Elizabeth Dean

Good teen vampire book! Best part is the introduction of the character to the Hogwarts-like vampire finishing school.

I can't say why I'm reading this book, because Anna Karenina was so disappointing to me. But it was the type of story I was looking for (modern, urban, adultery) so I picked it up, and so far I like it. I look forward to meeting Lev/Levin - the French film buff pharmacist.

Update upon finishing:
I loved it. It emphasized the incredibly moving parts of Anna Karenina for me. What's missing is the 19th century page long meditations on a single aspect of character. And those are nice, but tedious after a while. One question this book raised for me was the extent to which Anna and Levin are drawn to each other in the original work. It would be a good companion for discussion.

This is a very, very good book! Its greatest achievement is its ability to make you feel compassion for those you may not think of that way (Death and Nazis primarily).

This book had a number of interesting elements: Isaac Newton's character, 17th century Britain, the scientific revolution, alchemy, time travel, ghosts, research ethics. It's a very good story with a satisfying ending.

I have a lot of respect for Brunonia Barry for publishing this on her own and making it a huge success, but basically I think this book could have used an editor. The pacing was uneven, the point of view off, and the characters hard to connect with at first. I love crazy endings and think I would have loved this one if I had not been on the lookout for it. I would like to read something else by this author, if she publishes more.

Oh, I loved it. The saga really took a turn in this book. So good. And the next one doesn't come out until May 2010. ARG!!

Best yet.

I don't know what I was thinking when I picked out this book. 1) I didn't like her last book very much. 2) I hate that movie Notting Hill, which it kinda reminds me of. 3) It is basically a full length book with the outlook of one of those Mormon housewife blogs: you know, the ones who have perfect pictures of their perfectly beautiful kids and their super husbands they are so much in love with. It's just creepy. And annoying. I'm mean for being spiteful at those nice Mormon girls but I don't trust them. Nobody's that completely content; it smacks of deep dark secrets to me. So I couldn't spend a minute more with the charming Ms. Becky Jack.

I am very excited about this book. Harris addresses Hurricane Katrina in her alternate universe!

Update: And I was not disappointed. The series and the Sookieverse gets bigger and better.

This one was just OK. It's hard to describe. Maybe I'm getting burnt out on Sookie. But when I think about reading something else, I find I'd really prefer to keep reading about her. This one had some interesting developments in the narrative arc, but overall, the story just hung together and never really grabbed me.

A good book. I love how she weaved Cooper's fictional characters Natty Bumppo and Chief Chingachgook into the story. I forget about the sadness of the Cooper characters and just remember the adventure. Groff reminds me how heartbreaking their stories are and how lonely those two (fictional) men must have been. My problems with the book were 1) The family mystery was not very compelling. But they never are. I guess after reading Possession, everything else in that vein of academic research and family background disappoints. 2) Her mother wasn't as impressive as her character kept saying she was. I just didn't get her strength or appeal. I would read more by Groff though. And can't wait to discuss it with book club!

I wouldn't say it was terrible, but the only word I can think of to describe this book is bleak. Maybe it's the vivid description of the Utah winter landscape, or the poverty that the lower-rank wives live in, but I just did not want to spend any more time in that world. I'm happy to take it off my list.

OK. Sookie Stackhouse books are not very far removed from porn. Vampirism is, of course, a metaphor for sex. And the way Sookie interacts with vampires and other supes is very porn like. She meets one, finds him attractive, 15 minutes later, he's licking her (as in licking blood off an open wound). I'm just saying.

I just can't get enough Sookie. And Eric, Sam and Alcide. Bill, meh.

Very good book. Kind of a Possession-lite, with the added bonus of a marriage in peril. The writer's ability to capture the early years of motherhood is breathtaking. Oh, and Madison, Wisconsin!

Just as entertaining as the first, with even more supernatural creatures introduced. I love the maenad that emerged from the woods of northern Louisiana!

I learned a little more about Eric Northman, my favorite vampire. Harris does such a yummy job with the side characters. I reference Buffy so much in my reviews of her not just because it's vampire/supe city, but because the side characters are so nicely developed. I love these books.

TOTALLY likable! Just what I was looking for. I love southern-style chick lit and this doesn't disappoint. The vampire/supernatural elements are fun window dressing. Sookie's a good heroine too - unlike dear Bella Swan, despite being flanked by a vampire and a shapeshifter, Sookie's able to take care of herself, and enjoy sex/bloodletting with her vamp boyfriend.

Pretty disappointing. With all the rave reviews, and Atkinson's clear talent for character and wit, I thought this would be a better constructed mystery. But it's not. There's really no reason that the mysteries are interconnected the way they are. I don't know why she didn't just focus on the Olivia mystery and expand on that. The other stories seem extraneous, although my favorite character was poor sweet Theo. This kind of writing actually reminds me of the TV show Lost: great premise and setup, beautiful characterizations, ridiculous coincidental plotting, and something very close to a deux ex machina ending.

Great! Salander and Blomqvist. Great, readable characters.

The mystery in this novel is not the most compelling. It's pretty predictable once all the main characters are introduced. But like all mysteries, what's most important are the characters. Blomqkvist, Salander, and especially the Blomqvist/Salander partnership make you want to keep reading. My favorite contemporary mystery writer is Elizabeth George, and this book shares many similarities with her work, especially grisly sex crimes and a detective partnership that crosses significant class and education boundaries (with the male partner the senior one and the one on the privileged side). Larsson's special appeal is his attack on corporate greed and his severely damaged champion of justice, Lisbeth Salander.

Great book!
1. Presents the educational deficiencies of impoverished American children in terms of measurable skills. If we can measure the skill deficiencies, we can identify steps to improvement.
2. Identifies skills beyond scores on tests. Skills such as interpersonal communication, making eye contact, confidence, impulse control. All of these make kids better prepared to succeed in life.
3. Details Canada's design of comprehensive “conveyor belt” program to rescue large numbers of kids from cycle of poor education and poverty through interventions designed to train on the measurable skills.
4. Inspiring story of committed teachers!
5. Hopeful and realistic at the same time!

Great! Not since Joss Whedon has a writer so successfully combined genre fiction with the exploration of identity and what it means to be a monster (or a hero), an alien or a human. Plus a hopeless and beautiful love quadrangle!

Man, I miss Buffy.

This is a good book. It turned out to be a nicer story and more interesting than I expected. It's all about the question of what you really know about a spouse (an extreme case).

This book was interesting, but it wasn't meant to be. I went to book club after half finishing it and learned that later in the book is what someone described as “the most horrible rape scene they'd ever read in a book.” We discussed the ending and I decided not to finish it.