Remind Me Again Why I Married You by Rita Ciresi

Started: 3/23/07
Finished: 3/30/07
Year: 2003
Pages: 291
Genre: Fiction
Grade: B
Reason for reading: grabbed it off the TBR shelf
Blurb (from book jacket): "It's Valentine's Day, and Lisa Strauss, nee Diodetto, is spending it playing dutiful wife at a $100-a-head benefit instead of in bed with Eben, her hardworking husband of (is it only?) five years. Once upon a time, Lisa, too, was a member of the corporate workaday world-until she fell in love with her boss (Eben), gave birth to a cute but rambunctious son, and gradually morphed into a stay-at-home mom. Somewhere in the mix Lisa also is a writer with ambitions of fame and glory, but those dreams seem to be shrinking, along with her sex life. That is, until a hotshot literary agent shows interest in Lisa's magnum opus.
"Suddenly, she has a pen name, and an excerpt of her book appears in Playboy. In between revising chapters, Lisa is trying-and failing miserably-to get pregnant again. She's going house-hunting with Cynthia Farquhar, the gorgeous blond Realtor/divorcee who has become her closet confidante (and the object of Eben's secret fantasies). And she's wondering if this is all marriage is and can ever be: bonded for life to a man who may never again be the red-hot lover of their pre-marriage union. In fact, he just may turn out to be the conflicted protagonist of her novel-a devoted family man whose moral fiber may not be strong enough to withstand the slings and arrows of lust and temptation. As their lives begin to bizarrely mirror aspects of Lisa's book...as marital life as they know it teeters on the edge of utter chaos, Lisa and Eben search-apart and together-for the answer to teh question that has plagued husbands and wives since time immemorial: Can love survive marriage?"
Opinion: Even though I seemed to be in a small reading slump, I did enjoy reading this book. Lisa and Eben's relationship seemed real enough and as someone who has been married, I know that you usually ask yourself why you married your spouse.

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair

Started: 3/19/07
Finished: 3/22/07
Year: 1906 (1990 this edition)
Pages: 350
Genre: Classic Literature
Grade: B
Reason for reading: booksfree.com book, one of the 1001 books that you should read
Blurb (from back cover): "Not since Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom Cabin had there been a book that would affect such a large part of the American public and move them to action. In some of the most harrowing scenes ever written in modern literature, Upton Sinclair vividly depicted factory life in Chicago in the first years of the twentieth century. The horrors of the slaughterhouse, their barbarous working conditions...the crushing poverty, the disease and the despair-he revealed all through the eyes of Jurgis Rudkus, a young immigrant who came to the New World to build a home for himself and his family. Published in 1906, The Jungle not only aroused the indignation of the public but forced a government investigation that led to the passage of pure food laws. It also established its young author as one of the world's leading spokesmen for the rights of the working man. The Jungle continues to pack the same emotional power today as it did almost a century ago."
Opinion: One of better classics that I've read. Not for the weak stomached but I could definitely see why there was a lot of controversy when it came out.

The Mercy of Thin Air by Ronlyn Domingue

Started: 3/14/07
Finished: 3/19/07
Year: 2005
Pages: 310
Genre: Fiction
Grade: B-
Reason for reading: grabbed off the TBR shelf
Blurb (from book jacket): "In 1920s New Orleans, smart and fearless Raziela Nolan is in the throes of a magnificent love affair when she suddenly dies in a tragic accident. Immediately after her death, she chooses to stay between-a realm that exists after life and before whatever lies beyond it. From this remarkable vantage point, Razi narrates the story of her lost love, as well as the relationship of Amy and Scott, a young couple whose house she haunts seventy years later. Their trials finally compel Razi to slowly unravel the mystery of what happened to her first and only love, Andrew, and to confront a long-hidden secret.
"The Mercy of Thin Air entwines two tragic and redemptive love stories that echo across three generations and culminates in a startling finish that will leave readers breathless. From plucky, forward-thinking Razi, who illegally slips birth control guides into library books, to hip Web designer Amy, who begins to fall off the edge of grief, to Eugenia, caught between since the Civil War, the characters in this ambitious and original debut sing with life, as well as Southern flair."
Opinion: At first, the story was very confusing but after a while, the story became itself and became enjoyable.

