Lexacat's List

Below Stairs: The Classic Kitchen Maid's Memoir That Inspired " Upstairs, Downstairs" and "Downton Abbey", by Margaret Powell

2012-01-15T16:23:00.000-05:00

Fascinating social history. This wonderful memoir was so well written, and gave an incredible look into what being a kitchenmaid and then a cook in grand houses in between-the-wars England was really like. The humiliations and depravations were many, but Powell's clear writing gives a bigger picture of what it was like to see the end of an era of upstairs/downstairs, and her unusual clarity of thought and original ideas made her as interesting as the greater picture she painted.

The Drowned Cities, by Paolo Bacigalupi

2012-01-15T16:12:00.001-05:00

Wildly creative if depressing followup to Bacigalupi's Prinz-winning knockout Ship Breaker. This isn't a sequel- could totallly stand on its own- the only link between the books is the ravaged future America and the half-man called Tool. In this one, clearly set in and near a ruined Washington DC, war refugees Mahlia and Mouse are separated when he is kidnapped to become part of a troop of child soldiers, and Mahlia must choose whether to try to run or to try to save him. Brutal and very very dark, this was a haunting and brilliant book based on current events (child soldiers in Africa) that was drawn so clearly it seems inevitable.

The List of Adrian Messenger, by Phillip MacDonald

2012-01-15T16:05:00.000-05:00

Fantastic classic English mystery, 1959, inheritance plot but very clever set up.

The Baker Street Letters, by Michael Robertson

2012-01-15T16:02:00.000-05:00

Very clever and charming book! When lawyers and brothers Reggie and Nigel take over the lease to use a business space at 221B Baker Street, they unknowingly sign an agreement to handle mail that arrives for Sherlock Holmes. Nigel begins to get concerened about some letters, and the mystery leads them to Los Angeles to uncover a Chinatown kind of crime. Fun and really original and damned well done.

Murder Never Forgets, by Diana O'Hehir

2012-01-15T15:51:00.001-05:00

Pretty awful mystery- an Egyptologist with Alzheimer's and his marginally employed daughter solve a series of murders at his retirement home - ???? Yeah.

The Rasp, by Phillip MacDonald

2012-01-15T15:47:00.000-05:00

Very good Anthony Gethryn country house murder mystery.

An English Murder, by Cyril Hare

2012-01-15T15:45:00.000-05:00

Pretty classic and well done English country house murder- champagne and snow and an inheritance plot. Me likey.

Holidays in Heck, by P.J. O'Rourke

2012-01-15T15:41:00.001-05:00

Unpleasant book by the increasingly unlikeable P.J. O'Rourke. Holidays in Hell was a hell of a funny book, Holidays in Heck, he comes across and the right-wing asshat that he is. Oh well.

Past Perfect, by Leila Sales

2012-01-15T15:37:00.001-05:00

Really fun YA with an unfathomably unrelated and awful cover. The book was pretty good actually, Chelsea is spending another summer working at a Colonial history re-enactment village, like Williamsburg, and the teen employees there are at war with the Civil War re-enactors across the street. Chelsea is torn between team loyalty, and her new feelings for Dan, one of the enemy.

Murder at the Villa Byzantine, by R.T. Raichev

2012-01-15T15:30:00.000-05:00

Another well plotted classic style Country House mystery by the charming Bulgarian Raichev. I think his fantasy world is much like mine. Have a bit of an odd writer crush on him.

Queen of Heartrs, by Martha Brooks

2012-01-15T15:23:00.001-05:00

Well crafted but very slow historical fiction set in a tuberculosis sanitorium in WWII Manitoba, Canada. When 15 year old Marie-Claire and her siblings become ill, she has no idea that she will spend the next 2 years of her life fighting for her life. This was good, but I don't think it has real teen appeal, and was pretty slow.

Green for Danger, by Christianna Brand

2012-01-15T15:03:00.001-05:00

FANTASTIC medical mystery set in a WWII hospital. Brand is an author I found in that Country House mystery anthology, and I am so glad. This was also apparently adapted into a successful movie, and I want to see that now. Will be looking for more books by her!

Wild Abandon, by Joe Dunthorne

2012-01-15T14:59:00.000-05:00

Well, I read this because of great reviews about it, but it didn't really work for me. A failed commune in Wales, troubled families, a child waiting for the end of the world, rampant drug use and paranoia sounds like my kind of book, but just wasn't.

All About Roasting: A New Approach to a Classic Art, by Molly Stevens

2012-01-15T14:49:00.000-05:00

A detailed but rather disappointing cookbook. Not enough pictures. I need pictures in a cookbook.

The Future of Us, by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler

2012-01-15T14:44:00.000-05:00

Pretty terrible YA. Set in 1996, the book is based on the ludicrous premise that annoying character Emma's new computer can access Facebook 15 years in the future. Not liking what she sees for herself and her best friend Josh, she blithy proceeds to screw with the future in a way that Doc Brown would seriously disapprove of. This is because she is a selfish and thoughtless bitch. Josh is kind of dumb. The book was bad.

