so far, and I'm curious to see what she does next. (But I'd rather another book of hilarious essays, say, than something less funny that's in another format just for the sake of something different. Not that I'm saying that's why this one is in this format, but I'd be afraid of publisher pressure to make her do something different every time.) Knitters should definitely read all of Steph's books, and this one would be particularly good for non-knitters who live with or are otherwise closely associated with knitters and want to try to understand just what the big deal is about this knitting thing.

Review: Triangle

Triangle by Katharine Weber
Genre: Literature
Pages: 242
Rating: 4.7

On one level, this novel is the "What really happened at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire?" historical semi-mystery that one would expect from the covers and blurbs. But it's also so much more. The novel focuses on the last living survivor of the fire, her granddaughter, the granddaughter's partner (a composer - there's some very interesting stuff here about the intersection of music and science), and an academic studying the fire. All of their feelings and motivations play out in different ways as they struggle to piece together what actually happened on that infamous day. One of the big "secrets" was pretty obvious to me from the beginning, but that didn't decrease my enjoyment of the book. A few things wrapped up a little too neatly at the very end, but other than that, I loved this novel.

Review: Code Name Cassandra

Code Name Cassandra by Meg Cabot
Genre: Young adult, paranormal
Pages: 264
Rating: 4.2

This is the second in Cabot's 1-800-WHERE-R-YOU series. It was very similar to the first - practically identical in quality - but the plot was different and interesting enough to keep my attention. Starting out, Jess was not my favorite of Cabot's heroines, but she's been growing on me. In this book, she's a counselor at a summer camp for gifted child musicians and trying to hide her "Lightning Girl" past. My main complaint was that the love interest wasn't around much in this one, and I think the characters balance each other well, so it's better when they're interacting.

Review: Salem Falls

Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult
Genre: Literature
Pages: 434
Rating: 4.3

I loved Picoult's Plain Truth, so every once in a while, I read another of her novels, hoping to recapture the magic. It hasn't worked so far, although I did like Salem Falls better than My Sister's Keeper. Salem Falls is about what happens after a man falsely convicted of statutory rape finishes his prison sentence and tries to start a new life. Unsurprisingly, his past catches up with him and he becomes accused again. Picoult creates several interesting characters in this book, as well as several one-dimensional placeholders. The story quickly drew me in, but (as with My Sister's Keeper) the ending was unsatisfactory. Specifically, something major was revealed - maybe - on the very last page, but it was written in such a way that I couldn't tell whether it was deliberately left ambivalent or just unclear. I'll probably keep reading Picoult when the mood strikes, but I hope this "dumb ending" thing isn't a trend.

Review: Tell Me a Riddle

Tell Me a Riddle by Tillie Olsen
Genre: Literature, short stories
Pages: 116
Rating: 4.5

I'd never heard of Tillie Olsen until a friend recommended this small book of four short stories. I was very impressed; the voice is both distinctive unto itself and slightly different in each story. "I Stand Here Ironing" was my favorite of the pieces, but they were all interesting. Olsen deals with issues of immigration, war, race, class, and more, generally from the point of view of women dealing with the way these issues and the "progress" of the twentieth century impact their lives and interpersonal relationships. If nothing else, you should read "I Stand Here Ironing," which tells the thoughts of a middle-aged working class mother as she irons her almost-grown-up daughter's dress.

Review: The Secrets of Peaches

The Secrets of Peaches by Jodi Lynn Anderson
Genre: Young adult
Pages: 297
Rating: 4

This was that rare case: a sequel I liked slightly better than its predecessor. In most ways, The Secrets of Peaches is like Peaches - same characters, same tone, etc. As I mentioned in my review of Peaches, though, I got annoyed with the first book because it was so obvious that the characters were going to become friends, but they still took so horribly long to get there. The second book was more readable because the friendship was already established. I also liked that Anderson had the girls facing a mix of the issues from the first book as well as some new conflicts. The Secrets of Peaches was fun and both light and heartwarming at the same time; I look forward to seeing what Anderson does next.

