Library

March 2010

February 2010

January 2010

December 2009

November 2009

October 2009

September 2009

August 2009

July 2009

June 2009

May 2009

  • Into the Wilderness, by Sara Donati
  • Rivals for the Crown, by Kathleen Givens
  • Dead Until Dark, by Charlaine Harris (audiobook) — Getting rev’d up for the new True Blood season by listening to all the books. The reader is great.
  • Lost Nation, by Jeffrey Lent — I’m only 1/3 of the way in but already love it. Thanks to Jennifer Harvey for the suggestion. It definitely fits my Deadwood desires. Finally finished it this weekend, and, damn, was it good. The words in this thing, they’re strung together all new and old and wonderful. It’s complex and gritty and I loved every page.
  • Insatiable, by Virginia Henley (audiobook) — Nothing like listening to naughty books in the car. (squirm) [Update: Eh. I got bored. Too much “exquisite female” going on.
  • Coraline, by Neil Gaiman –
  • Blue Smoke, by Nora Robers (audiobook) — The tapes crapped out on me at the very end. Stupid broken CD player in my car. But fairly standard Nora. Enjoyable.
  • Sharp Objects, by Gillian Flynn — Terribly creepy, but so, so good. Reminds me why girls are evil.

April 2009

  • Smonk, by Tom Franklin — Only halfway through and completely grossed out and despairing for humankind and loving it.
  • Cassandra, Lost, by Joanna Catherine Scott I put this one aside for now. Will get back to it.
  • The Wolves in the Walls, by Neil Gaiman — Cute and original if a bit scary at the premise. Wolves? IN my walls?!
  • Interworld, by Neil Gaiman and Michael Reaves — So great. Would love to see this as a TV series or movie. Fun, funny, science-y, and I don’t usually like science, what with all its stuff I don’t understand.
  • The Sandman Vol 2: The Doll’s House, by Neil Gaiman
  • The Sandman Vol 1: Preludes and Nocturnes, by Neil Gaiman
  • Finding Laura, by Kay Hooper (audiobook) — Not terrible; just your average romance-y mystery. What I did find especially annoying was that this book takes place in Atlanta, but not a soul says, “ma’am.” I don’t buy it.
  • Fire Study, by Maria V. Snyder
  • The Wilde Women, by Paula wall — I love Paula Wall so much. Her writing is beautiful and fun and just so darn interesting. A big magic realism, a bit southern gothic, a bit chicklit, all wonderful.
  • An Arranged Marriage, by Jo Beverly (audiobook) – I stopped listening. It just… dragged.

March 2009

  • Magic Study, by Maria V. Snyder
  • Sharp Objects, by Gillian Flynn
  • The Rock Orchard, by Paula Wall
  • Black Rose, by Nora Roberts — I listened to the first of this series on audiotape, but my library (oh, blessed library) doesn’t have this one on tape. So I’m reading it. Hope it’s good.
  • Fast Women, by Jennifer Crusie (I’ve read this one before, but I enjoy listening to the audiobooks)
  • Poison Study, by Maria V. Snyder

February 2009

  • A False Sense of Well Being, by Jeanne Braselton — I wouldn’t say that I enjoyed this one, exactly. I liked it, but there wasn’t much enjoying going on. With some bright spots of humor it is, ultimately, a depressing tale. When I add to that the realization that that the author killed herself shortly after writing this, it just gets even more gloomy. What I enjoyed most is the realistic portrayal of relationships, in all their complexities. And she captured small-town Georgia very well.
  • Running with Scissors, by Augusten Burroughs — Quite a ride. Unputdownable, but in a car crash kind of way. I can’t help but love reading about people’s fucked up lives, and boy howdy does this one deliver. It’s almost too fucked up, though. Well, no, not for me, but almost. There’s a layer of, “No way this kid really lived like that” about it. It’s funny in a “holy Christ they’re all insane” kind of way.
  • Remembering Blue, by Connie May Fowler. I really, really loved this one. It is so emblematic of the area where I grew up, and it captures the lifestyle of coastal folks so well. The relationship between the main characters is lovely — a peaceful, true, and innocent love that is so uplifting. Beautifully written with some magic-realism elements.
  • Blue Dahlia, by Nora Roberts (audiobook).
  • Eternity, by Maggie Shayne. I gave up on this one. Time was I’d have loved a book about star-crossed lovers with an unshakable bond predicated on love at first sight, destiny, and their own physical beauty. Not anymore. Does this mean I’m an adult? Maybe I’ll go back to it.
  • Pretty Little Dirty, by Amanda Boyden
  • Welcome to Temptation, by Jennifer Crusie (audiobook) I love this author. She always cracks me up. I’d read this one before, but listening to it was a hoot, too.
  • The High King’s Tomb (Book 3), by Kristen Britain