This is how Doc Brown would look at these chuckleheads.

Fairieality, by the House of Elward

2012-01-15T14:39:00.000-05:00

Pretty but silly coffee-table book about fairy couture. I had hoped it would be much more like Fairy Houses Everywhere, which was beautiful and whimsical and inspiring, but this was just beautiful and whimsical. However, as Meatloaf will always remind us, 2 out of 3 ain't bad.

The Burglar in the Closet, by Lawrence Block

2012-01-15T14:28:00.002-05:00

Ok Bernie Rhodenbarr mystery. Not nearly as enjoyable as The Burglar in the Rye, with it's charming nod to Salinger's privacy, but still a fun read.

The Burglar in the Rye, by Lawrence Block

2012-01-12T18:50:00.000-05:00

Wildly charming mystery. It is hard to make a criminal a sympathetic protagonist, but Bernie is just so funny, and I LOVED the whole tribute to Salinger thing and the smacks at Joyce Carol Oates. Great fun read.

English Country House Murders, edited by Thomas Godfrey

2012-01-02T22:03:00.002-05:00

This was a fantastic collection of short stories spanning the decades of the great English Country House Mystery genre, with contributions from just about all of the greats. So well edited, the choices from the obvious authors were unusual ones, and real treats, but for me ther great finds were the authors I was unfamiliar with. Country House Mysteries are one of my greatest escapist treats, so this whole book was for me like having a wonderful box of chocolates.

My favorite stories are starred below.

Best of 2011

2011-12-31T15:14:00.000-05:00

Best Adult Fiction (novel) - The Lover's Dictionary, by David Levithan
Also Awesome
Ed King, by David Guterson
The Marriage Plot, by Jeffrey Eugenides
Zone One, by Colson Whitehead
The Leftovers, by Tom Perrotta

Best Adult Fiction (short stories) - Blueprints for Building Better Girls, by Elissa Schappell

Best Adult Fiction (mystery or thriller) - Wicked Autumn, by G.M. Malliet
Also Awesome
Rogue Island, by Bruce DeSilva

Best Adult Fiction (sci-fi or fantasy) - When She Woke, by Hillary Jordan

Best Adult Fiction (Historical Fiction) - American Heiress, by Daisy Goodwin

Best Graphic Novel - Lost and Found, by Shaun Tan
Also Awesome
The Scrapbook of Francie Pratt, by Caroline Preston

Best Adult Non-Fiction - Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World, by Michael Lewis
Also Awesome
Sex, Death and Oysters: A Half-Shell Lover's World Tour, by Robb Walsh
Maphead: Charting the Wide, Weird World of Geography Wonks, by Ken Jennings
Few Eggs and No Oranges, by Vere Hodgson

Best YA Fiction - Daughter of Smoke and Bone, by Laini Taylor
Also Awesome
All These Things I've Done, by Gabrielle Zevin
Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick, by Joe Schreiber
Cinder, by Marissa Meyer

Best Childrens' Book - The Grimm Legacy, by Polly Shulman

Best Picture Book - Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, by Jerry Pinkney

Best Documentary - Exit Through The Gift Shop

Best Feature Film - The Social Network

Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley

2011-12-31T14:18:00.001-05:00

I haven't read this since high school, so was interested to revisit Huxley's consumerist, pill popping vision of the future, and found it disturbingly on the mark in many ways, but still wildly off the mark in others. The promiscuity, consumer culture, and pill popping surrender is here, but the sentimentality regarding the family is definitely still here, and then some, in hallmark variations... so good, and so sad. Soma for all.

Bunheads, by Sophie Flack

2011-12-31T14:14:00.000-05:00

Wonderful YA about the struggles of being a ballet dancer. 19 year old Hannah has lived at the Manhattan Ballet since she was 14, and is striving to become a soloist, rather than a member of the corps, but when she begins to realize how much she has sacrificed, she must decide whether she wants to live her life as a bunhead, or branch out into the outside world. This was so well done, and apparently quite autobiographical, and gave a fantastic sense of the closed and claustrophobic and pain-filled world behind the stage.

The Grimm Legacy, by Polly Shulman

2011-12-31T14:05:00.000-05:00

Charming and absorbing young fantasy, set in the special collections are of the New York Public Library. The magical objects mentioned in the Grimm fairy tales are kept in the Grimm Collection, but evildoers are out to steal them. Elizabeth Lew, a student in a nearby high school, is one of a handful of workers allowed access to the special collections. The exceedingly far-fetched plot is one of the reasons I think this was more of a children's book than YA, but Shulman's special brand of clean and delightful characters made this a great read. She is an author I often recommend to young readers who are reading above their age level, but aren't ready for some of the darker actual YA out there.

So Pretty It Hurts, by Kate White

2011-12-31T13:57:00.000-05:00

Enjoyable Bailey Wiggins mystery, with a glamourous cast of models, actors, journalists etc trapped in a snowbound Connecticut estate. When Devon Barr, supermodel, is found dead in the night, Bailey and her friend Jessie have to solve the question of whether or not Devon was murdered, which of course she was.
Fun and quick.