Review: North by Northanger

North by Northanger by Carrie Bebris
Genre: Mystery, paranormal, historical (Regency)
Pages: 318
Rating: 4.1

This is the third in Bebris's series of paranormal mysteries featuring Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy. It wasn't as good as the first one, but was still enjoyable. I don't like most Austen continuations, but Bebris does a decent job, perhaps because her books are deliberately in a different genre, and so she doesn't try too hard to make herself sound exactly like Austen. One interesting feature of this series is that the main characters are always Elizabeth and Darcy, but characters from other Austen books are involved in each mystery. In this case, a friendship between Darcy's late mother and a former resident of Northanger Abbey is discovered, and their letters to each other form a large aspect of the mystery. In addition, various Bennets and Lady Catherine show up at Pemberley to confuse things and add a comic element. Overall, this series is an enjoyable read for Austen fans, but probably not for Austen purists.

Review: The Annunciation of Francesca Dunn

The Annunciation of Francesca Dunn by Janis Hallowell
Genre: Literature
Pages: 310
Rating: 4.4

A homeless man has a vision that a teen girl at a local restaurant is actually an incarnation of the Virgin Mary. He spreads his message, the media becomes involved - and then she begins to perform miracles. And then what? This novel shows the affects of these extraordinary events on the girl and the people around her. It's a very interesting concept, and Hallowell executes it well. The narration, which alternates between several main characters, has an ethereal quality that helps hide the literal "truth" and makes everything seem vaguely, but not quite, magical. In the midst of this mystical atmosphere, Hallowell tackles some interesting questions of faith, truth, and responsibility.

Review: Love Walked In

Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos
Genre: Literature
Pages: 307
Rating: 4.9

I was skeptical about this book at first - a former coworker at the bookstore told me I had to read it, but we tend to have different taste. I expected generic chick lit, and was extremely surprised: it wasn't that at all. It was amazing. I adored it. I carried it around for days so I could read every chance I got. I loved it so much that I'm having a hard time articulating why, exactly. The writing was captivating, and I identified with both of the main characters in various ways. The chapters alternate between a young woman managing a coffee bar and a 12-year-old who has just been abandoned by her psychologically unstable mother*. In the 12-year-old's first chapter, she's making a list of her favorite literary orphans on the back of a worksheet at school. I knew at that moment that I would love this book.

Love Walked In starts out like a fairy tale: Cornelia's life changes forever when a Cary Grant lookalike walks into her cafe. But it doesn't go the obvious places where a fairy tale would go. It's more complex and therefore more likable. The ending does perhaps wrap up a bit too neatly, but it's way less fakely perfect than it could have been, so I forgave it. This is one that I'll be reading again and again, I'm sure.

* That circumstance has nothing to do with why I identified with the character. Just to clarify. :)

Review: Jennifer Government

Jennifer Government by Max Barry
Genre: Sci fi
Pages: 321
Rating: 3.5

This was a selection for the sci fi/fantasy book club I attend. I had heard good things about this book from so many different people, and I ended up being very disappointed by it. It's a book with a message, but the message is so obvious that it ends up being boring. Basically, you can tell what the message is from reading the back cover copy. And then you read the book, and nothing that happens changes that initial impression at all. It was utterly unsurprising, and could have been easily summarized in half a page or, at most, a short story.

That said, I didn't hate it. I enjoyed the writing style, and actually cared about a few of the characters. (Some of them were just annoying.) And it's clever, in a gimmicky sort of way. It just went on way too long for a gimmick without much substance (other than "corporations and big government are bad"). I might try another of Barry's books, since I did enjoy the writing. But this one left me severely underwhelmed.

Review: The Constant Princess

The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory
Genre: Historical fiction
Pages: 393
Rating: 3.5

This was actually the second attempt I made at reading this book. The first failed about fifty pages in: I simply couldn't buy the premise. Apparently there are some things that are "obviously what happened" in Gregory's brain, but that seemed like huge, wildly improbable conjecture to me and many other readers. I don't want to go into it in detail, so as not to spoil the plot, but basically, Gregory took historical events and assigned feelings and motivations to the major players that seemed completely unrealistic. The first time I tried to read this, I just wanted to throw it across the room.

