Whistlin' Dixie in a Nor'easter, by Lisa Patton

Fun book! Leelee's husband suddenly gets the urge to move from Memphis to Vermont to run a bed and breakfast, but when Leelee is left to face Vermont winters and to run an inn on her own, she finds she's much more competent and capable than she had ever thought. I usually don't enjoy books that twang on about Southern-ness, but this was an enjoyable light read.

Much Ado About Anne, by Heather Vogel Frederick

Very sweet YA/Children's book. A sequel to The Mother Daughter Book Club, this time the girls read Anne of Green Gables, and the plot of the book vaguely mirrors the plot of Anne. Lovely.

Box 21, by Roslund-Hellstrom

Disturbing but well done Swedish noir. Corrupt police? check. Illegal immigrants and human trafficking? check. A dark and awful twist at the end? check. Fantastic, I'm sold.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, by Jeff Kinney

More of the same, but Greg is definitely growing up. Very funny.

And Another Thing, by Eoin Colfer

This was lovely, funny, and fit right into the series. I'm never sure about a new writer finishing a dead writer's work, but supposedly Douglas Adams was sad about where he'd left Arthur, Trillian, Ford, Random, etc, and Colfer definitely tried to follow the magic formula.

I Never Fancied Him Anyway, by Claudia Carrol

Standard psychic Irish chick lit. fun.

Emma

A really lovely movie version of Emma (Jane Austen). This was lovely, I liked it a lot more than the Gwyneth Paltrow version.

George Bush Dark Prince of Love, by Lydia Millet

One of the strangest books I have ever read. Ex-con Rosemary fallis in love with George Bush during his inaugural speech, worships him from afar, builds altars and effigies, writes to him and gets secret service visits, and in the end, transfers her insane affections to Bill Clinton. Kind of fabulous, very depressing, wonderful writing.

If I Stay, by Gail Forman

Trauma-porny YA. After a horrific car crash that kills her parents and her little brother, Mia floats around the hospital in some kind of out-of-body coma and decides whether to 'stay' or go.

One D.O.A., One on the Way, by Mary Robison

Beautifully written book about life in post-Katrina New Orleans. I have only read one of Mary Robison's books, Oh, and that was years and years ago and it barely made an impression on me, but this was something else. Achingly perfect use of language, and the interspersed lists and holster-wearing guidelines didn't distract from the kind of melancholy Southern Gothic love triangle that was the heart of the story. Lit fic, done well.

Misconception, by Ryan Boudinot

Wonderful, twisted little book. From two of the most unreliable narrators I've seen in fiction, this tiny masterpiece was such a blurry little nightmare. Even to the last line, nothing was clear. Kat and Cedar haven't seen each other since they were teens, at the end of a first-love summer that went incredibly awry. 20 years later, Kat needs Cedar to sign off some documents her publishers require, saying that he won't sue over what she has written in her memoir- parts of which she has written from his point of view. The power of the novel lies in the space inbetween her memories and his, and between truth and fiction, and the loopy meta-ness of having Cedar read an Amazon review of Kat's first collection of short stories by a Ryan Boudinot- sneaky!
Wonderful.

Hummingbirds, by Joshua Gaylord

Beautifully written book about teachers and students at an all-girls school in Manhattan. The language was finely used. If the 2 male teachers at the heart of the story weren't original, there were some lovely phrases used in their spiraling to what was told as inevitable disaster.

Juliet, Naked, by Nick Hornby

Well, this was pretty standard Nick Hornby. Depressed, go-nowhere pop-culture obsessed man-children, women who for the most part should run rings about these guys but who love them nonetheless, bittersweet romance, and all.