The Complete Book of Home Crafts : Projects for Adventurous Beginners , by Carine Tracanelli

2011-12-31T13:53:00.000-05:00

Pretty uninspiring craft book- lots of basic ideas, but not a single one I was tempted to try, which says a lot, I think.

The Hedgehog Feast, by Edith Holden

2011-12-31T13:50:00.001-05:00

Delightful children's book about a hedgehog family gathering with the other small beasts to have a wonderful feast before winter settles in.

The Name of the Star, by Maureen Johnson

2011-12-31T13:30:00.000-05:00

YA paranormal. American Rory Deveaux from Louisiana is a student in a London boarding school, making friends and having crushes on cute English boys, when a near death choking experience leaves her with the ability to see ghosts. She is then initiated into an undercover group who seek ghosts to eliminate, and gets caught up in ghost Jack the Ripper's return to London to continue murdering women. It was almost as bad as it sounds.

The Death of Corinne, by R.T. Raichev

2011-12-31T13:24:00.000-05:00

Another solid and well crafted mystery from the interesting Raichev. From what I can tell, he is a Bulgarian national, who wrote a university dissertation on the classic English Crime Novel, and moved to London in 1989. For some reason, this back story appeals to me immensely- I imagine someone living behind the Iron Curtain reading the golden age classics and the country houses and butlers and real-estate porn of the great Christies and Teys and longing to disolve into that world...
This was a tightly plotted investigation into the death of a French singer in the Piaf mode, and was thoroughly enjoyable.

420 Characters, by Lou Beach

2011-12-31T13:14:00.001-05:00

Microfictions, in the rather limiting format of 420 characters, the length of a facebook update. Interesting concept, but not as successful in execution as I had hoped. I wish the stories had been more linked, more... something. In terms of experimental fiction, I think there will be a lot more published in this style, but I still doubt anyone working in tiny formats will ever achieve the devastating poignancy of Hemingway's 6 word heartbreaker- "Baby shoes for sale, never worn."

Plenty: Vibrant Vegetable Recipes, by Yotam Ottolenghi

2011-12-31T13:02:00.000-05:00

Lovely, lush cookbook from the famed Ottolenghi- the only thing is, many of the recipes were so elaborate, it seemed a lot of work for a vegetable, lol. I would love to make a few of them, leek fritters (p. 36), asparagus mimosa (p. 182), mushroom ragout with poached eggs (p. 50), , and the broccoli and gorgonzola pie (p. . 92) looked amazing... maybe on a day with plenty of time? ha ha ha.

Reel Life Starring Us, by Lisa Greenwald

2011-12-31T12:50:00.001-05:00

Sweet young YA- middle school, I think- from the author of My Life in Pink and Green. In this one, new student Dina is assigned to work on a project with Queen Bee Chelsea, making a video about the history of their school, and of course, in the process, learn about themselves and each other. Charming and well done, clean and fun.

Every You, Every Me, by David Levithan

2011-12-21T16:53:00.001-05:00

A haunting, thoughtful and freshly done YA novel. After Ariel goes mad, her best friend Evan and her boyfriend Jack are left- Evan to wallow in doubt and guilt, and Jack to try to move on. What was so wonderful about this book- told in Evan's own depressive voice- was the stylistic risks Levithan took- the crossed out pages, the crossed out thoughts. The photographs throughout added great richness to a story that could have been thin, and in the afterword, one realizes anew what a great writer Levithan really is. He wrote one of my favorite adult novels of the year in The Lover's Dictionary, and now one of my favorite YA books of the year.

Assassins at Ospreys, by R.T. Raichev

2011-12-21T16:43:00.001-05:00

Clever mystery reminiscent of Agatha Christie's novels involving Ariadne Oliver- not my favorites, but still very good- this one had mystery writer Antonia Darcy become involved with some fans who turn out to be much more complicated than they initially seem. An inheritance plot, of course, and some dastardly twists. Nice.

The Burglar in the Library, by Lawrence Block

2011-12-21T16:39:00.000-05:00

Very well done and funny mystery. This was a treat, a kind of classic English style cozy set in America with a hardboiled tone and many references to other mysteries. When Bernie and his friend Carolyn head to a weekend at a country house hotel, his mind is on thieving a rare book there, but murder gets in the way. Fun and lively.

The Lighthouse, by P.D. James

2011-12-21T16:35:00.003-05:00

OK but not excellent Adam Dalgleish mystery. The setting was great- Combe Island, a retreat for the great and well known, and it held so much promise, but the inexplicable inclusion of SARS was bizarre, and the book was ultimately unsatisfying.

