The Lightning Thief

4 cookies
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. I had no library books to read - so I have been re-reading the Lightning Thief series - great books!

Fablehaven 5

5 cookies
Fablehaven: Keys to the Demon Prison by Brandon Mull. These are really great books, and I was super excited when our friend Kylie lent me her copy of this newest one, since they don't have it at the library yet! If you haven't read the Fablehaven books, do it. This was the last one in the series.

Water for Elephants

4 cookies
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. I really loved the story in this book, something about it just drew me in. However, there are several graphic scenes that really could have been left out, so I am only giving it 4 cookies.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

5 cookies
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford. This book was great! Japanese and Chinese relationships during the War Years - during the evacuations the Japanese.

Wake

3 1/2 cookies
Wake by Lisa McMann. This book was an interesting premise - a girl who gets sucked into other people's dreams - whether she is awake or asleep. It is a YA book. By the way, I hate YA books that have foul language - that seems to be typical and it makes me crazy.

Captivate

4 cookies
Captivate by Carrie Jones. This is the sequel to Need. I liked it better than the first book actually. At the end though, I realized there is yet another book, but it is not out yet - and I hate waiting for books to come out! Hopefully it will be soon, and I can see what happens.

Shiver

4 cookies
Shiver by Lisa Jackson. I really like this writer, I am never quite sure where her books are going. Her books are quite graphic.

Stone of Farewell

4 cookies
Stone of Farewell by Tad Williams. This the second in the Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series. I really like them. For some reason it takes me forever to read them - this one took me a week. I don't know how writers come up with these alternate worlds, with the names and languages and people. Good books!

Prom Nights From Hell

4 cookies
Prom Nights From Hell by Meg Cabot, Kim Harrison, Michele Jaffe, Stephanie Meyer, and Lauren Myracle. A collection of short stories. Not bad, but I have never really liked short stories because I am never satisfied when I finish.

Nanny Returns

4 cookies
Nanny Returns by Emma MaLaughlin and Nicola Kraus. A funny but sad book. It made me sad for all the kids who are being raised by parents that don't care.

Deeper Than The Dead

4 cookies
Deeper Than The Dead by Tami Hoag. I really like all of Tami Hoag's books - they are quite graphic though. Be warned.

Specials

4 cookies
Specials by Scott Westerfeld. Sequel to Pretties and Uglies. A disturbing look at body image and teenagers.

Pretties

4 cookies
Pretties by Scott Westerfeld. The Sequel to Uglies. Pretty good.

The Queen's Governess

4 cookies
The Queen's Governess by Karen Harper. This was similar to Philippa Gregory's books, historical fiction in the 1400's and 1500's. Both this and Gregory's books are based on real people, mostly the Royals, and I think they are so interesting. I am going to try more of Karen Harpers books.

The Bone Chamber

4 cookies
The Bone Chamber by Robin Burcell. This was a bit "Dan Brown/DaVinci Code" in that the characters follow ancient clues to find the "treasure" and beat the bad guys. Pretty good!

Need

3 1/2 cookies
Need by Carrie Jones. This was OK. Zara is stalked by Pixies (who are human sized and evil) and finds out her boyfriend and grandma are Weres. Parts of this book were quite clever.

The Thirteenth Tale

5 cookies
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. I have no library books right now, and am re-reading my favorites that I own. This is one of my all time favorite books. It has a Jane Austin, English-countyside, mystery kind of vibe. Great book!

The Wedding

5 cookies
The Wedding by Nicholas Sparks. I love Nicholas Sparks books, but this is my favorite one by far. This is the only one I have every read that has a happy ending.

Catching Fire

5 cookies
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. Love love love these books! Catching Fire is the second in the Hunger Games trilogy. Counting down the days to the last one!

Uglies

4 cookies
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. Everyone in this world is ugly, until they turn 16 and are turned beautiful by surgeons. Tally is excited to become "pretty", but then her best friend runs away rather than become "pretty", and Tally learns that there is much more to it than just becoming "pretty". They change your brain to make you pliable and stupid, basically. The basic premise reminded me of one of my all time favorite books The Alliance by Gerald Lund.

