Desperate Measures by David Morrell

Started: 5/25/07
Finished: 5/30/07
Year: 1994
Pages: 503
Genre: Suspense/Mystery
Grade: B-
Reason for reading: grabbed it off the TBR shelf
Blurb (from back cover): "The suicide of Matt Pittman, fallen star journalist, is abruptly interrupted by a phone call and unexpected assignment: write an obituary of a man who is not yet dead. Suddenly, clinging desperately to a life he'd so recently been eager to discard, Matt will be thrust into the heart of a conspiracy whose global influence remains terrifyingly unsurpassed. And he will find himself both a suspect for murder by the police and a target for murder by invisible killers determined to destroy him-and anyone he comes close to-before he finds out why."
Opinion: A lot of twists and turns...too many in my opinion. But still a fun read.

Possessing the Secret of Joy by Alice Walker

Started: 5/24/07
Finished: 5/25/07
Year: 1992
Pages: 288
Genre: Literature
Grade: B+
Reason for reading: booksfree.com
Blurb: A book about female circumcision and how it can affect a family.
Opinion: A fascinating read. Reminded me of a college presentation that I did with my then boyfriend Mike and our friend Tracy about female circumcision and what can happen to the women. I really enjoyed it.

Secrets of a Former Fat Girl by Lisa Delaney

Started: 5/21/07
Finished: 5/24/07
Year: 2007
Pages: 246
Genre: Self-help, weight loss
Grade: C
Reason for reading: review for MyShelf
Blurb (from book jacket): "Any woman who has ever been a 'fat girl' knows the label sticks in your mind, regardless of how much weight you lose. That's what Lisa Delaney thought, too. Twenty years ago, at 5'4" and 185 pounds, Delaney was despondent over diets that never worked and disappointed by her full job and lack of love life. Fortunately, a late-night epiphany involving a half gallon of mint chocolate chop ice cream convinced her that becoming a former fat girl-in body and spirit-was the key to creating a life she truly loved."
"Today, seventy pounds lighter, Lisa is a full-fledged Former Fat Girl. She's a successful writer and editor at a national magazine. She is married to a man she loves. And she wears a size two.
"Eye-opening, compassionate, and filled with practical advice, Secrets of a Former Fat Girl reveals the seven secrets of Delaney's success (Secret #1: Forget Dieting), exploring how shifting from wannabe Former Fat Girl to actual Former Fat Girl is as much about seeing yourself as a confident, secure, desirable woman as it is about achieving an ideal weight. Using the story of her own transformation as a guide, Delaney provides the reader with invaluable tips and guidance for how to create an exercise plan that works for you; how to find a gym and workout clothes you love (they do exist); how to deal with those pesky relatives who seem determined to sabotage your goals (we all have them); and, most importantly, how to reimagine your own best life and 'see' yourself slim.
"Whether you want to drop two, four, or more dress sizes, Secrets of a Former Fat Girl offers the strategies and support to help you effect real change once and for all."
Opinion: I enjoyed the writing style but didn't agree with all of the advice that was given. For a more complete review, check out MyShelf.

Say Cheesy by Darby Conley: A Get Fuzzy Collection

Started: 5/21/07
Finished: 5/21/07
Year: 2005
Pages: 127
Genre: Comic book
Grade: A
Reason for reading: grabbed it off the TBR shelf
Blurb: A collection of Get Fuzzy comics
Opinion: Some very funny bits regarding Satchel and Bucky. Some current events and pop culture is in some of the comics-very subtle and funny.

Fury by Salman Rushdie

Started: 5/19/07
Finished: 5/21/07
Year: 2001
Pages: 259
Genre: Literature
Grade: C
Reason for reading-booksfree.com book
Blurb (from back cover): "Malik Solanka, historian of ideas and world-famous dollmaker, steps out of his life one day, abandons his family in London without a word of explanation, and flees for New York. There's a fury within him, and he fears he has become dangerous to those he loves. He arrives in New York at a time of unprecedented plenty, in the highest hour of America's wealth and power, seeking to 'erase' himself. But fury is all around him.
"Fury is a work of explosive energy, at once a pitiless and picth-black comedy, a profoundly disturbing inquiry into the darkest of human nature, and a love story of mesmerizing force. It is also an astonishing portrait of New York. Not since the Bombay of Midnight's Children have a time and place been so intensely and accurately captured in a novel."
Opinion: A lot of description that made me skim over parts of the book. I got the basic gist but I didn't find myself engrossed in it.

High Crimes by Joseph Finder

Started: 5/16/07
Finished: 5/19/07
Year: 2006
Pages: 388
Genre: Legal Mystery
Grade: A
Reason for reading: review for MyShelf.com
Blurb (from back cover): "Star attorney Claire Heller Chapman has known only love and respect from her successful husband. But now police are saying Tom Chapman is not who he says he is. Thirteen years ago, they claim, he had a different face and a different name-and was responsible for a crime so heinous that only a maniac could have committed it. Now Claire must put her reputation, her family, and her life on the line to defend this man she never knew-in a case where all evidence is classified, all the rules are being changed around her...and the stakes are higher and deadlier than she or anyone else could have ever imagined."
Opinion: One of the better legal mysteries that I've read. Not crazy about the ending. The book was fast paced and I wanted to keep reading it. For a more complete review, check out MyShelf.com next month.