Cinder, by Marissa Meyer

2011-12-19T18:49:00.001-05:00

PHENOMENAL new YA book. Sci-Fi Cyborg retelling of Cinderella, and a fantastic, thrilling and thought-provoking beginning to a new series, the Lunar Chronicles.
Cinder is 36.7% artifical- a terrible accident as a child left her orphaned, and her adoptive new guardian had her body repaired with the best technology available, until he died too, leaving her with his wife and 2 daughters. In this version, only Pearl, the eldest sister, is truly evil, Peony, the younger, does love her cyborg adoptive sister and Cinder loves Peony and Iko, her android. Cinder is licensed mechanic, with a knack for fixing all machinery, and is known throughout New Beijing for her skills.
I've read a lot of re-told Cinderella tales (a recent favorite being the lesbian twist in Ash, by Malinda Lo) but this was really a stunner- impossible to put down, great classic sci-fi imagery, and a heroine whose human-vs-artificial rights/and intelligence was so much better addressed than in The Fox Inheritance.
LOVED IT.

The Hunt for Sonya Dufrette, by R.T. Raichev

2011-12-19T18:42:00.001-05:00

Pretty good country house murder mystery, with only a few offputting bits- I would have enjoyed it much more if not for the bit about Sonya's disability. Am giving the author another try, though, and hoping for the best.

The Problem of the Wire Cage, by John Dickson Carr

2011-12-19T18:36:00.001-05:00

A very appealing and cleverly constructed 1939 whodunnit, with a bit of an un-fair trick to it, but still, very clever and fun. The body of obnoxious Frank Dorrance is discovered- after an afternoon filled with tennis and threats- dead in the center of the clay court, with only one set of footsteps leading to the body. Dr. Fell, Carr's hero, works out how it was done, with some very Nancy Drew-ish red herring characters along the way. Very enjoyable.

The Mistress of Alderley, by Robert Barnard

2011-12-19T18:32:00.000-05:00

Very good mystery. This was fun, it had a pretty classic set up, but with a very modern approach, and the characters were unusual enough to feel fresh. Caroline knows she is Marius' mistress, and that he will not divorce his wife, but she is sure that he has bought her Alderley House, and that they have a very special relationship. When Marius is murdered, however, Caroline learns that all he has told her has been lies, and the unraveling of the story was quite satisfying.

Little Women and Me, by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

2011-12-19T18:28:00.001-05:00

A writing assignment where she has to list a flaw from a favorite novel sends Emily March into Little Women, as a 5th sister. Clever concept, and well done, but not a knockout. Emily's character development throughout the novel was nice, but the best bit by far is the trick about Amy.

The Vault, by Peter Lovesey

2011-12-19T18:21:00.000-05:00

Excellent and atmospheric procedural set in (and under) Bath. Well plotted, with ties to both the history of Bath and also to the novel Frankenstein, which has surprising links to the area- this was very satisfyingly done.

Micro, by Michael Crichton and Richard Preston

2011-12-19T18:16:00.000-05:00

Well, this was sad. Obviously, this is the last book Crichton was working on when he died, and you can pretty clearly see where Preston took over- the philosophical kind of musings and speculation that raised up the level of Crichton's thrillers was no longer there after the first hundred or so pages, and after that, it was pure thrill-driven action adventure with an eye to being made into a movie, if you know what I mean.
The shrinking of people down to half and inch has been approached before, and so have the dangers of nanotechnology, in Crichton's own (and much better) Prey.

Diary of a Chav: The Fame Diaries, by Grace Dent

2011-12-19T18:10:00.000-05:00

Another delightful entry into Dent's series. Not the strongest, but happily this one seems to kind of wind up Shiraz's search for a way to return to school, which made me very glad.
I hope she writes more of these, but am beginning to sadly suspect this is the last- I'm so glad I got to read them.

Diary of a Snob: Money Can't Buy Me Love, by Grace Dent

2011-12-14T17:08:00.000-05:00

Second book in Dent's hugely enjoyable new series, based on Poppet Montague-Jones and her adventures in trying to find herself amid the trappings of quasi-royalty and her eccentric family. Really fun.

Diary of a Snob: Poor Little Rich Girl, by Grace Dent

2011-12-14T17:05:00.000-05:00

87th in line to the throne, Poppet Zanzibar Montague-Jones has led a very sheltered life, but things get real in this fantastic start to a new series by the always enjoyable Grace Dent. Loved it.

Diary of a Chav: Ibiza Nights, by Grace Dent

2011-12-14T17:02:00.000-05:00

Fun new addition to Dent's wonderful Diary of a Chav series. Shiraz and her friend Carrie go off the rails a bit in this one, but Shiraz's charm carries the day, and it was a quick fun read, if not the best of the series.

The False Princess, by Eilis O'Neal

2011-12-14T16:28:00.000-05:00

Ok but predictable YA fantasy. Female protagonist, but lots of dialogue that clunked or was out of place in the fantasy setting ("breaking and entering" was one egregious example) and a plot that could be guessed a mile away.

Reading the Forested Landscape, by Tom Wessels

2011-12-14T16:25:00.001-05:00

This was a remarkable and wonderful book.
Wessels takes New England scenes, and by analysis of the trees and rocks, traces back the history of the area for years- in some cases to the glacial ages. Fascinating, and I think I will never look at the world in the same way, which is a heck of an impact.