The Windup Girl, by Paolo Bacigalupi

Fantastic, disturbing near-future sci-fi. Gene mutations and spread of genetically modified food that bears diseases that taint 'natural' crops has left the world in a famine, while rising sea levels have destroyed most coastal cities. Bangkok, however, due to massive engineering and successful wars between Thailand and it's neighbors, survives in a surreal animal power driven nightmarish state, and the machinations and plottings of some expatriate corporate types with a need to get their hands on the imperial seed bank drive the plot for the most part. The windup girl of the title, Emiko, is a Japanese creation abandoned after her owner left her in the city, and her 'life' has become a nightmare. Questions of civil rights for artificial life are hard to look at in a novel where humans suffer this much, but miraculously, Emiko's struggles are as agonizing, if not more so, as the humans she was created to obey.

After, by Amy Efaw

Trauma-pornish YA issue novel, this time about the dumpster-baby phenomenon. Pretty well written, but...

Down At The Docks, by Rory Nugent

Interesting and sad look at the disintegration of New Bedford's economy and of the city's fishing community.

Well Read and Dead, by Catherine O'Connell

Another fluffy mystery, set among Chicago 'society', and in Bangkok. Suprisingly good plot.

Purses and Poison, by Dorothy Howell

Another fun, fluffy mystery, a little more Stephanie Plum than September Fair.

September Fair, by Jess Loury

Fun, fast and breezy month-by-month mystery. Set at the Minnesota State Fair, Mira James, recovering alcoholic and journalist is there to cover the prizes residents of her tiny town Battle Lake win, but ends up having to investigate the death of Milkfed Mary, the beauty queen.

The War After Armageddon, by Ralph Peters

Thoroughly engrossing apocalyptic novel.

I can't summarize it as neatly as booklist, so I shall use their (no doubt copyrighted) words.

"Peters unveils the possibility of a terrifying future in his latest thriller. Following the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the rest of the world becomes embroiled in battle. Los Angeles doesn't exist anymore after a nuclear blast, and most of Europe and Israel are also wiped off the map. How will the remains of the U.S. react to this new and horrible landscape? The scenario that unfolds demonstrates both a paranoid and all-too-plausible possibility. Peters doesn't take the time to explain how all the cataclysmic events transpired. Instead, he drops the reader directly into the battle for the remains of the planet, with weapons firing and limbs flying. The result is an extremely brutal and bloody novel. The introduction, set after the war, takes away some of the narrative's suspense, though the reader is never quite sure at what point the story will end. Military-fiction fans who don't mind Armageddon-style bleakness and massive carnage will find plenty to sink their teeth into here.--Ayers, Jeff Copyright 2009 Booklist "

The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer, by Ridley Pearson

Haunted house story, gothic horror set in turn of the century Seattle. Was ok.

Tales from Outer Suburbia, by Shaun Tan

Haunting and strange short story collection/graphic novel. This was a surreal and beautiful book, but I don't see who it's aimed at- maybe the point of art isn't to aim it but to make it because you have to, and it was so very gorgeous and wierd.

The Accidental Bestseller, by Wendy Wax

Fun, loopy kind of meta women's fiction. Writer Kendall Aims is on the verge of losing everything- her husband, her agent, her career, and 3 of her writing friends, pastor's wife Fay, waitress and romance writer Tanya, and successful Mallory help her complete a manuscript by its due date to fulfill contractual obligations. The title gives an idea what happens to this group effort, but it was very clever in ways. Fluffy, but a neat skewering of the publishing industry, with a lot of real names etc popping up, and great defenses of inspirational fiction, harlequin type books, women's fiction, etc. Also funny- how mean she was about paranormal romance. Tee hee.

Spoiled, by Caitlin Macy

Pretty amazing collection of short stories. Mostly focused on class tension among privileged New Yorkers and each other or with the help (nannies, cleaning help) that they employ. It wasn't that this whole thing hasn't been done before, but it was the knifelike precision of the writing that really knocked me out. The Red Coat, about Trish and her cleaning lady, Evgenia, was wonderful, the title story Spoiled, about teenage Leigh and her riding instructor was great, but I think my favorite might have been the first story, Christie.

Brooklyn, by Colm Toibin

Beautifully told immigration and coming of age story. Eilys leaves her mother and sister in rural Ireland in the 1950s to emmigrate to Brooklyn. While this was really good, I am surprised it was on the Booker long list- as I was surprised with The Little Stranger being nominated too. Good, but...

