The Help by Kathryn Stockett (#4, Fiction)

Book Club pick. Quick read. Good story.

The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon (#3, Fiction)

This series is getting muy boring.

The City and The City by China Mieville (#2, Fiction)

Ahab's Wife: Or, The Star Gazer by Sena Jeter Nasland (#1, Fiction)

I think for the time being I'm just going to post the picture of the book I read. You know, since I've been such a voracious reader lately....

The Associate by John Grisham (#36, Fiction)

Hello Mr. Grisham, it's been awhile since I've visited your works of fiction. I'm sorry to say that this was not your best showing.

Is it just me, or does anyone else feel like his books are written with the intent to be turned into movies? I could almost see famous actors in the roles as I read. Scarlett Johannson or maybe Kate Bosworth as Dale, Shia LaBeouf as Kyle, etc etc. And the way his chapters are set up are perfectly formulated for changes of scene, and the sort of back and forth in time. It's a bit FORMULAIC shall we say.

Hindsight's a bitch, but I think this novel falls last in the line of other Grisham novels I have read. Sorry buddy, you dropped the ball here.

The Likeness by Tana French (#35, Fiction)

Another suspenseful, murder mystery by Tana French. The anger I felt at the end of In the Woods was assuaged when I found out she already had a second book out using the same characters. But, turns out Ms. French plans on taking her sweet time to unlock the mystery she never revealed in the first book -- meaning, she gives absolutely no closure to the first book! And, in essence she shuts the door to it, but I don't really believe that!

But, about The Likeness. It was good. Not the spitting image of her first book, which is always nice. It wasn't as creepy as the first book, nor did it have any "supernatural" potential to it. As you read on the back, Cassie goes undercover to pretend to be a girl who was murdered. Yes, they look alike, but there is a bit of the really factor. You really think someone, no matter how much they look like you, could step into your life and your friends and family wouldn't suspect?

Read it and find out if she succeeds....

The Woods by Harlan Coben (#21, Fiction)

I promise this is the last Harlan Coben novel. And yes I did read it back in Maine. I cannot blame it on my vacation.

The Innocent by Harlan Coben (#19, Fiction)

Alright, so I became obsessed with Harlan Coben toward the end of my German adventure. You get so absorbed in the story that you can sit for five hours straight and just read and then voila! you're in Berlin already. I will have to remember Coben for future trips and beach vacations--he would make an awesome beach read for sure.

But the curse with these types of books is that you'll always love the first one you read and none of the others will ever be as good. I learned this years ago, as I read many Nancy Drew and Sweet Valley High books. None are as sweet as that first one that whets the reading appetite.

Gone For Good by Harlan Coben (#18, Fiction)

Becky you would be proud! I finally gave in and let out my love for crime novels. This is my first Harlan Coben novel and it was very entertaining. I think I read it in a day. These types of books are great for day trips on the train! Other than that, there is not much to say about this book.

The Shack by Wm. Paul Young (#16, Fiction)

The bus ride back to Germany was not spent eating special brownies smuggled in from the Green House but rather reading The Shack, that religious novel about a man who meets God in the shack where police find evidence that his daughter was brutally murdered. Not a typical book I would read, this one also came highly recommended by both Sarah and her sister. And being on vacation, I was game for anything.

I approached this one with a skeptical eye and I am still not sure what I think about some of the viewpoints expressed in it. But I was not immune to the hard hitting emotional nature of the story and found myself blubbering yet again on a bus, trying to hide the fact that I was balling from my fellow passengers. That man with the cane was surely looking at me with scorn as I sniffled through chapter after chapter.

There were some good quotes in this book but I definitely found it to be strangely simple for me. Is religion always this simple? You have these tenets of belief and you believe them and that is that. Is that faith? Believing in something you can't prove, something you can't see but something that you may be able to feel? Faith in God can give us hope, it can make us feel strong when we are going through tough times. I don't know how I would deal with the death of a daughter. The man in this story has to deal with this and he has this experience that in the end allows him to see his daughter and to know that while she died a horrific death far before her time, she was not alone and she is now happy in heaven, waiting for them to meet her in the afterlife. All the father wanted to know was that the daughter was okay. He needed closure and he found it.

Loving Frank by Nancy Horan (#34, Fiction)

Another book club pick. As I have stated time and again, I am always a fan of historical fiction/fiction/nonfiction blend. There is nothing better than reading while also learning about someone, something, or someplace.