The Red House Mystery, by A.A. Milne

2011-12-14T16:22:00.000-05:00

Nice country house mystery, but not as good as I was hoping, given its status as a classic in the genre.

Stagestruck, by Peter Lovesey

2011-12-14T16:19:00.001-05:00

Very good mystery set in a theater, featuring Inspector Peter Diamond. Fair play procedural, and done well.

Dandy Gilver and The Proper Treatment of Bloodstains, by Catriona McPherson

2011-12-14T16:17:00.000-05:00

Another really excellent Dandy Gilver between the wars mystery. This one had some interesting political side-stories, including a miner's strike, and that added depth to the enjoyable mystery.

Ashes Ashes, by Jo Treggiari

2011-12-14T16:12:00.001-05:00

Pretty bad post-apocalyptic YA. Plagues have decimated the population, but ludicrous earth-upheaval events keep happening too, along with the silliest tsunami since Deep Impact. Lucy - oh, the plot was so bad I'm not going to bother.

Decorating with Books, by Marie Hueston

2011-12-14T16:09:00.001-05:00

WORST book ever. I had hoped this book would give me ideas to make my house look less overrun with books, but this was about books as objects alone, separate from meaning. One suggestion included covering all spines with plain white paper covers!!!

Ruthless, by Sara Shepard

2011-12-14T16:03:00.001-05:00

Another juicy and addictive Pretty Little Liars book. They get more and more implausible, but I still love to read them and look forward to each new one.

The Fox Inheritance, by Mary Pearson

2011-12-08T13:13:00.001-05:00

An interesting but frustrating follow up to the excellent The Adoration of Jenna Fox. In this book, set 260 years after the accident that left only 10% of Jenna's brain, and let her parents re-create her using Bio-Gel, Jenna's friends Kara and Locke, who were 'killed' in the same wreck, have been re-created by a mad scientist from a hair of Kara's and a fingernail of Locke's. It seems that Jenna's parents scanned their brains at the same time they did Jenna's, and a corrupt assistant stole the 'boxes' that imprisoned their 'minds' for all those years. The exploration of AI rights was interesting, but the book didn't settle whether the Fox Standard of 10% was ethically right, and the ending was disappointing and left the essential question unanswered.

Survivors : a novel of the coming collapse, by James Rawles

2011-12-08T13:05:00.001-05:00

Whacked out far right near future apocalyptic thing. This had so many plotlines, and so many different characters trying to survive "the crunch" that it was hard to follow, but the main point was definitely buy guns (many), ammo (as much as possible), and hoard metals. In this particular vision of worldwide upheaval, US inflation lead to Weimar-era style worthless paper, and riots and such quickly followed. The rest was pretty standard Ayn Rand-leaning survival stuff, but it did have an interesting and exciting recipe for home-made molotov cocktails, which was a nice touch!

1 pint jar
thickened gasoline- thicken pure gasoline with styrofoam until it is thick like molassas
1/2 cup battery acid

put both in pint jar, seal, and wash carefully.

put 2 rubber bands around jar.

soak sheets of paper in potassium chloride solution, let dry, cut into strips.

put strip of paper through rubber bands.

when ready to use, shake jar and throw- supposedly, once the mixture inside touches the paper, BOOM.

(I am not- repeat- NOT saying anyone should try this or that it works - just that it was highly unusual to find recipes for homemade weaponry in a terrible novel.)

Explosive Eighteen, by Janet Evanovich

2011-12-06T18:23:00.001-05:00

Another entry into the endless Stephanie Plum series. This is a fun one, but the love triangle between Stephanie, Ranger, and Morelli is getting tired and almost gross, and the hints that she might be pregnant are very worrisome, as I think that would be a rotten way to end the series. Gah. Its like cheetos, I dont know why I bother.

Legend, by Marie Lu

2011-12-06T17:53:00.001-05:00

FANTASTIC dystopian YA. Rebel Day and Agent June are of opposite sides of a battle to control a near future police state California, but they are more alike than they know. When they come into contact with each other, explosive chemistry and an intense clash of ideals create a great tense read, and one with satisfying and memorable characters.

The Burry Man's Day, by Catriona McPherson

2011-12-06T17:50:00.001-05:00

Another well done Dandy Gilver between the wars mystery.

The Dead of Winter, by Jane Adams

2011-12-06T17:48:00.001-05:00

Not very good locked country house mystery. A group gets together to reenact a sceance that had gone terribly wrong a hundred years ago, and a snowstorm traps all the participants. Too many coincidences, and just not great.

I Want My Hat Back, by Jon Klassen

2011-12-06T17:45:00.001-05:00

This was such a funny picture book! The simple but effective illustrations were wonderful, and the cheeky bear was very naughty in the end, but understandably!