Holly's Inbox, by Holly Denham

Funny breezy London chick-lit, told through emails in Holly's inbox. Bit of a sudden end, but was frothy and had some laugh-out-loud bits, mostly from Holly's friend Aisha.

Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins

Sequel to The Hunger Games. I actually enjoyed this book more than the first, thought it had a lot more going on and liked the character development. Looking forward to the third.

Blue Heaven, by C.J. Box

2008 Edgar Award winner, this thriller set in North Idaho follows a 12 year old girl and her younger brother who go on the run after witnessing a brutal execution-style murder, and know that the killers saw them. Fun read, and really well done look at what happens when people (in this case retired LAPD) move into an area with well-established locals, and no one has the same ideas about what the town should feel like.

Dark Places, by Gillian Flynn

Wonderful, very dark and gruesome. Libby Day was 7 when she was the sole survivor of the murders of her mother and two sisters, and based on evidence she gave, her 15 year old brother Ben was convicted of the very violent murders. Now as an adult, the last of the sympathy fund that had been established for her has run out, and she has no life skills to earn a living. A group of true crime enthusiasts offers her money to tell them about that night, and she begins to explore, for the first time, the facts of the case, and to find out what really happened that night. This was pretty fantastic, but disturbing- not for the squeamish, but a really well written take on a very unsympathetic character and a wonderfully plotted story.

Frozen Fire, by Bill Evans and Marianna Jameson

Fast paced disaster thriller, very James Bond-y with hot brilliant scientists willing to die for charismatic leader of covert group, great explosions, etc. Ridic, but super fun.

The Lost Symbol, by Dan Brown

Dreadful improbable schlock, but quick.

Lush Life, by Richard Price

Gritty with amazingly realistic dialogue. The mix of immigrants, projects, and hipsterish newcomers to the lower east side of NYC leads to what feels like inevitable tragedy.

Moonlight in Odessa, by Janet Skeslein Charles

This was so good, yet frothy somehow. Ukrainian Daria is working in Odessa at an inport/export company, avoiding her lecherous boss, and takes a second job helping translate for a Valentina, who is running a dating site to match Ukrainian women to American men. Daria's character was so well developed, and her insight into the world of mail-order brides was fascinating, but I felt the story lost strength when Daria herself came to America.

Love Will Tear Us Apart, by Sarah Rainone

I really wanted to like this book, but found it hard. Set in Rhode Island over a wedding weekend, this story of friends gathering in what was clearly Cranston felt overwritten.

Killer, by Sara Shepard

The fifth in the increasingly nonsensical Pretty Little Liars YA series.

The Season, by Sarah MacLean

Exceptionally bad YA regency romance, interesting only in that- YA regency romance? really?

Divine Justice, by David Baldacci

Lukewarm thriller. This is a less than satisfying entry into the Baldacci's wildly popular Camel Club series. It had a lot of distracting subplots set in rural Divine, Virginia, and a kind of unsatisfying end. The kind of book you might buy at the airport and leave on the plane when it was done.

Shelf Discovery: The Teen Classics We Never Stopped Reading, by Lizzie Skurnik

I loved her Fine Lines column on Jezebel.com, and had been excited about this book, but it seems that a. lots of it I had read already, as it was posted, and b. small doses, you know what I mean?

What I Saw And How I Lied, by Judy Blundell

FANTASTIC historical YA. Set in 1947, 15 year old Evelyn is taken on an impromptu trip to Palm Beach, Florida by her mother and stepfather. There, she falls in love, learns about racial and religious segregation, and learns that much of her life has been built on a foundation of lies. The way she handles this is wonderful, an awesome example of a person recognizing shades of gray in morality, and the conclusion was immensely satisfying. The clothes and cars and material ambition of the post-war era were beautifully depicted. This was wonderfully written, and may be the best YA I've read this year.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth, by Carrie Ryan

Flawed post-apocalyptic zombie YA. Interesting, but too many holes in the plot, not enough background, and unsatisfying ending. Pretty gross, though, if that's a plus.