Hush, Hush

3 cookies
Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick. A girl who falls for a fallen angel. Interesting theologically.

The Lonely Hearts Club

3 cookies
The Lonely Hearts Club by Elizabeth Eulberg. This book was OK, about a girl who creates a club for girls to support each other when she is hurt by boys.

Life As We Knew It

4 cookies
Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer. A very interesting look at what would happen in every day life if disaster strikes. This disaster in this book is a meteor hitting the moon, knocking it closer to earth, thus disrupting tides, creating earthquakes and volcano's, and everything basically stops. No electricity, no commerce, and no way to grow food because of the ash from the volcano's. Very interesting. I need to get the rest of my food storage!

Dragon Blood

4 cookies
Dragon Blood by Patricia Briggs is the sequel to Dragon Bones - really liked them.

Hunger Games

5 cookies
Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Love this book! I have read it before, but reread it on our trip to Cabo. Just as good the second time around.

The Help

4 cookies
The Help by Kathryn Stockett. This was a great book about "domestics" in the south in the 60's. Eye-opening and very interesting. I couldn't put it down.

Crawlspace

3 1/2 cookies
Crawlspace by Sarah Graves. This was a murder-mystery, pretty good.

Dragon Bones

4 cookies
Dragon Bones by Patricia Briggs. I really like this author. I love her characters.

True Blue

4 cookies
True Blue by David Baldacci. I really liked this book, it is about Mace, who was a cop until she was set up and got sent to jail. This book focuses on what she does when she gets out of jail, and how she works toward being able to be a cop again. I will definitely be reading more David Baldacci.

9 Dragons

4 cookies
9 Dragons by Michael Connelly. I like Michael Connelly's books, they can be gory and intense, but I like them. This is the most recent book with the main character Harry Bocsh. This book really reminded me of the movie Taken, it was the same kind of premise. Good book!

Hidden Empire

4 cookies
Hidden Empire by Orson Scott Card. This is the sequel to Empire, which I read a week ago or so. I liked this book better than the first. This book focuses on a worldwide pandemic, and what would happen. Interesting. But I hate that OSC has a penchant for killing off main characters. That is all I have to say about that.

The 10th Circle

3 cookies
The 10th Circle by Jodi Picoult. Normally I quite like Jodi Picoult's books, but this one was more depressing than usual. It is about a teenage girl who is raped by her ex-boyfriend, and the way she, her mom (who is having an affair) and her dad (who has is own demons in his past) deal with the fallout. Depressing.

The Maze Runner

3 cookies
The Maze Runner by James Dashner. This was one of those books where I was really into it while I was reading, and I couldn't wait to see what came next. But when I finished, I decided it wasn't really all that great. It is about a boy who wakes up with no memories of who he is (other than his name) and inside a maze with 50 or so other boys. It was kinda gory and lots of people died in the book. At the end I found out this was the first book in a series, and the other books aren't out yet. If I run across the other ones later in life, I will probably read them, but I don't think I will be going out of my way to wait for them to come out.

Empire

4 cookies
Empire by Orson Scott Card. This was pretty good. It was a look at what might happen in America if we can't fix our system and enter civil war. It made me think!

Skybreaker

4 cookies
Skybreaker by Kenneth Oppel. This is the sequel to Airborn, and it was just as good. In fact, it moved a little better than Airborn. These are Young Adult fiction, and I highly recommend them.

The Undomestic Goddess

4 cookies
The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella. Maybe I love her books because of her name? No, not only that. They make me laugh so hard.

Shopaholic & Baby

4 cookies
Shopaholic & Baby by Sophie Kinsella. Ditto!

Shopaholic & Sister

4 cookies
Shopaholic & Sister by Sophie Kinsella. Loved it!

Shopaholic Ties the Knot

4 cookies
Shopaholic Ties the Knot by Sophie Kinsella. OK, for this and the next 3 books - Love them! I could read Sophie Kinsella every day and not get tired of her.