Mindhunter by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker

Started: 3/11/07
Finished: 3/14/07
Year: 1996
Pages: 384
Genre: True Crime/Memoir
Grade: B+
Reason for reading: part of a bookring through Bookcrossing.com
Blurb (from back cover): "During his twenty-five-year FBI career with the Investigative Support Unit, Special Agent John Douglas became a legendary figure in law enforcement, pursuing some of the most notorious and sadistic serial killers of our time: the man who hunted prostitutes for sport in the woods of Alaska, the Atlanta child murderer, and Seattle's Green River killer, the case that nearly cost Douglas his life.
"As the model for Jack Crawford in The Silence of the Lambs, Douglas has confronted, interviewed, and studied scores of serial killers and assassins, including Charles Manson, Ted Bundy, and Ed Gein, who dressed himself in his victims' peeled skin. Using his uncanny ability to become both predator and prey, Douglas examines each crime scene, reliving both the killer's and the victim's actions in his mind, creating their profiles, describing their habits, and predicting their next moves.
"Now, in chilling detail, the legendary Mindhunter takes us behind the scenes of some of his most gruesome, fascinating, and challenging cases-and into the darkest recesses of our worst nightmares."
Opinion: I thought that this was a great read-as someone who is interested in profiling and forensics, I felt that this was beneficial to read and see how profiling developed.

Final Paradox by Mary E. Martin

Started: 3/8/07
Finished: 3/11/07
Year: 2006
Pages: 261
Genre: Mystery
Grade: B-
Reason for reading: review for MyShelf.com
Blurb (from back cover): "Harry Jenkins is an honest lawyer, seeking truth and love in a world darkened by fraud and deceit. Years back, Elixicorp, a company developing a drug to forestall memory loss, defrauded millions from Toronto's elite. But since then, no one has been able to find this long buried treasure, which has poisoned the lives of all who seek it.
"His elderly client, Norma Dinnick, teeters between lucidity and madness in her dark world of paradoxical claims. When she instructs Harry to sue the other claimants for the Elixicorp shares, one of the litigants is fatally shot in open court at Osgoode Hall. The murder weapon is an ornate, silver pistol, which is both a means of betrayal and a gift of love. Peter Saunderson, an old acquaintance of Harry's from law school, surfaces to frame his own wife and lover with the courtroom murder and to implicate Harry in the scheme.
"Harry and his father have been estranged for years. Stanley is found unconscious at the foot of his cellar steps, a gun in his hand. Waking from his coma, he asks Harry's forgiveness for a long-buried wrong. This ugly .38 caliber gun becomes the means whereby love and forgiveness is found. Beset with questions, Harry turns to the beautiful Natasha, who guides him to an understanding of the final paradox."
Opinion: Kinda jumps around. The relationship between Harry and his father is touching. The frame-up is interesting. For a more complete review, check out MyShelf.com.

Echo Burning by Lee Child

Started: 3/5/07
Finished: 3/8/07
Year: 2001
Pages: 412
Genre: Mystery
Grade: B+
Reason for reading: booksfree.com book
Blurb (from back cover): "Thumbing across the scorched west Texas desert, loner Jack Reacher has nowhere to go, and all the time in the world to get there. Cruising the same stretch of two-lane blacktop is pretty Carmen Greer. But for Reacher, the lift comes with a hitch. Carmen's got a story to tell, and it's a wild one. All about her husband, her family secrets, and a hometown that's pure Gothic. She's also got a plan. Reacher's part of it. And before the sun sets, this ride could cost them both their lives."
Opinion: One of the better books I've read this year. Almost missed a stop on the subway because I was so into the book. Definitely will be checking out some more of his books.

Touch the Wind by Janet Dailey

Started: 3/4/07
Finished: 3/5/07
Year: 1979
Pages: 296
Genre: Romance
Grade: B
Reason for reading: grabbed it off the TBR pile
Blurb (from back cover): "All her life Sheila Rogers got what she wanted, then didn't want it anymore-including a reckless marriage doomed to perish in her husband's arrogant greed.
"Then came the man they called Rafaga, The Wind, the violent, gallant bandido who carried her off in a blaze of gunfire to his mountain retreat.
"He offered her raw passion. She answered with brazed resistance. But there among his followers she saw the gentleness that was also Rafaga, and learned why his name was a quiet promise in his people's hearts.
"She yearned to become the woman who could live beside this powerful, tender man...to warm her body and soul with his proud, defiant strength...to reach out across their separate worlds and..."
Opinion: Very quick read, fairly enjoyable. Didn't like the characterization of some of the characters but not horrible.