In Loving Frank we learn about the life of Frank Lloyd Wright and his mistress Mamah Borthwork Cheney. I just finished the book last night and have yet to do my standard Internet search about the life and work of Frank, but, WOW, do I have some questions!

But, about the book. I really enjoyed the first hundred pages. The characters pulled me in, the story was intriguing, and you really feel the pain of Mamah, and the arrogance of Frank. I wavered back and forth about what I would do in their situation. Clearly, these days divorce and families being torn apart is almost typical, but at the turn of the 20th century, a woman not in love with her husband had limited options.

I think the whole philosophical discussion behind the women's movement got a bit boring for me. Mamah is on a constant journey to find justification and validation for her actions, for leaving her children. At the end she seems to have an epiphany that she doesn't have to choose, she can have love for Frank and love for her children, but it seems that during that time period women were almost forced to choose.

But, wow. THE. ENDING. Did not see that one coming.

Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson (#32, Fiction)

Out Stealing Horses is one of those books where major events happen, events that could be the central point, or apex, of the novel, but in the end they are just another part of life--never fully resolved or explained.

I definitely don't recommend this one if you are looking for an exciting book. It's a great story, and the writing is very well done, and there are some dramatic things that take place, but it's all sort of anticlimactic.

Although, I'm not complaining. Sometimes it's nice to read a book and just read along without waiting for "something" to happen. I was happy enough to follow the narrator through his solitude and memories from his past.

A Lady's Pleasure by Renee Bernard (#31, Porn)

I debated whether or not I would document the fact that I read this book. I initially said I wasn't... but, I've put up every other book I have read for the past 2+ years, no need to get shy now.

I have nothing to say about this book. This was picked for a themed book club. It was amusing for about two seconds, then meh. What little kid says, "when I grow up I want to write trashy romance novels"? Apparently Renee did.

I don't know the exact statistics, but based on my anecdotal evidence from working at Barnes and Noble, the majority of genre purchases are SciFi and Romance.

Shocked and appalled.

But, book club was great as usual and sadly I think we spent more time discussing this one than any book to date. We may also have had a read aloud session ... maybe...

The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (#30, Fiction)

Oh the potential. I bought this book in hardcover because I was so excited about my second round with Carlos Ruiz Zafon. And the disappointment. Expectations, too high? Maybe. I really loved The Shadow of the Wind, and so did almost everyone in book club who read it, which is a huge feat with our diverse taste in books.

My new thing is to read reviews, and The Angel's Game consistently comes up short of The Shadow of the Wind. But, to give Zafon some credit, the point at which the plot in his new book diverged on a more diabolical and mystic path is where he lost me. In Shadow you feel the mystery, and you wonder about supernatural forces, but in the end it's all real--spooky, but none of that sci-fi stuff. Not so much the case in this one.

I do really enjoy his writing and general style. Funny, clever, descriptive.

I hope his next book can do a better job of tying things up at the end... I'm still confused!

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (#28, Fiction)

I wasn't as impressed by this book as I remember being by The Kite Runner. It could just be a case of hindsight, or maybe the hundreds off books I've read in between that have obviously changed my taste in books.

The nonfiction nature of the setting to Hosseini's books is enlightening and terrible to imagine. The bloodshed and terror that so many Afghans have lived through for so many years, so much so that it probably becomes part of the routine of their lives, is unbearable. I appreciate any book that can teach me some part of history, or give me a better understanding into another culture.

But, I didn't love the story of this one. It felt more hurried and canned than his first book. I had too many predictions of how things would go... and then they happened exactly that way. I guess I just expected it to be a little bit deeper, harder, slower of a read, less a page turner and more a thought provoker.

In the Woods by Tana French (#25, Fiction)

My obsession with In the Woods almost reached my Twilight obsession level. Two totally different kinds of books, similar levels of obsession--reading while walking!!! Who does that?

It's practically impossible for me to not get completely invested in crime scene/investigative books like this--all stemming from my love of CSI, Law and Order, Criminal Minds etc. Tana French had me hooked from the second I read the back, no question.

The story was well thought out, not too convoluted, you could actually figure out part of the mystery on your own. I didn't figure it out until close to the end, probably at the point where most people figured it out for sure, but I felt proud nonetheless.

Let's talk about my hangups. (you may not want to read from here on if you plan on reading this book) OH MY GOD when I snapped this one shut I was INFURIATED. Absolutely, not falling asleep, never reading her again infuriated! I ran downstairs to discuss the ending with my roommate, but she was in a sleepy haze on the couch and did not satisfy my bitching needs. Who ends a book like that???? My Mom, a huge reader, had already warned me in a message, "I read the book last summer and really enjoyed it, until the end." At the time, I didn't even want to think about not liking it, because I was enjoying it so much.