The Dragonbone Chair

4 cookies
The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams. Yes, it really has taken me almost 3 weeks to read this book. Two reasons for that - one, it is a hard book to read. It is full of strange names, places and history, and is actually quite slow to pick up the storyline. However, I was determined to read it and plowed through. Which I am glad I did, because now that I have finished I can't stop thinking about it and can't wait to read the next two. Which are even longer. Shoot. Reason #2, I had an unexpected trip out of town for my pink Grandma's funeral. Which gave me very little time to read for like a week. (Love you Grandma!) Long long book, but worth reading.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

3 cookies
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. Kind of a weird book, written from the prospective of a boy who is perhaps autistic (it never really says). I can say that I have never really read anything like it before.

Shopaholic Takes Manhattan

5 cookies
Shopaholic Takes Manhattan by Sophie Kinsella. What can I say, these books make me laugh. Becky heads to Manhattan and racks up huge debt again. Now that I have read this book, I can see that they used Manhattan and Confessions of a Shopaholic to make the movie, combining bits of both books together. I was a bit confused after I read the first one, that it was so different than the movie. But it all makes sense now! Funny funny books.

Twenties Girl

5 cookies
Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella. I laughed out loud! This book is about a girl who starts to be haunted by her just-dead great-aunt. Great-aunt Sadie wants her necklace back, and enlists Lara to help her find it.

Bone Crossed

4 cookies
Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs. This is a great series, (the Mercy Thompson series), and I will have a hard time waiting until April when the next book comes out. I know I write this every time I write about this series, but I really love the characters in these books!

The Year of the Flood

2 cookies
The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood. This book was interesting, about the few people who survive the "flood" (meaning human ending pandemic). It was much more gory than I thought it would be, and at times difficult to understand. When I was reading it I thought it was OK, but when I finished I thought "I didn't really like that book".

Airborn

4 cookies
Airborn by Kenneth Oppel. This is a Young Adult Fiction book, about Airships. It is about Matt, who works as a cabin boy on the Aurora, a Titanic-like Airship, and what befalls him. Nice little book.

Remember Me?

5 cookies
Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella - my favorite new author! Very witty and funny. This one is about a girl who wakes up in the hospital to a new nose, new husband and new life, having lost the memories of the previous 3 years. Great.

A Poisoning in the Pub

3 cookies
A Poisoning in the Pub by Simon Brett. This is a Fethering Mystery, a series about two old ladies who like to solve mysteries. It was OK. I like that it is set in England. The only thing is - why are there so many killings and mysteries in one little village in England?

The Last Song

4 cookies
The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks. I have always really liked Nicholas Sparks, even though most of what he writes is sad. (Well, there is one Nicholas Sparks book that I hated - Dear John - there is a movie coming out about it, no, I won't be seeing it.) The Last Song is no exception to the sadness. But, Mr. Sparks has a way of writing about people and their emotions that I really like. I would like to see the movie of this book. I will wait until it comes out on DVD though. My favorite Nicholas Sparks book is The Wedding. Not sad.

Can You Keep a Secret?

5 cookies
Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella. So, this is my new favorite author. I laugh out loud at her books. This one is about a young woman who is on a flight, they hit some turbulence and she is terrified that she is going to die, and tells her seatmate ALL of her little secrets. The seatmate turns out to be the big boss of her company, and what happens next. Sophie Kinsella is English, and I love all the English settings and words. Having spent a year and a half living in England, I love reading all those English things. This book does have bad language. Funny, funny book.

Peter and the Sword of Mercy

5 cookies
Peter and the Sword of Mercy by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. This is a new book in the Peter and the Starcatchers series. I stumbled across it randomly, and I was excited, because I thought the series was done. In the book it says that they were done writing the series, but had so many requests to write another one, that they did! I LOVE this series, and this book is every bit as good as the first three. In the first three Peter is friends with Molly and (kinda friends with) George, and in this one he meets Wendy, Molly and George's daughter. Get it? Wendy? As in their last name is Darling? Okay, I am sure you get it. Terrific book.

Evidence

4 cookies
Evidence by Jonathan Kellerman. Evidence is an Alex Delaware novel, which I love. This is the newest one. There are over 20 Alex Delaware books, I think I have read them all. Evidence, like all these books, is violent and explicit about crime scenes and death. Despite that, these are some of my favorite books, and Alex Delaware is one of my all time favorite characters.

