11-28-08 The Caliph's House by Tahir Shah - Non-Fiction

5 - First, Thank You Liz! Liz recommended this to me and even loaned me her copy so I could read it. this is not only a story about severe culture clash, but The Caliph's House brings the culture, pace, politics, and art of Casablanca clearly to your mind. Tahir Shah, a Brit of Afghan descent, moves his family to Dar Khalifa, the Caliph's House, in Casablanca, Morocco. Shah commits numerous missteps while trying to renovate the house. He has to learn to deal with Jinns, deal with the staff, learn the ins and outs of shopping in Morocco, deal with the local Godfather, and try to keep his wife from divorcing him for moving her into what becomes an eternal construction zone, or "madhouse" as she refers to it in the book. But his stories and descriptions bring to life the beauty of Morocco so completely you will fall in love with the country just as he did.

11-26-08 Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer - Fiction

5 - It seems this is a love it or hate it book. I loved it. SPOILER ALERT: If you haven't read this yet, continue at your own risk. When I started this book the first time, I got concerned that it was going to be another whole book about Edward keeping Bella human and Bella arguing the point. But throwing the curve ball of her pregnancy into the mix gave the story somewhere to go and the second half of the book lets us experience the early days of being a vampire through Bella and her discoveries. I also really liked that Meyer wrote part of the book from Jacob's point of view. It gave so much more insight into the wolf packs. I thought Breaking Dawn tied up a lot of loose ends very neatly while still introducing new characters and new situations. Yup, loved it.

11-26-08 Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer - Fiction

5 - Only two previous reviews on this one, so I guess I'll do one more. This is probably my favorite of the set. Two mythological species collide in Bella's world: vampires and werewolves. Watching her try to balance the loyalties for two makes for a great story. Her love for Edward is eternal, but the love she has for Jacob is strong too, just different. Add in the fact that she is a trouble magnet and you've got a story full of jealousy, danger, and a lot of explanation of both families.

11-23-08 Death With Interruptions by Jose Saramago - Fiction

4 - This one was odd. Saramago's writing style was a little strange, to say the least: a sentence could go on for five or more lines, a paragraph could go on for two pages, and dialogue wasn't marked with quotation marks or even new paragraphs. But the story. As of the last stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve, no one died. In the entire country. That's not to say everyone became healthy. If you were on the verge of death at 11:59 New Year's Eve, you were on the verge of death two weeks later. You just cannot die. The government starts to try and deal with the immediate and foreseeable problems involved in running a country that will age, but won't die. And then, months later, death sends a letter to the head of the television bureau that starting at the last stroke of midnight, everyone who should have dies in the previous months will die and now, to be polite, death will send out letters one week prior to dying so people can get their affairs in order. Oh yeah, this one's strange.

11-21-08 The Awakening by Michael Carroll - Fiction

4 - This is classed as Young Reader (9-12), but I'd put it into Teen. Action packed, The Awakening starts in a world where there used to be superheroes and supervillains until 10 years prior when they all disappeared except for three, two brothers and their sister. But now, two young boys discover the truth: their parents were once superheroes, but had lost their powers. AND the boys aren't having growing pains, they're developing their powers that were genetically passed down. A little bit of swearing and a more adult feel than I was expecting in a Young Reader book. I am definitely intrigued and am eager to continue the series.

11-20-08 In The Woods by Tana French - Fiction

4 - This is an engaging thriller. WARNING: If you can't stomach stories about murdered children, DO NOT read this. There are two mysteries in this book: the current day search for the murderer of a 12-year-old girl and the disappearance of two 12-year-old children 20 years prior. In The Woods is a tightly written story that draws you in and keeps you guessing until the bitter end. Rob is a detective on the current day case and the only witness to the disappearances of 20 years prior. He has no memory of that day, but as he works on the new case in the same town, he slowly begins to remember bits and pieces of that summer. Skillfully blending the two events, French keeps you reading, waiting to find out some answers.

11-13-08 New Moon by Stephenie Meyer - Fiction

5 - Read my other four reviews. It's like an obsession.

11-10-08 Twilight by Stephenie Meyer - Fiction

5 - Read my other five reviews. I just had to re-read this.

11-7-08 Waiter Rant by The Waiter - Non-Fiction

4 - If you ever eat out at a sit down restaurant (that does not include McDonald's, Wendy's, or any other fast food joint that has indoor seating) this book is required reading. The Waiter tells very funny stories about very bad customers while giving out pointers about how to be a good customer. He also documents how he ended up a waiter and his journey from blogger to book author. I'm a definite foodie (he hates most of them by the way) but I am an adventurous and well informed foodie which is why I read these books to begin with. My favorite customer story involves an explanation of Mad Cow. I'm sure you've noticed that The Waiter has not used his name; he is still anonymous. He was only ever outed by one person and you won't believe who it was. I suggest reading this and then continuing to get your Waiter fix at waiterrant.net.