Once 12 or so hours had passed I was less worked up, but then started discussing it with my mom, and was right back at square one. At that point I decided to look Tana French up online to see what other readers had to say--were they as mad as I was? I found a synopsis of her second book, just released in May, The Likeness--which initially I figured I would definitely read as well, but at this point, TOO INFURIATED. Then I saw it: The same names. The same characters. Her second book begins six months after the first one concludes...she has just started a series... it all makes so much more sense! It would be like reading just one Harry Potter book without knowing it was a series!

Fury? Gone!

Although, I haven't had to sit around and wait for the next book in a series since Harry Potter, I'm not sure how I feel about this.

Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon (#23, Fiction)

Book #4 of the Outlander series. I can't believe I have made it this far. Although, I feel quite content with my place in the world of Jamie and Claire.

In the past I have either been vehemently against continuing the series, or almost Twilight-esque sure of reading the next book. At this point I feel quite apathetic about it--I may, I may not. Right now I'm leaning towards no, but who knows, I could be at the book store or library in search of that easy, absorbing book where you know EXACTLY what to expect. And that is when Outlander #5 could come into play. (yeah, I don't even know the title of the next one)

Side Note: I introduced this series to my old roommate Liz. I felt that I gave her the appropriate warnings and had been exposed to enough of her reading habits, and her open mind to books, that there was a chance she could enjoy it. Apparently, her sister saw her reading it, and said, "You are reading Dirty Diana!" Yes, apparently she had been accosted on the beach for reading a book by the author known as: Dirty Diana.

Echo Park by Michael Connelly (#22, Fiction)

Can you imagine how many books I would read in a year if all I read was murder/mystery series? Seriously. Even though the book is over 400 pages, I can still breeze though it in three days max. I could read over 100 books in a year!

But alas, quality over quantity. I really haven't got much to say about this book. For it's genre it fits the bill and didn't make me feel like I was slumming it. (I just came up with that--book slumming it. Steph-- it's our new phrase! I love it!)

The main character is likeable and the writing is not terrible. The story was interesting with a nice little twist at the end.

It passes my guilty pleasure standards.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (#21, Fiction)

Normally I am hesitant about bestsellers. I will read a bestseller but I will go into it with low expectations. I had heard so many positive reviews about Water for Elephants from people I trusted that my expectations were way higher than normal.

Happily, it was a success! I think Sara Gruen can write a lovely story--it was simple, but well done. She also did her homework. Although the book is fiction she takes many factual accounts and stories and weaves them into a story of her own.

My two favorite parts about the book are the twist that works out so well, and the love of animals that many of the main characters have.

I am entirely satisfied with this as a bestseller and will happily read Gruen in the future.

The Last Town on Earth by Thomas Mullen (#19, Fiction)

I brought this book back with me from my Mom's house in Florida a couple of months ago. I must have quickly skimmed the back and felt that it met my standards. When I finished the last book I was at home and no longer have my library card, so I had to choose from a book on my shelf. I grabbed The Last Town on Earth to check out the back cover, and I couldn't believe that it is a historical fiction novel about the Spanish Influenza outbreak of 1918.

Quite apropos, right? After the recent outbreak of swine flu it seemed like the book was just waiting for me to read it. With my job, one would think I have had an overload of epidemics, emergency preparedness, and reminders of the shortcomings of our health system, but I'm a glutton for punishment. So of course I decided to read a book about people dying from the flu-- and to be expected it has re-intensified my fear of people sneezing and coughing in public!

Apparently, the author found an article about how many towns in the Northwest quarantined themselves in an effort to keep the flu out in 1918. He ran with that and concocted a story about the idyllic and peaceful town of Commonwealth unraveling after making the decision to not let anyone in or out until the flu passed.

One of my major critiques of the novel is that it seems like he weaved in too many themes. Of course there is the fear of the flu, but then there is also the war going on and the town is mostly anti-war. Many of the men in town either did not register for the draft or have been spared as necessary workers. They are living and working happily secluded until they make the decision to quarantine themselves.

The author highlights the fact that when people are scared and backed into a corner they will do things you could never imagine. Commonwealth, a town built upon communal values and nonviolent resolutions becomes a free-for-all, each man for himself, and suspicious and blame filled place after the flu enters.