Iron Kissed

4 cookies
Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs. This is the third book in the Mercy Thompson series, and I really like the series. This book is much darker than the first two, and unlike the first two has some bad language and violence. I love the characters in these books.

The Dream Merchant

Not rated
The Dream Merchant by Isabel Hoving. I didn't rate this book because I didn't finish reading it. It is a huge book, over 600 pages, and I got about half way through it. I didn't finish because I kept expecting it to become clearer, and more coherent, and it just didn't, and I gave up. My nephew, "Beans", put this on his book blog, saying that he really liked it, and I gave it a good try, but I simply couldn't get into it. Not sure why.

The White Queen

3 cookies
The White Queen by Philippa Gregory. This is a historical fiction book, about the life of Elizabeth Woodville, who was called the White Queen. Elizabeth was the mother to the 2 princes who disappeared out of the Tower of London, no one knows what happened to them. I thought it was an interesting book, I wish I knew more about what is actually fact in the book. Much of it is, but I would have to do a lot of research to know exactly what.

Rainwater

3 cookies
Rainwater by Sandra Brown. This book is set in the depression-era, in the dustbowl part of the country. Rainwater is the name of a man who goes to live in a boarding house, in the last few weeks of his cancer. He falls in love with the lady who runs the boarding house. It was pretty good.

Blood Bound

4 cookies
Blood Bound by Patricia Briggs. I read the first book in this series - Moon Called - a few weeks ago, and really liked it, and I really liked Blood Bound as well. I am excited to read the next two books, and there is another one coming out in the Spring. The covers on these are misleading, making look like there is sex and other things in the books, but the books are actually totally free of sex and bad words. I really like the characters in these books.

Confessions of a Shopaholic

4 cookies
Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella. I watched the movie that was based on this book several weeks ago, and decided I wanted to read the book. It is really quite a bit different than the movie, but I really liked both. When I finished the book I found out it is a series, so I am excited to read the rest of them! There are a few bad words in there.

Fear the Worst

4 1/2 cookies
Fear the Worst by Linwood Barclay. This is a great book! It is about a car salesman whose daughter goes missing, and his search for her. There are bad words in this one, so beware. He has at least 2 other books, so I will be sure to be reading those.

Down in the Flood

4 cookies
Down in the Flood by Kenneth Abel. I liked this, it is a mystery set in hurricane Katrina. Bad words though.

The Dragons of Ordinary Farm

4 cookies
The Dragons of Ordinary Farm by Tad Williams and Deborah Beale. I liked this, it reminded me of the Fablehaven books. Fablehaven is better, but this was good. It is a fantasy, juvenile fiction. Two kids are sent to their great-uncle's (who they don't know) for the summer, and it turns out there are dragons and other mythical creatures who live there.

Fire

4 cookies
Fire by Kristin Cashore. This is a companion book to Graceling, which I read a month ago or so. I really liked it. Fantasy genre, young adult fiction. Fire is the name of a "Monster Human", there are also "Monster Animals", as well as regular humans and animals. You know something is a "Monster" because of their bright, oddly colored hair or fur. Human Monsters can also control minds. This was a good book.

Into The Wild

4 cookies
Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer. I have read Into Thin Air by the same author a couple of times, and I really like how he writes and explains things. Into The Wild is about a young man who gave up all his possessions and went to Alaska to "live in the wild", and died of starvation. (Jon Krakauer writes about true stories.) It was really interesting to see what the author discovered about Chris McCandless, and what drove him. An interesting, but sad, read.

The Language of Sycamores

4 cookies
The Language of Sycamores by Lisa Wingate. As I have said before, I love Lisa Wingate. This book is the 3rd in the Tending Roses series, and it was really good. I could read her all day.

Moon Called

4 cookies
Moon Called by Patricia Briggs. Based on the cover of this book you would think that it was full of bad words and sex. But no! It was clean, and I really liked it. The main charecter is Mercy, a car mechanic and shapeshifter. There is also werewolves, vampires and other "fae" creatures. It was a good fantasy book.

The Actor and the Housewife

5 cookies
The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale. I loved this book. It is about a mormon housewife from Utah who meets a famous actor, and their friendship. I loved the way all the relationships were written about, and the authors understanding of people really ARE. I laughed and cried reading this book. In fact, I cried several times. And that is VERY unusual for me. I highly recommend it.