But then The Last Boleyn came out, and I wanted to read it, but I have that thing about reading series in order. So I decided to give The Constant Princess another try. This time, I forced myself to forget that we were talking about those Tudors; I pretended they were made-up characters. It sort of worked, most of the time. It worked enough for me to conclude that once I got past the historicity issues, it was actually a pretty good book. Gregory's a good writer, and does very well at evoking the atmosphere of Tudor England. I eventually got caught up enough in this atmosphere to end up enjoying the book. So I guess I'd recommend it, but it will probably seem better to those of you who don't know or care much about the historical Tudors.

Oh, and seriously, I'm tempted to buy Gregory's books just for the cover art. Gorgeous.

Review: When Lightning Strikes

When Lightning Strikes by Meg Cabot
Genre: Young adult, paranormal
Pages: 266
Rating: 4.2

Meg Cabot is one of my favorite authors, and I continue to be surprised by how well she does in such a variety of genres. This is the first in her 1-800-WHERE-R-YOU series of young adult paranormals. The tone is pretty similar to that of most of Cabot's other books, and her blog - you get the definite feeling that she writes the way she speaks. When Lightning Strikes tells the story of a teen girl who is hit by lightning and acquires the ability to look at a picture of a person before bed and wake up the next day knowing where that person is. She begins by helping find missing children on the back of milk cartons, but soon the government gets involved and of course (as this is Cabot) hilarity ensues. As in most of Cabot's books, the everygirl main character is balanced by a quirky coterie of family and friends. I wouldn't say this was one of Cabot's best, but it's definitely a good read.

Review: Casino Royale

Casino Royale by Ian Fleming
Genre: Mystery, espionage
Pages: 213
Rating: 4

I've seen several James Bond movies and liked them, but I wouldn't say I was a huge fan. I was curious to see what the books were like, though. This turned out to be a decent spy novel - somewhat dated, as you'd expect, but entertaining enough. It was interesting to see the origin of the phenomenon. Bond himself was somewhat different in the book than in the movies I've seen. (I have not yet seen the recent Casino Royale movie.) The book was well-written and atmospheric. It's certainly not the best spy novel ever, but it's worth a read.

Review: New Moon

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Young adult, fantasy
Pages: 563
Rating: 4.5

I tend to call Meyer's books "the one teen vampire romance series worth reading." (In my experience, at least. I'm certainly open to other suggestions.) At the end of the first book, Twilight, Bella, the main character, is finally in some semblence of a stable relationship with her vampire boyfriend, Edward, although they still face the opposition of (parts of) their families and society. New Moon picks up right where Twilight leaves off, and Bella and Edward are immediately faced with more obstacles.

Many readers didn't like this sequel - perhaps because Bella and Edward spend much of the book apart - but I loved it. We revisit the characters we grew to love in the last book and meet some new ones. I was genuinely surprised by a few plot turns that, looking back, seemed completely natural. I had one main issue with this book: at one point, someone lies to a character, and the lie is so transparent that I spent a good chunk of the book annoyed with that character for believing it. I don't want to say much more about the plot, because I highly recommend that you read these books for yourself. (Definitely start with Twilight, though. You'd miss a lot if you jumped in with New Moon.) Book three, Eclipse, comes out in August, and I can't wait.

Review: Selected Cantos of Ezra Pound

Selected Cantos of Ezra Pound
Genre: Poetry
Pages: 119
Rating: 3.5

I'm not very good at reading contemporary poetry. Give me Catullus or Donne or Tennyson and I'm fine. I'm iffy on most of the new stuff, though. (There are exceptions. Neruda. Li-Young Lee. Elizabeth Bishop.) But I want to be better at it, to like it more. So I'm trying. A good friend regularly raves about Pound, so it seemed as good a place to start as any. And... I don't know. There were some parts I genuinely liked, and some parts I found interesting, and some parts in which the language took my breath away. But there were also many parts that made me say "Huh?" And some that made me say "Yeah, so?" I'm glad I read it, and I will keep trying contemporary poets, both because I think it's good for me and because I'm sure I will surprise myself by liking some that I wouldn't expect. But I don't think I'll be listing Pound among my favorites.

