The Vault, by Peter Lovesey

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Another well done Dandy Gilver between the wars mystery.

The Dead of Winter, by Jane Adams

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.