Everything Matters!

3 cookies
Everything Matters! by Ron Currie, Jr. This was an odd book about a guy who was programmed before birth to know when the end of the world is (in his lifetime) and his efforts to understand and live his life. It was a strange book, but I liked that in the end (literally) he knows everything really did matter.

The Shimmer

2 cookies
The Shimmer by David Morrell. This book started out pretty good, but ended up just dumb. The only good thing was the story line about the mysterious lights, which are a real thing, and I will be reading more about those, because it was so interesting. Everything else about the book was dumb. I gave it 2 cookies for the lights.

Blindman's Bluff

4 cookies
Blindman's Bluff by Faye Kellerman. I like Faye Kellerman, she is married to Jonathon Kellerman, who I love. I am not sure why this book is titled "Blindman's Bluff", it really has nothing to do with the story. I mean, there is a blind man in the book, but... I know it has been awhile since I posted a book. It is just that time of year, I am so busy. Anywho, I liked this book. It is a Lazarus and Decker novel, and I always like those. (Those characters.) There is some bad language, so consider yourself warned.

Dragonflight

3 1/2 cookies
Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey. I really liked the story part of this book. I didn't like the way it was written. It seemed convoluted and confusing to me. It was first written in 1968, so it is fairly old, and maybe that was part of the problem. But the story was good. Typical dragon/rider relationship. I liked it enough that I will read the next books in the series.

I Love You, Beth Cooper

3 cookies plus 1 more for humor
I Love You, Beth Cooper by Larry Doyle. This book was full of nasty words and bad things. However, it was funny. I gave it 3 cookies first, because it wasn't a nice book, but then gave a separate cookie for being funny.

A Thousand Voices

4 cookies
A Thousand Voices by Lisa Wingate. Again, I really like her books. This one was about a girl who is adopted, and her search for who she is takes her to the Choctaw Nation. Lisa Wingate is very good with emotion and how people relate to each other. Great book!

Word Gets Around

4 cookies
Word Gets Around by Lisa Wingate. Like the last book, just a cute little book with wonderful charecters that you want to read more about.

Talk of the Town

4 cookies
Talk of the Town by Lisa Wingate. I really like Lisa Wingate. This book is very light and cute, and clean. This is kind of a "mom" romance book, but really clean. Just cute.

Book of a Thousand Days

4 cookies
Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale. I really like Shannon Hale's books. She has a really different way of writing. Book of a Thousand Days is a Young Adult book, and is a really quick read. It reminded me of another of her books, Goose Girl. Very good.

Revenge of the Spellmans

5 cookies
Revenge of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz. Funny funny funny! Laugh out loud, giggle to yourself, and then read it again!

Curse of the Spellmans

5 cookies
Curse of the Spellmans continues the story of Izzy Spellman, PI. She is a totally likable character. Love these books! There is an occasional bad word (she only one, but it is the BAD one), but that is about it. Read these!
By Lisa Lutz

The Spellman Files

5 cookies

The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz. Somehow I missed writing about this one. I read it several weeks ago, and just finished the next one in the series, and I couldn't figure out where this one was! So, I missed it. I loved this book. SO, SO funny! Lisa Lutz's writing reminds me of Janet Evanovich's, clever and witty. This book made me laugh out loud, and you know how I love that! The book is about Izzy Spellman and her crazy family of Private Investigators. I just love the family dynamic, funny funny funny!

Dreamquake

3 cookies
Dreamquake is the second book in the Dreamhunter Duet by Elizabeth Knox. I thought this book was OK when I finished it, and the more I think about it the more I hate it. It was very interesting, and it certainly make me think. But, I hated the way she left one of the characters, and there were a lot of unanswered questions at the end. But it was certainly interesting.

Dreamhunter

4 cookies
Dreamhunter by Elizabeth Knox. I thought that I might LOVE this book, Stephenie Meyer recommended it on her website, and I have really liked the other books she recommended. But no, I didn't LOVE it, but I did like it. It took me awhile to get into it, but it sucked me in eventually. It also has a very specific language, you have to figure out the lingo. Dreamhunter is a Young Adult fiction, and is really clean.

