Consider this my official farewell to this blog. When I started this blog I loved having a place to record what I was reading, but now taking the time to write a full review of everything I read doesn't seem as worthwhile as it used to. I will still be keeping track of what I'm reading at GoodReads and making comments, but full fledged reviews are likely a thing of my past.

I also want to try spending more time on this blog of mine and may make some book-related posts there. We'll see. I'll keep this blog up so the reviews can be referenced, but this will be my last post.

It's been fun

 352 p. Downtown Press 2010

When the neighborhood's perfect couple disintegrates, Harry Wilder discovers that he's missed most of his children's childhood and decides to become a stay-at-home dad. When Lyssa Harper decides to help him learn the ropes of being a mom in the posh suburb of Paradise Heights, the neighborhood gossips really get going. While everyone tries to figure out what went wrong with the Wilder's marriage, themes of love, trust, friendship, and family are examined by everyone involved in this engaging story an author who knows all about the posh life.

I was really impressed by this one, so much so that I ended up staying up until 4 this morning to finish it. I thought I knew where this one was going, but Brown threw enough curves that I could never quite be sure. Also, despite several plot details that felt familiar, the character of Lyssa is a straight-forward enough narrator to avoid triteness. I highly recommend this one. Unfortunately I was caught off guard by how much I liked it so much that I'm probably not being very coherent about its strengths.

I've been reading quite a few books lately, but haven't had much time to write about them, so here's a quick rundown

The Brief Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephanie Meyer

I liked the Twilight series (even if I now have way too much fun tearing it apart), so of course I enjoyed this novella telling the story of a young vampire briefly mentioned during Eclipse. Further proving the Cullen's unusual theories about the "humanity" of vampires, Bree happens to be a surprisingly sane young vampire, who also manages to find a friend or two among her fellow vampires.

Freakin' Fabulous by Clinton Kelly

I've always loved the TV show What Not To Wear, so I couldn't help but read co-host Clinton Kelly's book about how to be all-around fabulous. In chapters discussing fashion, grammar, etiquette, cooking, entertaining, and decor, Kelly explains how, with minimal effort, you can be as fabulous as him. He also explains why being fabulous is worth the effort, much like he and Stacy London do on their TV show. Fun and breezy, yet practical, this book is exactly what you'd expect, and that's a good thing.

Suck It, Wonder Woman! by Olivia Munn

Co-host of G4's Attack of the Show, and new correspondent on The Daily Show recounts her awkward childhood as an army brat and child of mixed race in Oklahoma and Japan, as well as her early experiences in the strange land of Hollywood. Sometimes I just want to write Olivia Munn off as a woman who sells herself short by playing the dumb bimbo for ratings, except she is a little ditzy, and yet she's still a smart nerdy gamer and totally someone I would want to hang out with in real life. If you like Olivia Munn, you'll enjoy this book, but if you don't really know who she is, this collection is a bit shallow and probably doesn't do her justice.

Where Mercy Is Shown, Mercy Is Given by Duane Chapman

Dog the Bounty Hunter's TV show started out as my guilty pleasure, and then I ended up falling in love with the show, because despite anything else, the Chapmans are truly a close-knit bunch and that shines through in Dog's second book, which picks where his first book left off. We cover the second half of Mexican saga, his n-word debacle, as well as early bounty hunting stories and reflections on his family, especially his children. Like Olivia Munn's books, if you like Dog, you'll be into this, if not, this probably won't change your mind.

2004 Harlequin Presents 187 p.

I love Harlequin Presents because I always know what I'm going to get, except in this one which started out with our couple in bed. I was so intrigued, I just had to check it out. When Luca Santanno saves Felicity Conlon from her skeazy fiance, he thinks it's just a random act of kindness, but he quickly finds himself drawn to the beautiful and independent woman. In order to save her family's business and her reputation, Luca offers to marry her, but quickly the two of them discover that this is more than just a marriage of convenience. Unfortunately, the sex is so front-loaded in this one that the resolution seems rather anti-climatic.

The Holm siblings (Jennifer is a Newberry Honor author & Matthew is a graphic artist) created a young readers graphic novel series based on their childhood playing with toy mice. Our heroine young Babymouse is roughly in 4th grade and loves cupcakes and dresses with hearts on them. Her imagination is endless and often sets up her adventures that never go quite as she expects. Her best friend Wilson Weasel always has her back when school bully Felicia Furrypaws decides to attack while the books cover topics from pets and sleepovers to the school play and summer vacation. The tales are sweet and reassuringly predictable with enough cleverness and sarcasm to keep this adult interested. Great for young readers or for a family read-aloud.

Scott Pilgrim, Volume 1
2004 Oni Press 168 p.