War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy

Well. This was, of course, long. But, the thing is, I had read another translation many and many a moon ago, and had thought I enjoyed it. I'm not sure if the difference is the translation (and if I have to read it again to figure it out, it may never happen) but I did not enjoy this much.
Pierre is an idiot, Andrei insufferable, Natasha is ok, I guess, Helene and Dolokhov were the only interesting characters, so of course aren't around much, and Nikolai was a swine to do what he did.
Too long, too many rants about philosophy and politics, too detailed with the battles, all in all, not a fun summer read.

Swan for the Money, by Donna Andrews

Another fun, fast paced funny Meg Langslow mystery. Not a whole lot more to say about that.

Flood, by Stephen Baxter

Post apocalyptic dystopia, but was sadly disappointing as the science behind the flooding seemed sketch at best. Undersea pockets of frozen ocean are released, resulting in rapid and catastrophic flooding, and a group of characters, who bonded while living as hostages with various Spanish breakaway groups are the focus of the plot. Some interesting ideas, some good scenes, but nothing really spectacular. Save this for when you need something mindless and disastery.

Tipping the Velvet, by Sarah Waters

Well, after Sarah Waters ghost story The Little Stranger was placed on the long list for the Booker prize, to my surprise, I decided I had to find out what all this was about, so went ahead and read this one. 1998, and it is a hell of a good book, if surprisingly bawdy and explicit. Nan's life, from an oyster girl in Victorian Whitstable, to her days on the music hall stage, to her time as a kept girl of a wealthy woman of varied and unusual tastes, was extraordinary reading, and I understand why she has the reputation as a writer that she does. I still don't see nominating The Little Stranger as one of the 13 best books of the year, but if there's any taking into account other works by the same writer, she should certainly win something, at any rate.

Man Booker Prize Long List

The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt

Summertime by J.M Coetzee

The Quickening Time by Adam Foulds

How to Paint A Dead Man by Sarah Hall

The Wilderness by Samantha Harvey
Me Cheeta by James Lever

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
The Glass Room by Simon Mawer

Not Untrue and Not Unkind by Ed O'Loughlin

Helopolis by James Scudamore

Brooklyn by Colm Toibin

Love and Summer by William Trevor

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

The Maggody Militia, by Joan Hess

As usual, very funny Joan Hess Maggody book. Read it before, will probably read it again, to be honest.

The Girl Who Played With Fire, by Stieg Larsson

Wonderful, again. This was so good, and I'm half in love with both Blomquist and Salander.
Sequel to the amazing The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, this was violent, dramatic, political, dealt with gender issues and human trafficking and commercialized sexuality, has interesting and well developed characters, and I CANNOT WAIT for the third (and final, presumably, unless that story about the laptop with the last book on it is true) book in the Millenium trilogy.

Twenties Girl, by Sophie Kinsella

As always, fun. I wonder how much longer she will keep the Madeleine Wickham and the Sophie Kinsella writing separate- I think this very much blurred the line, as did The Wedding Girl. I had thought that she was keeping the Wickham for more kind of lit-fic style writing, and Kinsella for the sex+shoes kind of writing, but both The Wedding Girl and Twenties Girl had the same kind of Katie Fforde went to London vibe, and it seems silly almost to keep the brands separate. Just saying.
Anyway, this was great fun, for what it is.

The Chosen One, by Carol Lynch Williams

Good YA- set within a religious compound much like the Warren Jeffs thing- 14 year old Kyra risks getting her entire family in serious trouble if she refuses to marry her much older uncle. Well written issue book.

Born Again Vintage, by Bridgett Artise

Seriously useless how-to-combine-ugly-clothes-into-even-uglier-clothes how to book. Wow.

Exclusively Chloe, by J.A. Yang

Pretty bad YA, but with an interesting premise. The Chinese born adopted daughter of married movie stars wants to find out about her birth family, which could have made for a pretty great book, but it went another way.