Tutu Deadly by Natalie M. Roberts

Started: 2/28/07
Finished: 3/4/07
Year: 2007
Pages: 248
Genre: Mystery
Grade: B
Reason for reading: review for MyShelf
Blurb (from back cover): "Meet Jenny T. Partridge, founder of the Ogden, Utah's premier school for budding prima-and not-so-prima-ballerinas. For Jenny, dealing with difficult stage mothers is business as usual...until murder cuts in.
"When the obnoxious mother of Jenny's most talented student meets her make-courtesy of poisoned cookie dough purchased through the Academy's fund-raiser-Jenny must dance as fast as she can to clear her name."
Opinion: Very funny in parts, especially the characterization of Jenny. A good mystery. For a more complete review, check out MyShelf.com

The Dark Tower by Stephen King

Started: 2/23/07
Finished: 2/28/07
Year: 2004
Pages: 839
Genre: Fiction
Grade: C-
Reason for reading: finishing The Dark Tower series, borrowed from Natalie
Blurb (from back cover): "Set in a world of extraordinary circumstances, filled with stunning visual imagery and unforgettable characters, The Dark Tower series is unlike anything you have ever read. The final book opens like a door to the uttermost reaches of Stephen King's imagination. You've come this far. Come a little farther. Come all the way. The sound you hear may be the slamming of the door behind you. Welcome to The Dark Tower."
Opinion: I am very disappointed in this series. I feel that Stephen King could have done so much more with this series and didn't. I understand the taking of years to complete it, especially after taking several years off from writing the books. I'm just so disappointed in how it ended. Can't call it horror. Can't call it suspense. Can't call it thriller. Just disappointing.

Thinner by Richard Bachman

Started: 2/19/07
Finished: 2/23/07
Year: 1984
Pages: 318
Genre: Horror
Grade: B
Reason for reading: grabbed it off the TBR shelf
Blurb (from back cover): "Billy Halleck, good husband, loving father, is both beneficiary and victim of the American Good Life: he has an expensive home, a nice family, and a rewarding career as a lawyer...but he is also fifty pounds overweight and, as his doctor keeps reminding him, edging into heart attach country.
"Then, in a moment of carelessness, Billy sideswipes an old gypsy woman as she is crossing the street-and her ancient father passes a bizarre and terrible judgment on him.
"'Thinner', the old gypsy man whispers, and caresses his cheek, like a lover. Just one word...but six weeks later and ninety-three pounds lighter, Billy Halleck is more than worried. He's terrified. And desperate enough for one last gamble...that will lead him to a nightmare showdown with the forces of evil melting his flesh away. And away. And away..."
Opinion: This was a re-read for me. I had forgotten certain details so I'm glad I read this one again.

Spanish Dagger by Susan Witting Albert

Started: 2/16/07
Finished: 2/19/07
Year: 2007
Pages: 308
Genre: Mystery
Grade: B
Reason for reading: review for myshelf.com
Blurb (from back cover): "Between the herb shop, the catering business, and now a weekend papermaking class, China Bayles and her friends have as much work as they can handle. Of course, that doesn't stop the rest of their lives from going on-or coming to an end, as the case may be. Ruby, for example, is troubled by her mother's recent strange behavior and upset that her ex-boyfriend has stood her up yet again.Meanwhile, China's half brother is opening up old wounds, trying to investigate their father's supposedly accidental death.
"Although she can't stop her husband from taking the case-after all, he's a PI who hasn't had a bite in months-she can at least put the unsavory business out of mind by gathering supplies for making paper. But in a patch of yucca plants, which make great paper, she finds a body-cause of death, unknown.
"Many residents of Pecan Springs live seemingly simple lives that hide complex and dangerous pasts. It appears this victim was one of them. And now, while unraveling secrets that hit close to home, China must set the record straight-and find a killer."
Opinion: A pretty good mystery. I really liked the little facts that Susan Witting Albert added to each chapter. For a more complete review, please check out MyShelf.com

Fear and Trembling by Amelie Nothomb

Started: 2/14/07
Finished: 2/16/07
Year: 1999
Pages: 132
Genre: Memoir
Grade: C
Reason for reading: booksfree.com
Blurb (from back cover): "According to ancient Japanese protocol foreigners deigning to approach the emperor did so only with fear and trembling. Terror and self-abasement conveyed respect. Amelie, our well-intentioned and eager young Western heroine, goes to Japan to spend a year working at the Yumimoto Corporation. Returning to the land where she was born is the fulfillment of a dream for Amelie; working there turns into a comic nightmare.
"Alternately disturbing and hilarious, unbelievable and shatteringly convincing, Fear and Trembling will keep readers clutching tight to its pages, caught up in the throes of fear, trembling, and, ultimately, delight."
Opinion: A lot of outlandish things happen in this book-several are unbelievable. Lots of funny parts.