Good Hope Road

5 cookies
Good Hope Road by Lisa Wingate. Love her! She is a fantastic writer, and clean as a whistle. You never have to worry that there might be something "unsavory" in there. This book centers on a small town in the aftermath of a terrible tornado. Lisa Wingate is all about the people and how they relate and come together. Highly recommend this one.

Smash Cut

4 cookies
Smash Cut by Sandra Brown. I almost didn't own up to this one. Sandra Browns books are full of things that don't need to be there, but I love her stories. This one had an ending I didn't see coming in a million years.

A Girl Named Zippy

5 cookies
A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel. This is a memoir, and I love it! I have read it several times, and it never gets old. Funny and engaging. Oh, for that kind of upbringing!

Drawn In Blood

3 1/2 cookies
Drawn In Blood by Andrea Kane. Pretty good. I liked the twists in the story, and the way the plot kept me pulled in. I don't remember any swear words, but there is a "intimate" scene - why do they do that? It was totally not needed.

Graceling

4 cookies
Graceling by Kristin Cashore. I really liked this book. It is of the fantasy genre. It is about a girl named Katsa, who is part of a group of people who have what is known as a "grace". A grace is a special gift, like the gift of cooking or swimming, or predicting the weather, or reading minds. Katsa's grace is Killing, and the king makes her do terrible things. You have a grace if your eyes are two different colors. Interesting reading.

The Summer Kitchen

4 cookies
The Summer Kitchen by Lisa Wingate. I really like the way Lisa Wingate writes. She has really great characters, with real problems that I can relate to. The Summer Kitchen is her latest novel. I also really like that she is a very clean writer. I wish that more writers got that you can write cleanly and still have a really great book.

A Princess of Landover

4 cookies
A Princess of Landover by Terry Brooks. Some of you have probably read the "Landover" series by Terry Brooks, this is the latest in that series. There has not been a new "Landover" book in 10 years, so you might not have known this was out. I like the "Landover" series, but I have to say I did not like Mistaya, the princess. Her attitude was killing me. But the story was good!

The Everafter War

4 cookies
The Sisters Grimm - The Everafter War. (Book Seven) These are books for kids and Young Adults, at the library it is filed under "Juvenile". BUT, they are really great. Funny and entertaining. I was under the impression that this was the last book in the series, but it definitely is not. These are fun quick reads - I started this one at lunch time, and just wrapped it up - 4 hours later. Cute!

The Lost Symbol

5 cookies
The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown. Books by Dan Brown fascinate me. They are so full of twists and turns, and packed full of interesting facts and amazing history. The Lost Symbol takes place in Washington D.C., and all within about a 12 hour span. It is so interesting to learn about D.C., and our founding fathers. This book also has a ton about Freemasons. I really don't know how he writes this stuff, and keeps it all straight so the reader can understand it. The Lost Symbol was also full of things about "spirituality", which was so interesting from my LDS prospective. About how it has been scientifically proven that we have a separate "soul" and that it is made of matter. About how our "thoughts" (i.e. faith) can change the world around us. And the more people are thinking the same "thoughts", the bigger the difference in the world. One really interesting thing was that there are things in the scientific world called Random Events generators, and after September 11th 4 scientists discovered that the outputs of 37 different Random Event Generators became significantly LESS random. As all the world focused on this one event it affected the randomizing function of the machines, and organized and brought order to the output. Brought order from chaos. Isn't that fascinating? Another one was a type of adult scale, made like a coffin that was airtight and measured down to the minuscule. A man within minutes of passing away was placed in the box, and as he died it showed how his body got lighter, just seconds after his passing. Thus, it showed the weight of his spirit leaving the airtight, totally contained box. Amazing huh? Dan Brown books are chock full of this kind of information. All the science, art, organizations and monuments in his books are real, and somehow he spins them altogether into a fascinating book. Loved it!

