• (12/31) The Miserable Mill by Lemony Snicket.
  
  "Book the Fourth" in Snicket's tragic series about the poor, orphaned, miserable, persecuted Baudelaire children. This is a marvelously funny series of books for kids (Harry Potter aged) and adults alike. Not only extremely entertaining, but educational as well (vocabulary building is key!). A great escape for anybody at any age. If you haven't started the Snicket series, you better get hot! HIGHLY recommended!
  [FICTION]

  (12/28) No One Thinks of Greenland by John Griesemer.
  

  Strange but engrossing novel about young Rudy Spruance's military assignment to a secret Army hospital in Greenland. He's sent there in lieu of a trip to prison, actually, and so has very little knowledge of the ways of the military (he was forced to enlist by the judge). When the base colonel puts him in charge of starting a newspaper, this sends Rudy off in search for a good story. In his pursuit for news, he wanders into "The Wing," a top secret part of the hospital where Rudy finds a group of Korean War wounded (this novel is set in the late 1950's). None of them have names and Rudy quickly begins to unearth the truth about who they are and what the military has planned for them. But once he knows the truth, this puts him in danger as well. Can he save them, the woman he loves, and himself from the icy, dark clutches of the Arctic?

  Entertaining and somewhat satirical, this was an imaginative tale of the forgotten places of the world and of history. Not bad for the first novel of one of the stars of "Days of Thunder"!
  [FICTION]

  (12/27) Paradise Lost by J. A. Jance.
  

  I've only read a few of Jance's novels -- I only just discovered how great she is recently, after all. But I have to say, this one was a bit of a let-down. It's one of the Joanna Brady novels and takes place in the Southwest, like the others. But the dialogue wasn't as tight and there was an extraordinary amount of "filler" in this one -- paragraphs that took you off-topic for a page or two while Jance told us something about a character that really had no relevance (the something, not the character). I started to skim a bit after I got about half-way and that just isn't like me!

  Nevertheless, the plot is pretty exciting and I did read the whole thing (you'll note it took me awhile, though -- I had no problem setting this book down). Here's a quick synopsis: Joanna's 15-year old daughter (Jenny) is sent off on a camping trip with the Girl Scouts. The first night in the woods, however, she and her tent-mate Dora sneak out to go for a walk (and experiment with smoking -- Dora is a bad influence). While they're exploring, they come across the usual woodsy-type things: trees, small furry critters, etc. But then comes something UNusual -- a dead woman's body. Both girls are taken home while Joanna is called in to investigate. But when Dora's mother also turns up missing and then Dora vanishes as well, things start to get a bit confusing. Are all these murders linked or is it just a coincidence that they're all happening at the same time? And, most importantly, is Jenny's life in danger now too?

  Now, I did read this one all the way through and I can't say I didn't enjoy it, but I think I'll try one of the earlier Brady novels and see if they are any better. If not, I'll just stick with the J. P. Beaumont series -- never read a disappointing book featuring Beau! Recommended only to die-hard fans. If you're a newcomer to Jance, don't start here.
  [MYSTERY]

  (12/19) The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing.
  

  I've read about this novel for years, and it's been back in book news again lately because Lessing has finally put out a sequel to it (this one was written in the 1980's, I think). After all the hoopla, I have to say that while I was totally hooked on this book -- in fact, I ended up staying up too late last night because once I hit the half-way point, there was no putting it down -- I was a bit disappointed with the way it ended. It's a story about an idealistic couple (Harriet and David) who decide what they want to do with their lives is have a gigantic family. Much to the dismay of both their parents, they buy a huge house and promptly have 4 children, the last two accidental, coming much sooner than they had intended. The problem with this plan isn't that kids are a terrible thing, it's that the couple can't afford the lifestyle they want and must rely on their parents to provide supplementary income (and help around the busy house). But the couple is happy. Their family is happy. They love their life. Everything's great.

  Until the wife becomes pregnant (again, unplanned and too soon) with their fifth child. This time pregnancy is no fun -- the baby is huge and strong, kicking her constantly and with such force that she has to spend hours walking to distract herself from the torturous pain. When the baby is finally born, it is clearly not "human" in the same way they are. They name the creature Ben and try to love it, but it clearly doesn't love them back. It's not childlike at all -- it's a sociopathic monster. How Ben's invasion of their family changes them is dramatic and sad. I was very moved by the mother's inability to reject him, despite her fear and her growing realization that Ben was going to destroy her family completely. That seemed very realistic to me. Realistic, too, was her almost pathological need for validation -- she whisks him from doctor to doctor trying to find ANYBODY who will say what she needs to hear: he's weird and it's not her fault (though, frankly, the number of sedatives she was popping during the pregnancy can't have done him any good, I must say -- but this was the 80's and maybe they didn't know that then).