Zen Shorts, by Juhn Muth

2011-12-06T17:43:00.001-05:00

I took this out because I was curious about the titles that President Obama recently bought on a shopping trip, and thought it might be interesting to see what he would buy as a picture book. I did not like it.
It was basically zen koans, told as childrens' stories, with odd illustrations, and it left me annoyed.

This Beautiful Live, by Helen Schulman

2011-11-30T13:52:00.001-05:00

Well done book. Richard and Liz Bergamot's New York world is pretty perfect, and their children's too- private schools, lots of extracurriculars, a warm and loving family with economic secutiry and a stable life. When their 15 year old son Jake is sent a pornographic video by a younger girl he rejected, he forwards it to his best friend, in a mistake that leads to disaster for everyone involved. Reminded me a bit of Anita Shreve's Testimony- teen sexual activities recorded and shared, and the fallout that can ensue, but was much better.

Ed King, by David Guterson

2011-11-30T11:42:00.001-05:00

Phenomenal update on Oedipus Rex. I had major doubts about how the classic tragedy could be updated, but the exceptional Guterson did it so well. A 16 year old au pair and her employer seduce each other, and she abandons the baby in a wealthy neighborhood, wishing the baby the best. Ed King grows up not knowing he is adopted. He has teenage years of being reckless - it is hard to not give plot spoilers, so I'm going to stop because the deft way Guterson brought the tale to modern times was really brilliant, and moving the drama into the hubris and grandiose ambitions of software barons was a genius stroke.

Few Eggs and No Oranges, by Vere Hodgson

2011-11-30T11:36:00.001-05:00

This was an absolutely incredible diary by a woman living in London throughout WWII- it was astonishing in the courage that people had during unimaginable terror and deprivation, and breathtaking in how seriously wonderful the English spirit was during those times. Long- 624 pages- but I could not put it down. Her daily entries breathed with life, and the detail with which she recorded the progress of the war taught me more about WWII than I have ever known. Stunning. Everyone should read this.

Blueprints for Building Better Girls, by Elissa Schappell

2011-11-30T11:33:00.001-05:00

Excellent short story collection, exploring the worlds of women, as lovers and 'sluts', daughters and mothers, wives and mistresses- the interconnections between the stories made it almost novel-like, as each story really built upon previous stories, to create a very vivid and powerful collection.

Miss Buncle Married, by D. E. Stevenson

2011-11-30T11:30:00.001-05:00

Sequel to Miss Buncle's Book, and still charming, if a little too sacharine. Miss Buncle (plot spoiler lol!) marries, and moves to a new village, where further match-making and life-changing ensue.

Miss Buncle's Book, by D.E. Stevenson

2011-11-30T11:27:00.001-05:00

Lovely, fanciful and warm novel. Miss Buncle, when strapped for cash, decides to write a book- thinly veiled about her village and neighbors. Its publication is a surprise success, and the ramifications of her descriptions of her neighbors and friends lead to upheaval within the village. Charming.

Gossip: The Untrivial Pursuit, by Joseph Epstein

2011-11-30T11:22:00.001-05:00

Unpleasant book about gossip. While Joseph Epstein often writes about topics I am interested in, such as the social implications of gossip, or class structure in America, he seems such a snob and a jerk, and this was the most offensive yet of his name-dropping, nasty books.

MWF Seeking BFF: My Yearlong Search for a New Best Friend

2011-11-30T11:18:00.001-05:00

Interesting premise. When Rachel and her husband move to Chicago, she misses her best friends from New York, and makes a concerted effort to try to meet friends. While meeting and making friends outside of college is so much harder, I hate to say the book really turned me off. I wouldn't want to be friends with her, and although the things she treid were interesting, not being able to like the author stopped me from enjoying the book itself.

The Night Eternal, by Guillermo Del Toro

2011-11-30T11:02:00.001-05:00

OK ending to the Strain trilogy. The first book was so good, and the second so horrific, but this one left me a little flat.

Shiny Objects : Why We Spend Money We Don't Have in Search of Happiness We Can't Buy, by James Roberts

2011-11-30T10:59:00.001-05:00

Excellent book on consumerism, happiness, and how they relate. Full of interesting charts with accessible references to peer reviewed studies, this was a nice new take on a topic I've read a lot on. Would recommend.

After the Armistice Ball, by Catriona McPherson

2011-11-30T10:56:00.001-05:00

Well done between the wars mystery. Classic set up- society heroine, missing diamonds, a death, but very neatly done- I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

Twisted, by Sara Shepard

2011-11-30T10:51:00.001-05:00

Great new Pretty Little Liars, somehow taking and expanding on the original A premise, and continuing one of my greatest guilty pleasure series reads.

LBD: It's a Girl Thing, by Grace Dent

2011-11-30T10:48:00.001-05:00

Funny English YA, but nowhere near as good as Dent's FANTASTIC Diary of a Chav series. This was sweet and well done, but lacked the characterization that really made Diary of a Chav transcend the genre.