The Undaunted

5 cookies
The Undaunted by Gerald Lund. You have to know going in that this book will be really great, and I was not disappointed. The Undaunted is the story of the "Hole in the Rock" pioneers, done in Gerald Lund style, weaving fictional characters into the lives of the real people who left comfortable homes and lives to follow the Prophet's voice. It is really amazing what these people did, and someday I want to go see the actual places that are in this book. It is always good to be reminded of our amazing ancestors, and see their incredible faith, and have a better understanding of what they went through.

The Four Corners of the Sky

4 cookies
The Four Corners of the Sky by Michael Malone. I really liked the characters in this book. It was funny and involving. There is much use of a very bad word though. Definitely an adult book.

The Ruby in the Smoke

3 1/2 cookies
The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman. This is the same author who wrote The Golden Compass. It was pretty good, but I didn't love it. I liked it enough that I will go on and read the other 2 books in the series. It is a Young Adult book, and it was very clean.

Warbreaker

5 cookies
Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson. I LOVE Brandon Sanderson's books! He has a way of writing that sucks me in from the first page, and I am glued to the book clear to the end. I love the characters and the strange worlds that he creates. Warbreaker follows two princesses, and their efforts to prevent war. They are surrounded by wonderful characters, good and bad. If you like Sci-fi books, even a little, you need to read these.

Lady Killer

4 cookies
Lady Killer by Lisa Scottoline. I liked this book a lot. I am going to have to read more of Lisa S's stuff. I always try to catch "the book lady" on channel 9, and she is always talking about how much she loves Lisa Scottoline. The other day I went through and watched a whole bunch of clips from "the book lady" (her name is Antoinette Kurtz) and wrote down probably 50 new books for me to try! I love it when I have a list of books to read next. Some of the books looked REALLY good. I, of course, will put them on here and let you know what I thought! Anyway, Lady Killer. It was pretty clean, which is always nice. The way she wrote kind of reminded me of Lisa Gardner, but Lisa Gardner is really graphic, and Lisa S. is not. At least not in this book. It is a mystery/thriller, about a lady lawyer who tries to help an enemy from high school. I like the characters a lot.

Catching Fire

5 cookies
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. Love love LOVE these books! Catching Fire is the second in the series, Hunger Games was the first. I got this book from the library yesterday afternoon, and I finished it late last night. I am depressed that Catching Fire was just published, and now I have to wait for the next one. I hate that. I would much rather find a series after it is finished, so I have instant gratification. I highly recommend these books. There is no bad language, although it is intense and, in certain scenes, quite graphic. But, no swearing. Go read it now!

City of Thieves

4 cookies
City of Thieves by David Benioff. I'm not sure where this book came from, if I got the title from the T.V. lady (she comes on channel 9 on Saturdays) or out of a magazine or what, but I liked it! It was based in Leningrad when it was under siege from the Germans. Really really likable characters, and a story that kept moving. Like most war stories, it doesn't have a very good ending, but I still liked the book - unlike most books I read with not-so-nice endings. Language ALERT! This book was FULL of bad language, and it got worse the more I read. Obviously that doesn't bother me too much.

Finger Lickin' Fifteen

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Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich. I have said in past posts that I LOVE Janet Evanovich, but she is so full of the bad language! But I always laugh out loud - hard! Mom - you will love this one! My favorite scene - when Lula goes out the car window to shoot at the bad guys and gets stuck - page 162! I was practically crying I was laughing so hard!

The Amber Spyglass

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The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman. I liked this series a lot. There were some disturbing things in them, and I wouldn't recommend them for younger kids. The story was really good though. I was also unhappy with the ending - although it fit the story.

Wow - 5 whole days!

The Subtle Knife by Phillip Pullman
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I can't believe 5 days have gone by since my last book post. I have been busy! I did finally get to the library, and got another book read. I am really liking this series - "His Dark Materials", the first being The Golden Compass. The Subtle Knife was good, actually easier to read than The Golden Compass. It made more sense, whether that was because I had already read the first book, I am not sure. Starting #3!

Bright Shiny Morning

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Bright Shiny Morning by James Frey. This book was hard to read - the way it is written is difficult to understand. Everything is run together there is hardly any punctuation and all the thoughts just run together all together run together. Like that. There was LOTS of profanity as well, and although I liked the idea of it, I hated the way it ended. So there you have it.