Recent Reads

Here are my recent reads, mini-reviews, and recommendations:

People, the books are WAY better than the TV series, seriously! This is #14, in which Tempe investigates a death at a major NASCAR event AND starts to regain her equilibrium in life. DO recommend.



I can't decide if I like Ali Reynolds or Johanna Brady better (regardless, J. P. Beaumont is a distant third).  This is #7 in Jance's Ali Reyonalds series, and it's a solid entry with a good storyline.  DO recommend.

 Pretty much anything Bill Bryson writes is fascinating, and At Home is no exception! DO recommend.

 

Meredith Maran is a great personal narrative author, but unfortunately, not such a great novelist (IMHO). While I enjoyed the abundant references to the many Berkeley establishments where I spent the better part of my 20s and early 30s (Black Oak Books, Zachary's Pizza, Berkeley Bowl produce market, and many others), the novel had too many annoying aspects to make it fully enjoyable. DON'T recommend.

 A definite improvement over some other recent entries in the Scarpetta series - solid storyline, though the characters have pretty much become caricatures of themselves. DO recommend IF you're a Scarpetta follower.

 Powerful, disturbing, gripping... I actually read this several months ago (but I think I failed to blog it) and thinking about it brings back the strong emotions I had while reading it. DEFINITELY recommend!

This was given to me to read by a good friend/colleague right after Molly's passing. I began and ended the book in tears. LOVED IT - highly recommend!

          

Laurie Halse Anderson never fails to deliver - these are excellent young-adult historical novels with great detail, engaging characters, and a compelling storyline (Forge is essentially the sequel to Chains).  DO recommend.

(The photo is hard to read - the title is Girlchild, the author is Tupelo Hassman)

Tough story of a tough life.  Well-written and a good read. DO recommend.

 Another tough story about tough lives. This one started out a bit slow for me, but 30 pages in and I was totally hooked and finished it off in a day. DO recommend.

 Yes, I fell for the hype and have read the smutty books! Well, the first two anyway; I'm waiting on the third to come up on my request list at the library.  Annoying characters and poor writing (the first book DID start out as Twilight fanfic, after all), yet I'm hooked enough to finish the trilogy. Go figure. Read at your own risk!

 Fun cultural details and good intentions, though the narrative sometimes gets bogged down in distracting navel-gazing.  As a "beach read" for the summer, I'll say DO recommend.

LOVED this one - great cross-cultural themes, parent-child themes, meaning-of-life themes... outstanding! DEFINITELY recommend!

A Swedish mystery that I enjoyed quite a bit more than the Dragon Tattoo Trilogy (AKA the Millennium Trilogy). The setting was interesting and unique, the characters were engaging, and the mystery itself was intriguing.  Lackberg is doing a Fjallbacka series, and I have The Preacher waiting on my nightstand - definitely looking forward to it! DO recommend.

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)