Lost In Time, by Melissa De La Cruz

2011-11-30T10:46:00.001-05:00

Pretty ludicrous addition to the Blue Bloods series. The mythology at this point is so strained, and Jack and Schulyer's relationship feels unreal, and Mimi's visit to Hell was laugh out loud bad.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever, by Jeff Kinney

2011-11-22T17:34:00.001-05:00

Number 6 in the very funny Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. Greg and his family are trapped by a blizzard, after the usual shenanigans of a Wimpy Kid book- quick and cute.

Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick, by Joe Schreiber

2011-11-21T19:21:00.001-05:00

Fast paced and outlandish but funny and enjoyable YA. Like Carl Hiaasen or such. Perry is reluctant to take his family's visiting Latvian exchange student, Gobija, to the prom, but when she whirls him into NYC for a series of assassinations, he finds there was more to her than he thought. Going to be a movie, and I bet it will be a fun one.

The House on the Cliff, by D.E. Stevenson

2011-11-21T19:19:00.001-05:00

Lovely D.E. Stevenson book. Light and cozy romance with a great dose of real-estate porn- struggling actress Elfreda inherits a family estate, and learns to leave Lond'ns bright lights for country pleasures.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, by Jerry Pinkney

2011-11-21T19:08:00.001-05:00

Just about the most beautiful childrens' book I have ever seen.

The Velvet Room, by Zilpha Keately Snyder

2011-11-21T19:03:00.001-05:00

Just a lovely children's book. Migrant farm family has a car breaksdown near a farm with an abandoned mansion nearby. When her father finds work on the farm, Robin finds her way into the round, velvet curtained turret room, and finds an escape in books. This was just really lovely.

The ABC Murders, by Agatha Christie

2011-11-21T19:01:00.001-05:00

My first e-book! I read this on my awesome new Kindle-fire, which I love more than words can say. I chose to read an Agatha Christie first, to combine the familiar with the new, and it was a match made in heaven. Great classic Christie, amazing new format. so cool.

The Scrapbook of Francie Pratt, by Caroline Preston

2011-11-21T18:49:00.001-05:00

A moving graphic novel following the protagonist through the roaring 1920’s, from Cornish New Hampshire to Vassar to decadent ex-pat writer’s refuge Paris and back. Frankie is a heroine to remember, and the vintage details in the “scrapbook” add depth and interest to the story.

The Girl of Fire and Thorns, by Rae Carson

2011-11-21T18:41:00.001-05:00

Excellent YA fantasy with an unusual heroine and vividly imagined, vaguely Spanish/South American setting. I couldn't put this down.

Across the Universe, by Beth Revis

2011-11-21T18:37:00.001-05:00

Well done YA Sc-Fi. Amy is frozen with her parents for a 300 year journey to terraform a new planet, but is woken 75 years early in suspicious circumstances. This was an exciting blend of scifi and romance and philosophical points about what compromises might be necessary for the human race to survive.

The Village that Slept, bu Monique Peyrouton de Ladebat

2011-11-21T18:31:00.001-05:00

This was a strangely addictive children's book about 2 children who wake, dazed and amnesiac, high in the Alps after a plane crash. They find a baby among the wreckage, and then take shelter in an abandoned village for 18 months. Strange, dreamlike, and quite haunting.

The Mystery of the Haunted Pool, by Phyllis Whitney

2011-11-21T18:28:00.001-05:00

Cool little children's mystery, very reminiscent of Nancy Drew, with hidden gems and pirate treasure and secret hiding places.

Missing Melinda, by Jacqueline Jackson

2011-11-21T18:25:00.001-05:00

Really lovely hidden children's gem- twin sisters Cordelia and Ophelia move into a new house, and promptly begin a mystery involving the disappearance of a valuable old doll named Melinda. Delightful .

The Twisted Thread, by Charlotte Bacon

2011-11-21T18:23:00.001-05:00

Ok but familiar feeling college girl secret society murder mystery- reminded me much of The Sixes, by Kate White.

Easily Amused, by Karen McQuestion

2011-11-21T18:19:00.001-05:00

Light and quick read. After inheriting a house in the suburbs, dizzy girl gets absorbed into the neighborhood and finds Mr. Right, blah blah. Predictable but comforting. Comfort food lite, like Cheetos.

Comfort and Joy, by India Knight

2011-11-21T18:16:00.001-05:00

Light and charming Christmas book. Upscale Bridget Jones-y characters, celebrating Christmas over many years. Rather like One Day without the tear-jerkyness.

Bad Kitty Meets The Baby, by Nick Bruel

2011-11-21T18:14:00.001-05:00

Not as delightful as earlier entries in the series, but still fun and charming. I do love Bad Kitty, I'm just not sure about this title.

Lost Girls, by Alan Moore

2011-11-21T18:12:00.001-05:00

Now, usually when I say something is porn on here, I mean food porn, or lifestyle porn, or most often real-estate porn, but this was just straight up hardcore comic drawn porn. Ick.

Martha Stewart Entertaining: A Year of Celebrations

2011-11-21T18:10:00.001-05:00

Beautiful, unachievable lifestyle porn. Ugh.