Review: Silent in the Grave

Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn
Genre: Mystery, historical (Victorian)
Pages: 509
Rating: 4.1

This debut novel tells the story of a young widow, Lady Julia Grey, who decides that her husband's death was not what it seemed and begins to investigate. She is soon joined in her investigation by a handsome, mysterious man. She is, of course, an intellectual and forward-thinking young woman and, though she has the support of some of her family, she clashes with more narrowminded people along the way. She discovers family secrets, comes to sweeping conclusions about social justice (curiously ahead of her time), daringly puts herself in danger, and eventually finds justice and true love.

Yes, I did deliberately make that sound completely conventional. (Or, more specifically, like every Amanda Quick novel ever.) It was, in a way. But it wasn't bad. Nothing that happened was particularly surprising, but I wasn't bored, either. The characters annoyed me at times, but I couldn't stop reading. I'm not sure why it was classified as mystery rather than romantic suspense - it seemed much closer to Quick and other historical romantic suspense than it did to most historical mysteries. The language was a bit clunky in places, but I'll chalk that up to it being a first novel, and give the next one a try when it is released.

Review: Ceremony in Death

Ceremony in Death by J.D. Robb
Genre: Mystery, futuristic
Pages: 329
Rating: 4.3

J.D. Robb is the name under which Nora Roberts writes futuristic mysteries about Eve Dallas, police detective. I will turn in my "literary snob" sash and admit that I love Roberts's books, under either name. She consistently creates compelling characters and settings and tells good stories. And those are the main things I ask for from most novels. Roberts delivers it, over and over (and at a rather astonishing pace), and it annoys me how many people assume her books are bad simply based on the fact that they sell lots of copies.

Anyway. (Stepping off soapbox.) This is the fifth installment of the Eve Dallas series, and like the others, it features an interesting mystery, nifty futuristic technology, personal growth for Eve, and developments in her relationship with her now-husband, the mysterious, sexy Roarke. I tend to read mysteries more for characters than for the actual mystery, and I am impressed by how Robb has kept the Eve/Roarke relationship interesting without imposing too many fake-seeming obstacles. I hope she keeps it up through the rest of the series. The actual mystery in this one involves a cult, and has some interesting things to say in that area. It was a dependably fun read; I'd recommend the series to mystery fans who don't mind a bit of sci fi and romance thrown in - start with Naked in Death.

Review: The Scarlet Letter

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Genre: Literature, classic
Pages: 180
Rating: 4.8

I have no idea why it took me so long to read The Scarlet Letter. Well, I guess I missed the part of high school when they read it, and then in college I read a bunch of Hawthorne's short stories but none of his novels. And maybe I was a little bit scared by all the people - people who read serious, literary stuff - telling me how hard it was. Especially the introduction. That infamous introduction...

In any case, I finally read it, and loved it. Even the introduction. Sure, it wasn't the quickest read, but I loved every word. Hawthorne's language is mesmerizing, the plot is compelling (even though I knew the outline), and some surprisingly modern issues are dealt with in interesting ways. I have visited various Hawthorne sites in Salem and Concord, MA, and this definitely added to my enjoyment of the book. If you're in the area, I'd definitely visit the real House of the Seven Gables and then give Hawthorne a try.