Oops. New reading order.

I just looked at the back of Betrayed and discovered it's the 2nd book in the series. So I'm putting off reading it until I get the 1st book Marked. Hopefully, it will be in about a week. (My library is so poorly stocked, I have to order in the majority of my reading) So I'm starting In the Woods tonight and will put in Marked and Betrayed as soon as I can.

I'm sorry. I apologize profusely.

I really, really tried not to, but I just couldn't help myself. I'm re-reading the entire Twilight series. (Damn the movie!) I have a review for Waiter Rant to write up and post yet, and I will be reading your choices next (I promise!) but I'm right in the middle of New Moon and have to finish it before I start my next one. There was a tie for my next book, so I'll be reading Betrayed first, because it is a teen book it will go faster, and then In the Woods. After that I have Death With Interruptions by Jose Saramago to read. Somewhere in there I'll be throwing in Eclipse and Breaking Dawn again. Hang in there, I'll get my next review up in the next couple of days.

A Sad Day for Fiction

Fiction has lost one of the best scientific thriller writers this week, Michael Crichton. He was a master of the genre and made the science understandable even for the layman. He will be missed. If you would like to read his obituary and sign the guestbook, here's a link. http://www.legacy.com/Obituaries.asp?page=LifeStory&personId=119781709.

11-4-08 The Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima - Fiction

4 - I'll admit, I wasn't too thrilled to read this. I'd heard tons of great things and it's a fantasy, one of my favorite genres, but I really had to force myself to pick it up. But I'm glad I did. A nice twist on fantasy warrior tales, The Warrior Heir takes place in present day and does not involve time travel. (Yay! We all know how tired that particular writer's tool is.) A regular teenage boy discovers that the medicine he's been taking daily isn't for his heart condition; turns out he doesn't even have a heart condition. The "medicine" is Weirbane, meant to hide the power of the warrior stone implanted in his chest. He is one of the last of the Warrior Guild, one of the Weir, who's ruling Wizard Guild houses have been fighting for centuries. Armed with only that knowledge and a pretty slick sword, he tries to stay alive. The ending kinda sputtered out for me but overall this is a fun read.

11-1-08 We Bought A Zoo by Benjamin Mee - Non-Fiction

4 - Benjamin Mee and his family were more than a little crazy when they decided to buy a dilapidated zoo, complete with lions and tigers and bears, oh my. But as you read, starting from the initial idea and following all the way through opening day, you will laugh, cry, and be amazed right along with the author. You'll meet Sovereign, the amazing escaping jaguar, Ronnie the tapir, and Zak, the elderly alpha wolf. You'll also meet Amelia, Ben's mother, Katherine, his wife, their two children (who are so lucky for being able to grow up in a zoo), and the wide variety of characters who make up the staff. After reading the book, stop by the zoo's website, http://www.dartmoorzoologicalpark.co.uk, and see what's new at Ben's zoo.

10-29-08 Sovay by Celia Rees - Fiction

4 - Yet another case of don't judge a book by its inside cover. After reading the description, I figured Sovay was the story of a spoiled girl who became a female Robin Hood and ended up falling in love with one of the men she stole from and she ended up happily ever after. HA! So not this story. Sovay is a well written book that starts with a girl in 1794 England when the English government is very nervous about the revolution in France giving its citizens ideas about democracy and equality. Yes, Sovay does do a stint as a highwayman, but not for the reasons I originally thought. She becomes embroiled in governmental intrigue when her father and brother have warrants put against them for seditious ideas. Having been betrayed by her fiancee, Sovay, after stealing the warrant for her father, travels to London then to France in search of her father and brother becoming ever more deeply drawn into plots of revolutionaries and governmental figures. An intelligent and entertaining read.

10-24-08 The Archer's Tale by Bernard Cornwell - Fiction

4 - The first in Cornwell's Grail trilogy, The Archer's Tale is well written and, for the most part, historically accurate. Cornwell admits fiddling with a few facts of the time, but her doesn't have to do much as the beginning of the Hundred Years War is interesting enough. Thomas of Hookton, and archer and a priest's son, begins his story with a promise to recover a holy relic (not the Grail) and that promise drives him to search for his father's killer, his heritage, and, eventually, the Grail. This is not a romantic and chivalrous account of the times; this is a tale straight from the battlefields in France where honor was still popular but not always observed. Cornwell's writing style hooks you from the beginning and soon you'll be pouring over pages to learn Thomas' fate.