The Marriage Plot, by Jeffrey Eugenides

2011-11-08T18:23:00.000-05:00

Ah.

Quickly making the Top Ten Books of 2011 lists (Publisher’sWeekly and Amazon, so far) Eugenides’ latest is clearly a great read. But is ita great book? That I’m not sure of.

I have to say that The Virgin Suicides is one of my all timefavorite books, so my expectations are insanely high, so grain of salt- hell,pillar of salt.

The college and post-college experiences of Brown studentsMadeleine, Leonard, and Mitchell rang true, and parts were heartbreakinglyreal, but I never felt fully absorbed in the story, and the lyricism thatdefined Virgin Suicides was not present.

What hit me hardest with this book was the heart-pangingrecognition of first love, all night conversations about philosophy orsemantics or religion, how devastatingly accurately Eugenides portrayed those(ludicrous in retrospect) days when it seemed like ideas and ethics and booksmattered at all- when friendships and relationships could be broken byreactions to Barthes or Derrida, when it seemed normal and natural for conversationto revolve around theory. That broke my heart, the dreadful mirror he held upto the college experience, but he never took it to the next inevitable point-when all of these people compromise (as they will have to)- when Madeleinefinds there are no jobs for Victorianists, when Mitchell realizes that unlesshe goes Unibomber style, he will be one of the great hypocrites of the earth,and when Leonard will (again, seemingly inevitably) commit suicide.

I might sound bitter.

Ok, this book fucked with me.

But, for all that- the book stayed firmly in lucky,intelligent, mostly wealthy white people territory, and while that is fine, andno necessary detriment to great literature (see, Salinger, Updike, WHARTON, forgod’s sake), the characters never bled for me or made me weep.

It was a great read. I don’t think it was agreat book.

Fever, by Lauren DeStefano

2011-11-08T18:10:00.000-05:00

A fantastic follow-up to the phenomenal Wither.

In this novel, unwilling bride Rhine and house servantGabriel have escaped the luxurious prison of her husband’s mansion, only tofind that the world outside the gilded cage is even darker and more dangerousthan it had been inside. With their freedom the only thing they truly have,their struggle to remain free is all the more poignant. After being captured ina surreal and vividly painted brothel/circus, Rhine must use all of herstrength to save herself, Gabriel, and a young straggler they pick up along theway. Without giving spoilers, it’s hard to describe more of the plot, but onceagain, DeStefano’s writing reimagines the familiar ground of YApost-apocalyptic dystopian near-future America, and creates a fully imaginedworld fraught with danger, but touched by hope. Different in tone from thenearly claustrophobic Wither, Fever is a fantastic sequel that doesn’t feellike “the middle book” at all- while leaving me panting for the next in theseries!

A Killer's Christmas in Wales, by Elizabeth Duncan

2011-11-08T17:59:00.003-05:00

This was a bit of a dissapointment plot-wise, but I really enjoy the North Wales settings of Duncan's EXTRA-COZY mysteries, and although the characters don't ring to life, and the plots are a wee bit threadbare, still, the thrill to my heart of the murder happeining at Conwy Castle, and the frequent mentions of the train from Chester to Llandudno etc keeps me reading her books. Rhys Bowen's Constable Evan series was better, but seems to have stopped.

A Dark and Stormy Night, by Jeanne Dams

2011-11-08T17:55:00.000-05:00

Pretty blah country house mystery. I have no problem with mysteries featuring older protagonists, but some of the characters in this spent more time worrying about slipping on the stairs than about the killer loose in the house, and that kind of put me off. I was hoping to adore this, as I love a good locked door country house storm-isolated inheritance plot, but I did not, and will not try another by this author.

Zone One, by Colson Whitehead

2011-10-31T23:46:00.001-04:00

Amazing take on a classic zombie novel. So many "literary" authors are venturing into post-apocalyptic fiction that its hard to keep them all straight, but this one really stood out. Mark Spitz (the name is a joke you don't get til you're more than halfway through the book) has been, in his own mind, mediocre his entire life, but it turns out he has a hell of a survival instinct. In the blurred days since Last Night, he has managed to keep away from and survive enough skels (the dead) to make it to being a part of a clearing crew, a 3 person team working on buildings under 20 stories in Zone One, lower Manhattan.
In the choas of sweeping the city for stragglers, Mark reflects on what has been lost, and what may be to come, and human nature gets painted in some pretty ugly terms, but parts of the novel are lyrical in mourning what will pass, the chain restaurants, the easy commerce, the abundance of America. I think the resurgence of post-apocalyptic fiction is telling, and have written more about that elsewhere, but this is one of the finest examples I have read. Justin Cronin's The Passage was a straight-up Stephen King-ish horror vampire epic, Shteyngart's Super Sad True Love Story kind of skipped the apocalypse and led us right to moral ruin, but this book showed the steps in between. Wonderfully done.

The Party After You Left, by Roz Chast

2011-10-31T23:31:00.000-04:00

Very clever cartoons fron New Yorker staple Roz Chast.