Review: Peaches by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Peaches by Jodi Lynn Anderson
Genre: Young adult
Pages: 320
Rating: 3.9

I've heard that Anderson is the originator of the concept behind the popular Traveling Pants series; the publisher bought her idea but hired Brashares to write the series. The Peaches series is similar in concept - a small group of teen girls from different backgrounds/interests are put into a common situation and become friends despite their differences. In this case, the common situation is a summer of working at a peach orchard; the girls are the orchard owner's serious, nerdy daughter, her rich, spoiled cousin, and a smart but "fast" and "troubled" girl caught trespassing (or maybe stealing peaches?) and assigned by the local judge to work in the orchard to make up for it.

This was a fun read, but got a bit annoying at times. It was so obvious that the three girls were going to become friends that I got fed up with all the exposition. JUST START LIKING EACH OTHER ALREADY. Anderson also tried to include some sort of vaguely mystical element involving the peach trees and tying everything together, and that part just didn't quite work for me. The characters were engaging, though, and when I finished the book I immediately wanted to read the sequel, so over all I'd recommend it.

Review: The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers

The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers by Lilian Jackson Braun
Genre: Mystery
Rating: 2.2

I hate having to give any book such a low rating. I really do. But this one was... basically incomprehensible, I guess. I started reading this series when I was twelve, and even though I don't read as many cozies in general anymore, this is one series that I always read, out of loyalty, or nostalgia, or something. Some of the earlier ones really were quite good. Unfortunately, I think Mrs. Braun is overdue for retirement. Or at least needs a serious editor. Was there even a mystery in this mystery? Sort of vaguely, I guess. But there was no coherent plot, and the characters acted very out-of-character, and the writing was disjointed. It made me sad.

Review: Forever in Blue

I'm actually a few reviews behind, so let's see if I can catch up by the end of the week...

Forever in Blue by Ann Brashares
Genre: Young adult
Pages: 400
Rating: 4.2

I've loved this whole series, although I thought the first was the best, and the third not quite as good as the others. I was happy to find that the fourth was mostly great. These books tell the story of four teenage girls who are lifelong friends, and how their friendships develop and change as they grow up. The characters are nicely multidimensional, only occasionally falling into stereotypes. With four girls to work with, Brashares can have them face a wide variety of adolescent issues without making it seem too forced.

How much background information to repeat at the beginning of a later series title is always a difficult question. I think Brashares could have repeated more in this case. In the first several chapters, I was distracted by trying to remember what was going on which character's life. The first third of the book dragged a bit, but then it drew me in and I was sad to see the book, and the series, end. If you like young adult literature, definitely give these a try.

Review: I Capture the Castle

I finished this one in January, but never quite managed to write up a review.

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
Genre: Literary fiction
Rating: 4.8

I love love love loved this book. I'd owned it for years, but for some reason never read it, although I had seen the movie. (It was okay.) I'm glad I finally read it. It's an enchanting story, about a family living in less-than-genteel poverty in a castle in England. They're all pretty eccentric, but lovable, most of the time. The story is in the form of the diary of Cassandra, the younger teenaged daughter. Early in the novel, the American heirs to the estate arrive, Cassandra's older sister sets her cap at one of them, and hilarity ensues. Or, at least, hilarity for the reader; it's the perfect mix of hilarity and heartbreak for the characters. The ending is hopeful but not unrealistically ideal. If you like Austen or Alcott or Montgomery, give this one a try.

Review: Archangel by Sharon Shinn

1. Archangel by Sharon Shinn
Genre: sci fi/fantasy/romance
Rating: 4.3

I read this book for my sci fi/fantasy book club this month. In general, I thought it was really very good. It has a fantasy-type setting, but the plot follows many of the conventions of the traditional romance novel. It also deals with interesting issues of faith, theology, and duty. The characters were interesting and multi-dimensional, and the plot kept me turning pages. I will definitely be looking for more by this author.

I did have one major issue with this book, however. The synopsis at the beginning of the book gave information that was never stated within the actual text. It was hinted at a few times, and I kept expecting the climax of the novel to include the discovery of this information. But... it didn't, and I was left confused. Was this information that the reader was supposed to have, but not the characters? Was it something that would be revealed in a later book? What the heck was going on? Even though I loved the book, this is still nagging at me.