January 2009

  • The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls – This was so very good. I can’t help being fascinated by dysfunction, and this has a whole lot of it. Engrossing and off-putting and funny and deeply sad.
  • The Birth of Venus, by Sarah Dunant
  • The Sugar Queen, by Sarah Addison Allen — An extraordinarily swift read, but awfully sweet and satisfying.
  • The Borgia Bride, by Jeanne Kalogridis
  • Garden Spells, by Sarah Addison Allen – Loved this. Kind of Alice Hoffman-esque, in terms of magic realism. But more sweet, more southern.
  • In the Company of the Courtesan, by Sarah Dunant
  • Hell at the Breech, by Tom Franklin. Awesome. Dirty, ugly, and gritty filled with bad men doing bad things, but gorgeously written.

December 2008

November 2008

October 2008

  • Duchess: A Novel of Sarah Churchill, by Susan Holloway Scott
  • Love, Honor, and Betray, by Elizabeth Cary (getting back into my historical romance addiction)
  • Here Kitty Kitty, by Jardine Libaire—This one was so, so good. Like prose poetry in novel form. Extremely evocative, beautifully written, deeply moving. “My flesh somehow demonstrated lethargy, as if I wanted to be lying down at all times. I was five ten, but not exactly heavy. It was the nature of my anatomy that was rich, composed as it was of foie gras, cocaine, red Zinfandel, chocolate, quaaludes, brandy.”
  • Dancing Queen: The Lusty Adventures of Lisa Crystal Carver, by Lisa Crystal Carver—A fun read. Brief, humorous, not well edited. Vulgar and irreverent in the best way. Unabashed and insightful essays on the trashier parts of being American.
  • The Green Rider, by Kristen Britain.
  • A Round-Heeled Woman: My Late-Life Adventures in Sex and Romance, by Jane Juska. This one might require a whole post. It’s a very quick read, and not as tawdry as you might expect. But it’s interesting and well-written.

September 2008

August 2008

July 2008

June 2008

May 2008

April 2008

March 2008

February 2008

January 2008

December 2007

November 2007

October 2007

September 2007

August 2007

July 2007

June 2007

May 2007

April 2007

  • American Gods, by Neil Gaiman
    Oh, how I loved this. I think it goes right up there with some of my all-time favorite books. It was funny, fascinating, dark, imaginative, smart, strange, and intriguing. I’m a big fan of mythology and folklore, so it’s a natural this won me over.

March 2007

  • Bold Breathless Love, by Valerie Sherwood
  • Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd
  • Layover, by Lisa Zeidner
    I really wanted to like this but I couldn’t get into it. I gave up a chapter or so in. Perhaps I’ll go back to it.
  • Odd Thomas, by Dean Koontz
    I just finished this one. It’s been a busy month and my reading time has suffered. Anyway, I read it based on numerous recommendations, and I don’t know if it’s the hype or what… I liked it, but I didn’t love it. It had unique characters and an interesting premise, but it fell a little flat for me. I didn’t quite buy the romantic relationship, and some of the dialogue felt forced to me. I’m going to read the next in the series at some point — I liked it enough for that. But I’m wondering what I’m missing.

February 2007

  • The Torn Skirt, by Rebecca Godfrey
  • The Boys of My Youth, by Jo Anne Beard
    The most perfect description of girls playing with Barbies I’ve ever read. Find my discussion here.
  • Rangoon, by Christine Monson
  • The Magnificent Dream, by Day Taylor

January 2007

  • The Liars Club, by Mary Karr
    Mary Karr is my new favorite author. She’s right up there with Larry Brown and Nanci Kincaid for me. This memoir is funny, sharp, gritty, and beautifully written. Her lyricism really shines through.
  • Cherry, by Mary Karr
    This is the follow-up to The Liars Club, and another great book. This one follows her adolescence and teenage years.
  • Letters from an Age of Reason, by Nora Hague
    I loved this one. Very detailed, great historical aspect, and the main characters were so interesting. The epistilary style is a bit difficult to get into at first, but once you’ve got the “voices” down it’s an engaging read, one I had a hard time putting down.
  • The Inner Circle, by T.C. Boyle
    See review here.
  • Dreamland, by Kevin Baker

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