I thought I was burnt out on graphic novels. I thought they weren't for me. As you'll see in this entry and my next, I was wrong. Why do I not have the rest of the books in this series at my disposal to finish now? Because it really doesn't make sense as much as I liked the movie and what I read in this first volume of the series it was inspired by. Scott  Pilgrim is a 23-year-old member of a band, living with a gay roommate, in between jobs. Oh, and did I mention that he's dating a high-schooler? Then why is this girl with weird hair roller blading through his dreams, and why is he having to battle her seven evil exes? If you want to find out, read the book, or catch the movie. Or better yet, do both, because they're both great. Unfortunately I've let too much time pass and they're intertwined for me and I can't remember which things were cool specifically in the book, in the movie, or cool in both. If you're even a little bit nerdy, though, this is a lot of fun you really should check out.

 2009 Simon & Schuster 282 p.

With the success of Jeff Kinney's Diary of a Wimpy Kid, it was only inevitable that a girls' version of the popular series would appear. Nikki Maxwell is beginning eighth grade at her new private school Westchester Country Day and things could not be more horrible. She doesn't know anyone and she'll never have any hope of making friends if anybody finds out that the only reason she can afford to go to the school is because her dad has the school's extermination contract. But her mom gave her a journal to record all the trials and tribulations of middle school and practice the art that she's quickly becoming known for.

I absolutely loved it! But if you were never a 12-year-old girl or have no desire to relive the mood swings of one, this is not the book for you. Luckily Nikki isn't totally emo and brings the story back from the brink of teenage melodrama with a realistically goofy sense of humor.Not quite as wholesome as the Babysitters' Club, but not quite as scandalous as Sweet Valley, the Dork Diaries strikes a balance, coming off as refreshingly realistic. I can't wait for the next chapter in Nikki's life.

2010 TOR 303p. (ARC)

It shouldn't surprise any of my regular readers that I've really gotten into this zombie mashup concept going on in books lately. In fact I've decided I should become some sort of expert on the subject, so when I saw this ARC at PLA (yes, I realize that was all the way back in March) I just had to take it home. Unfortunately, I've never read the original Adventures of Tom Sawyer, so I can't compare the two (except for what I learned by watching the movie Tom & Huck, starring then teen heartthrobs Jonathan Taylor Thomas & Brad Renfro). In this version we still have our young rascals Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, but there's also a terrible plague in which dead bodies inevitably turn into mindless zombies, or Zum.

Honestly, I'm glad I didn't read the original Tom Sawyer, because I'm not that into mostly episodic novels anymore. The addition of Zum kept me just interested enough to keep reading until the plot picked up during the last third of the book, after which point I began eagerly devouring the tale, impatiently waiting to see what would happen next. If you've enjoyed the other undead mashups, you could do a lot worse (Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter anyone?).

2005 Recorded Books 11:14 (Playaway)

The release of Walls's novel Half Broke Horses, finally got me motivated to read her first book about her family, the story of her childhood and her intelligent, unconventional, deeply flawed parents. Her charismatic, alcoholic father and creative but irresponsible mother determine the Walls' haphazard existence through a string of remote desert towns and eventually the poor mining town her father had tried to leave behind forever. Walls describes her unusual childhood  with remarkable restraint, probably because she was the one who lived it, and so it wasn't all that strange to her.

Plenty of people have read this book and commented on it's numerous strengths. I don't even know where to start. Part depressing story about the devastating effects of mental illness and substance abuse, part heart-warming unconventional family story (ala Little Miss Sunshine), part inspiring story about overcoming adversity, Walls's book manages to excel in each story it attempts to tell. One of those rare books everyone should at least try to read.

2005, Kensington, 261 (trade)

Mandy Keeling has really been making a mess of her adult life, especially now that she's discovered she's pregnant and the baby's father decided to dump her when she told him. So it's finally time to grow up and get a real 9 to 5 job (for the health care if nothing else). Unfortunately her boss is Damien "Demon" Sharpton, known throughout the office for his cool exterior and demanding nature. Why, then, did he hire Mandy after she threw up in his trashcan during her interview? And why does he want her to come along on a business trip in the Caribbean?

This book was a pleasant surprise, as most chick lit is for me. I'm not sure why I always discount this genre when I've always enjoyed the few titles I've read. And really chick lit fixes the main problems that grate on me after too many other romance novels, mainly a the lack of focus on anything aside from the love story and too many heroines who don't know how to define themselves outside of a relationship with a man. McCarthy (author more recently of the Vegas Vampires series and several other supernatural romances) is also really funny. Mandy always manages to keep her wits about her by cracking a joke that reframes the situation in a calmer, clearer light, which also keeps the story from veering into sappiness. This one is clearly for those who love chick lit, but also for those who don't but still like a good contemporary love story.