There But For The

Fiction by Ali Smith.


http://www.barnesandnoble.com

This book had a cool premise, and an interesting structure, but it didn't really go anywhere.

The premise was, a guy comes to a dinner party at the home of people he doesn't know. Then before dessert, he goes upstairs and locks himself in the guestroom and stays there. For like MONTHS.

Weird, huh?

It caught my attention, but all in all I didn't really like this one.

The Dog Who Knew Too Much

Fiction by Spencer Quinn.


http://www.barnesandnoble.com/

Good book in an unusual way.

This is a detective story told from the point of view from a dog. Really.

The surprise is, it actually worked. The mystery was interesting and the plot made sense even within the confines of the dog-brain premise. Not a small feat, Mr. Quinn; I salute you!

And, yes, I chose it solely because of the title.

Evidence Not Seen

Subtitled: "A Woman's Miraculous Faith in the Jungles of World War Two."
Nonfiction by Darlene Deibler Rose.



http://www.barnesandnoble.com

Really good book, although it had a slightly slow start.

Definitely inspiring.

The Language of Flowers

Fiction by Vanessa Diffenbaugh.


http://www.barnesandnoble.com

Really good book, about a foster child who "ages out" of the system.

It kind of put me in mind of some of the Oprah book club selections from about ten years ago.

You know, when Ms. Winfrey was into stories of downtrodden kids, such as White Olenader or Ellen Foster.


The Language of Flowers has a lot of hope though, unlike some other books of this type.

I would recommend this one.

The Time Keeper

Fiction by Mitch Albom.


http://www.barnesandnoble.com

This is kind of mythical-style story about Father Time, as an actual person.

It's pretty good. It's not quite The Five People You Meet in Heaven, but still.

I liked it.

Keep on seizing the day, Mitch!

Twins

Fiction by Marcy Dermansky.



http://www.barnesandnoble.com

This is a book about a pair of identical twin teenagers who have virtually absent parents.

Good book, but a little dark. These are some seriously psychologically messed-up twins. Which I don't think is indicated by the cutesy-pootsey cover above.

The cover of the copy I read was better.>>>>>>>

Although I guess that cover wasn't particularly psychologically messed-up either.

It's just prettier.

(second image from http://en.wikipedia.org/)

Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage

Subtitled : "Unlocking the Secrets to Life, Love, and Marriage"
Nonfiction by Mark Gungor


http://www.barnesandnoble.com

Good marriage book; more entertaining than most.

Also I felt it was pretty practical. For example he spent nearly half the book on s-e-x. Now that's practicality!

Especially for a man....

Road to Grace

Fiction by Richard Paul Evans.


http://www.barnesandnoble.com

Good book.

Unfortunately, it's number THREE in a series, and I haven't read numbers one and two.

Grr. I hate it when that happens.

Incendiary

Fiction by Chris Cleave.


http://www.barnesandnoble.com

Okay. This book, with it's cutey-pretty-nice bright blue cover is about a horrible subject: a woman who lost her husband and only son in a terrorist attack.

And since it's about a (fortunately) fictional attack (on London at a football match), the author feels no compunction to be life-affirming or uplifting, the way everyone is with the post-9/11 stories. So it's pretty grim in a lot of ways. But also interesting, and I think more realistic because of the dark quality.

So... NOT a feel-good book. But a good book nonetheless.

Sisterchicks on the Loose!

Fiction by Robin Jones Gunn.


http://www.barnesandnoble.com

Good book.

It was better than I expected. Chick-lit, but not as light and fluffy as I thought it would be.

Worth reading.

I Hate Everyone--Starting With Me

Nonfiction by Joan Rivers.


http://www.barnesandnoble.com

Joan Rivers. Isn't she dead?

That's what my husband said when he saw me reading this book.

No. She is not dead. She is alive, and mean, and funny.

This book is not for the sensitive. At some point, and likely more than once, Joan will say she hates you personally in this book. It's still funny though.

A Lucky Child

Subtitled "A Memoir of Surviving Auschwitz as a Young Boy"
Nonfiction by Thomas Buergenthal.


http://www.barnesandnoble.com

Really good memoir.

Glad this guy didn't give up when he was told by many American publishers that "Holocaust books don't sell."