  In any case, what disappointed me was that the book completely fizzles out at the end. We've got a great story going and then suddenly it just stops. Clearly, Lessing was planning on a sequel. But that's no excuse for not stopping at a good stopping place, especially since it took 15 years for her to wrap things up. I'm definitely going to read "Ben, In the World," and I'm going to read it quite soon. But I'll be going into it a bit on the wary side and won't be surprised if it turns out to be a disappointment. However, despite that flaw, this is a thoroughly engaging and thought-provoking story (I won't get into it too much, but there is a quite an interesting back-story here on social classes and the degradation of morality in today's society). I wouldn't recommend this to anybody who is pregnant right now, though.
  [FICTION]

  (12/16) The Hole by Guy Bert.
  

  Short novel about a group of teenagers talked into taking part in an "experiment" by one of their friends, an infamous prankster named Martyn. The experiment, as they understand it, is to see how well they can get to know each other after spending three solid days together trapped in "The Hole" -- an old cellar in their school that has no stairs any more(they enter using a ladder which is then pulled back up so they're trapped).

  The problem is: the three days come and go and Martyn fails to return. As they begin to run out of food and water, they quickly come to realize Martyn might never come back (nobody knows where they are, so if anything happened to Martyn, they're stuck there forever). Their stomachs begin to growl and clench and their patience with each other begins to crumble -- but one of them has noticed something the others have not. And it's something that she might be able to use to their advantage. If they can keep from killing each other before she works out her plan, that is.

  Anyway, it's a pretty standard story that is supposed to be "rescued" by it's epilogue, which reveals something to the reader that changes everything. And the epilogue is truly clever, too. The problem is, those last four pages are the only interesting and creative part of the entire novel and you have to read through 145 uninspired pages before you get to them. It's not a good sign, actually, when the epilogue is designed to make the rest of the novel look better in retrospect. And, actually, this epilogue is actually designed to explain why the rest of the novel was so unbelievably unbelievable. But this kind of trick only truly works if the early part was actually pretty good and the epilogue just made it even better. The comparisons of this novel to "The Lord of the Flies" and "The Collector" boggle my mind -- those are two novels packed with creative thinking. This is a novel packed with cliche and only tied up at the very end with something interesting. I heard it's being made into a movie soon. Skip the book, rent the video.
  [FICTION]

  (12/12) Lying Awake by Mark Salzman.
  

  Strange but strangely mesmerizing short novel about a nun (Sister John) who, after years spent cloistered yet uninspired in a Carmelite monastery outside modern-day LA, suddenly begins experiencing visions of such spiritual power and insight that her fellow sisters start to see her as one of God's chosen few. Unfortunately, the visions come with a price -- excruciating headaches which eventually are coupled with bouts of confusion and insomnia. The Mother Superior urges Sister John to see a doctor, who diagnoses her with a curable type of epilepsy -- which he believes is causing not only the headaches, but the visions as well. This throws the sister for a complete loop, however, as now she finds herself forced to choose between what she feels is her only true connection to God (a connection she has longed for her entire life) and her health (for if she waits too long to get the problem fixed, it may end up not being fixable at all).

  I love books about nuns -- it's a lifestyle that appeals to me even though I'm neither a Catholic nor even a Christian. But this novel was even more interesting to me than others I've read (which have tended to focus more on the transition from a worldly life to a godly one). This story is about what happens when faith and reason are forced to intersect. It's about one nun's doubts, fears, and confusion -- and how she ultimately discovers that faith and reason need not necessary be mutually exclusive. Recommended!
  [FICTION]

  (12/10) Syrup by Maxx Barry.
  