Hannibal Rising by Thomas Harris

Started: 5/14/07
Finished: 5/16/07
Year: 2006
Pages: 323
Genre: Horror
Grade: C
Reason for reading: grabbed it off the TBR shelf, have enjoyed the rest of the series
Blurb (from book jacket): "Hannibal Lecter emerges from the nightmare of the Eastern Front, a boy in the snow, mute, with a chain around his neck.
"He seems utterly alone, but he has brought his demons with him.
"Hannibal's uncle, a noted painter, finds him in a Soviet orphanage and brings him to France, where Hannibal will live with his uncle and his uncle's beautiful and exotic wife, Lady Murasaki.
"Lady Murasaki helps Hannibal to heal. With her help he flourishes, becoming the youngest person ever admitted to medical school in France.
"But Hannibal's demons visit him and torment him. When he is old enough, he visits them in turn.
"He discovers he has gifts beyond the academic, and in the epiphany, Hannibal Lecter becomes death's prodigy."
Opinion: Eh. A disappointment compared to some of the other books in the series. I'll check out the movie just because I've seen the rest of them but am ready to face the fact that it just won't be as good.

She Wanted It All by Kathryn Casey

Started: 5/9/07
Finished: 5/14/07
Year: 2005
Pages: 448
Genre: True Crime
Grade: B+
Reason for reading: booksfree.com
Blurb (from back cover): "The wife: She wanted everything, but her husband stood in the way.
"The lesbian lover: A love-struck, middle-aged woman with a history of mental illness, she would do anything to set Celeste free.
"The beauty salon receptionist: Celeste hired her to tie up the loose ends...in a second conspiracy to commit murder."
Opinion: A decent true crime story about a woman who basically was a gold-digger and would do anything, including sacrificing her own children to get what she wants. A good read.

The Lisbon Crossing by Tom Gabbay

Started: 5/8/07
Finished: 5/9/07
Year: 2007
Pages: 310
Genre: Mystery
Grade: B-
Reason for reading: review for MyShelf.com
Blurb (from book jacket): "Teeming with Nazis, spies, and ambiguous loyalties, the early days of World War II come alive with dark intrigue and heart-stopping action in this brilliant second tale from the author of the hit thriller The Berlin Conspiracy.
"It's the summer of 1940 and Europe is in the grip of the Nazi war machine. Jack Teller arrives in neutral Lisbon on the arm of international screen legend Lili Sterne, to help her search for her childhood friend, Eva Lange. Having escaped Germany, staying one step ahead of the Nazi terror, Eva is believed to be hiding among the thousands of desperate refugees who have descended upon Lisbon. But Jack isn't the first on her trail. Top Hollywood detective Eddie Grimes had been on the case-until he turned up dead.
"Instead of answers, Jack uncovers a series of lies that leads from Estoril's glittering nightclubs-rubbing elbows with the likes of Edward, Duke of Windsor, and his scheming wife, Wallis Simpson-into Lisbon's dank and dangerous backstreets. Along the way, Jack makes a shocking discovery that takes him from Portugal to the perilous boulevards of Nazi-occupied Paris, where his actions could change the course of the war."
Opinion: Not as strong as I wanted it to be. Never got a real sense of setting of WWII. Romance between some characters was unbelievable. Characterization of Jack was great. For a more complete review, check out MyShelf.com next month.

A Hand to Guide Me by Denzel Washington

Started: 5/2/07
Finished: 5/8/07
Year: 2006
Pages: 272
Genre: Memoir
Grade: B+
Reason for reading: Love Denzel, grabbed it off the TBR shelf
Blurb (from book jacket): "Everyone needs a hand from time to time, a gentle nudge to get on track. And you never know when the help you provide will lift someone toward a life of greatness.
"A Hand to Guide Me showcases how the kindness of mentors has shaped the lives of people you know and respect. In their own words, legendary personalities tell how people stepped up to guide them. From Hank Aaron and Muhammad Ali to Bob Woodward and James Worthy, the voices in this book may be household names now, but they credit their success to the guidance of others long ago.
"Seventy-four stores in all, each one is a revelation about how important any one of us can be to the youth around us."
Opinion: A great book that includes several memoirs from several well-known celebrities and heads of companies. I enjoyed it.

Sabriel by Garth Nix

Started: 4/30/07
Finished: 5/2/07
Year: 1995
Pages: 311
Genre: fantasy
Grade: B
Reason for reading: booksfree.com
Blurb (from back cover): "Sent to a boarding school in Ancelstierre as a young child, Sabriel has had little experience with the random power of Free Magic or the Dead who refuse to stay dead in the Old Kingdom. But during her final semester, her father, the Abhorsen, goes missing, and Sabriel knows she must enter the Old Kingdom to find him. She soon finds companions in Moggot, a cat whose aloof manner barely conceals its malevolent spirit, and Touchstone, a young Charter Mage long imprisoned by magic, now free in body but still trapped by painful memories. As the three travel deep into the Old Kingdom, threats mount on all sides. And every step brings them closer to a battle that will pit them against the true forces of life and death-and bring Sabriel face-to-face with her own hidden destiny."
Opinion: As someone who really doesn't read a lot of fantasy, I found this book exciting and well worth the read.