Mrs. Poe

Fiction by Lynn Cullen.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com

This was a good story but a little too drawn-out.

Contrary to the title, it was NOT about Poe's wife, but about his mistress. The characters were interesting. I always like to see historical people brought to life in novels. What I may have enjoyed most was reading the note at the end about what parts of the story were actually true.

The Rosie Effect

Fiction by Graeme Simsion.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com

This is the sequel to The Rosie Project. That was about a physics professor who searches for a wife as if it were another research project. In this book his story continues. He's a really good character.

It's a cute story with some funny situations and definitely worth reading. Read the first book first, though.

The Children Act

Fiction by Ian McEwan.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com

This story is about a British family court judge: both her personal life and her professional life. There are some thought-provoking ethical dilemmas here, and believable characters as well.

Also, it was short. Definitely worth your time.

Elvis and Ginger

Nonfiction by Ginger Alden.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com

Elvis was engaged when he died. Did you know that? I didn't. Also he was only forty-two years old. So I'm already older than Elvis ever was. That is super weird to me. I mention this information because that was all I manged to glean from this book.

Ginger, the author of this book, spent the last nine months or so of Elvis's life with him. She witnessed his death firsthand. She had a lot of insight into the end of his life. But unfortunately, this book was really boring. Sorry.

If it weren't about Elvis Presley, I'd give it a huge thumbs-down. But... for The King, I can't do that.

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

Fiction by Gabrielle Zevin.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com

Great book. Really.

Everything I Never Told You

Fiction by Celeste Ng.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com

Lydia Lee, who is arguably the main character of this book, is dead on page one. Her story is revealed piece by piece through the other members of her family.

And it's a good story. Although we do find out what happened to Lydia at the end, the focus of the book is really the people who are still alive, and what's happening to them.

Good book.

Ripper

Fiction by Isabel Allende.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com

This book is not about Jack the Ripper, except in a very peripheral way.

Instead it's about some teenagers who play a "game" called Ripper, in which they try to solve real-life murders. (They apparently began with the Jack the Ripper murders in a minor backstory.)  It helps that one of the teens is the daughter of the police chief investigating said crimes.

The Magicians

Fiction by Lev Grossman.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com

Okay. So this book here is supposed to be a grown-up Harry Potter. Like, imagine if Harry, Ron, and Hermione went to magic school at age 17 instead of 11. And screwed each other indiscriminately and became depressed alcoholics in the bargain. Oh, and then what if they went to Narnia and ruined that place as well?

Ugh, right?

Yeah, that's what I thought.

The Winter People

Fiction by Jennifer McMahon.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com

This novel tells a story that goes between two different times in the same (apparently haunted) house. Central to the narrative is a book entitled Visitors from the Other Side: The Secret Diary of Sara Harrison Shea. And that secret diary tells about Mrs. Shea's mysterious disappearance.

The Winter People was a good story and a page-turner as well. But it was also kind of horrifying.

Someone Else's Love Story

Fiction by Joshilyn Jackson.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com

At the beginning of this story, Shandi is a twenty-year-old girl with a three-year-old son who lives with her mother and struggles to finish college. This sounds like such a cliche, doesn't it?

But this is far FAR from an episode of "Teen Mom." The book is insightful and suspenseful, and it has some surprises in store. I loved it!

In the Heart of the Sea

Subtitled: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex
Nonfiction by Nathaniel Philbrick.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com

There is a movie version of this book coming out soon, which will probably be exciting, but I found this book  kind of boring. Sorry.

We Should Hang Out Sometime

Nonfiction by Josh Sundquist.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com

This is a funny memoir with an awesome first line:

When I was twenty-five years old, it came to my attention that I had never had a girlfriend. At the time, I was actually under the impression that I was in a relationship, so this bit of news came as something of a shock.

Well worth reading. I mean, don't you want to know how this could happen to a guy?