  Entertaining little romp through the world of corporate advertising/marketing. When Scat, an unemployed 20-something in Los Angeles, comes up with a brilliant idea for a quirky new soda, he's sure he's finally hit on a plan that will make him millions. His first lesson in the way corporate America truly works, though, is a painful one -- his idea is promptly scooped up by Coca Cola and before he has time to get a trademark set up on it (so he'll be entitled to some of the proceeds), his ex-friend Sneaky Pete beats him to the punch, steals the credit, and ends up with a swank job at Coke himself. This pisses off not only Scat, but his new friend, a savvy, leggy blond named "6" who was Scat's "in" at the company. Together, 6 and Scat hatch a plan to get revenge -- not just on Sneaky Pete, but on the entire company and the whole wide world of advertising in general. Following these two as they attempt to pull this off is pretty damn fun. And the best part about this novel is that it never takes itself too seriously. In fact, at one point, ironically, Scat says, commenting on a film's totally vacuous plot, ". . .let's face it, that's never going to be plausible. We should acknowledge it's never going to be plausible and just have fun with it." Which is exactly what you should do with this novel as well. Very entertaining, in a guilty-pleasure kind of way. Recommended!
  [FICTION]

  (12/9) Bridesmaids Revisited by Dorothy Cannell.
  

  This is the latest in Cannell's series of mysteries featuring the spunky and delightful Ellie Haskins. In this one, Ellie receives a letter from three elderly friends of her long-dead grandmother -- friends Ellie's also-long-dead mother had only ever spoken of once, referring to them as "the bridesmaids," in a somewhat-less-than-affectionate matter.

  The bridesmaids' letter says that the ghost of Ellie's grandmother has revealed herself to them and requested that they find Ellie and bring her to the "Old Rectory" (the 3 ladies' home) so she can tell her something. Curiosity beats out suspicion, and Ellie promptly heads out, only to discover there's quite a bit more to this story (and, ultimately, to the story of Ellie's past) than originally thought, including, but not limited to, a horrible murder years before.

  This installment was a little hard for me to get into, though it may just have been my mood (distracted) while I was reading it. Even with that, though, I still found "BMR" entertaining -- this is one of my favorite mystery series and Ellie is definitely on my top ten list of favorite mystery heroines. Great characters, unusual and often hilarious plots -- excellent combination!
  [MYSTERY]

  (12/7) Money, Money, Money by Ed McBain.
  

  The latest in McBain's long (started in the 1950's and now includes over 50 novels) and wonderful 87th Precinct series. This one features a rather complex plot involving cocaine, counterfeit money, and Middle Eastern terrorists -- all of which are somehow linked. The problem with the novel was that this link really wasn't explained very clearly. The bad guys kind of allude to it when the cops try to arrest them (they keep saying they AREN'T the bad guys, but I was never clear just who they were, then), but McBain never really spells it out. This would've been okay if the cops also seemed to be confused, but by the end, Carella seemed to understand it all -- it was just me who was still in the dark. And I hate that! Nevertheless, this is a terrific mystery -- McBain's characters keep getting better and better and several scenes in this novel made me laugh out loud (Ollie Weeks is a big feature in this one, and anyone familiar with the series knows that means you're in for some chuckles). This is just a great series -- I've never read one yet (and I've read all of them) that wasn't one of the best police procedurals I've ever encountered. Unlike some other popular authors, McBain is actually getting better and better the more he writes. Every 87th Precinct novel I read becomes my favorite in the series -- only to quickly be replaced by the next one that McBain puts out. HIGHLY recommended (and you can just jump in anywhere -- no need to start at the beginning unless you're obsessive about that kind of stuff).
  [MYSTERY]

  (12/1) Talk Before Sleep by Elizabeth Berg.
  

  Truly wonderful short novel about two best friends, one of whom is dying of breast cancer and is near the end of her life when the story begins. This is a look not only at what it's like for the patient, but at how hard it is for someone to watch a loved one leave this world -- and not be able to do ANYTHING to stop it. All the feelings are here -- the guilt, the fear, the frustration, and the sorrow -- and they are so eloquently described that by the end of the book, you will be exhausted. As exhausted as the characters themselves. And this is what made me love this book so much -- it's so sad, it's so awful, but when was the last time a book moved me like this? Berg says in the foreword that this book is actually based on her own experience as a friend watching a friend die from breast cancer and I believe it. Only someone who'd really been through it could make the rest of us feel like we had too. But this book isn't all about death and sorrow -- it's also about how bright someone's light can be, even in the face of extraordinary darkness. This book made me laugh out loud. And then it made me cry myself to sleep. HIGHLY recommended. Especially to anyone who has ever lost anyone to cancer -- or anyone who is about to.
  [FICTION]

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