Tender Flame by Al & Joanna Lacy

Started: 2/12/07
Finished: 2/14/07
Year: 1999
Pages: 278
Genre: Romance
Grade: D
Reason for reading: grabbed it off the TBR shelf
Blurb (from back cover): "Lieutenant Grant Smith and Lydia Reynolds are in love and engaged to marry. Their plans crumble, however, when Grant is sent with U.S. forces to the Mexican-American War and is reported killed. Devastated, Lydia sadly begins a new life and marries; Grant, who has miraculously survived and escaped from a prison camp, returns home only to find Lydia gone.
"Years later, Grant's daughter, Jessica, accepts a marriage proposal by mail from a young pastor living out West. Through Jessica, Lydia and Grant rediscover each other-and find out if they can rekindle the spark of love born almost a lifetime ago."
Opinion: If the cover had stated that religion was going to play a huge role in this book, I wouldn't have taken it to read. I'm all for sweet romances but without the religious parts.

Carved in Bone by Jefferson Bass

Started: 2/8/07
Finished: 2/12/07
Year: 2006
Pages: 323
Genre: Mystery
Grade: A
Reason for reading: Review for MyShelf.com
Blurb (from back cover): "Renowned anthropologist Dr. Bill Brockton has spent his career surrounded by death at the Body Farm. Now he's being called upon to help solve a baffling puzzle in a remote mountain community. The mummified corpse of a young woman dead for thirty years has been discovered in a cave, the body bizarrely preserved and transformed by the environment's unique chemistry. But Brockton's investigation is threatening to open old wounds among an insular people who won't forget or forgive. And a long-buried secret prematurely exposed could inflame Brockton's own guilt-and the dangerous hostility of bitter enemies determined to see him fail...by any means necessary.
Opinion: A great inside look at a mystery solved with forensics. One of the authors is the founder of The Body Farm in Tennessee. Not for the faint of heart-indepth details.

American Pastoral by Philip Roth

Started: 2/5/07
Finished: 2/8/07
Year: 1997
Pages: 423
Genre: Fiction
Grade: B-
Reason for reading: booksfree.com, one of the 1001 books you should read list
Blurb (from back cover): "As the American century draws to an uneasy close, Philip Roth gives us a novel of unqualified greatness that is an elegy for all our century's promises of prosperity, civic order, and domestic bliss. Roth's protagonist is Swede Levov, a legendary athlete at his Newark high school, who grows up in the booming postwar years to marry a former Miss New Jersey, inherit his father's glove factory, and move into a stone house in the idyllic hamlet of Old Rimrock. And then one day in 1968, Swede's beautiful American luck deserts him.
"For Swede's adored daughter, Merry, has grown from a loving, quick-witted girl into a sullen, fanatical teenager-a teenager capable of an outlandishly savage act of political terrorism. And overnight Swede is wrenched out of the longed-for American pastoraa and into the indigenous American berserk. Compulsively readable, propelled by sorrow, rage, and a deep compassion for its characters, this is Roth's masterpiece."
Opinion: A well-written piece of work with random scenes that didn't make sense to why they were there. Do I feel that my life is more complete having read this? Not really.

The Texan by K.N. Casper

Started: 2/5/07
Finished: 2/5/07
Year: 2000
Pages: 299
Genre: Romance (Harlequin Superromance)
Grade: B-
Reason for reading: Grabbed it off the TBR shelf
Blurb (from back covers): "After the failure of her marriage, Marcie Browder returns to the the vast West Texas ranch she grew up on, to try to recapture her sense of self and security. But almost immediately she has an argument with her father. The next day she finds him murdered...with Tucker McGee, the new ranch foreman, standing over the body.
"McGee isn't the simple cowboy he sometimes seems, and Marcie suspects he had a hand in her father's murder. Then she finds out that McGee suspects her.
"To unearth the real killer, they have to trust each other.
"Trust leads to love.
"Or is it the other way around?"
Opinion: A lot more mystery than romance which is nice. The romance isn't overwhelmingly passionate or overboard as in other romance novels.

True Faith by Alan Gold

Started: 2/2/07
Finished: 2/5/07
Year: 2007
Pages: 297
Genre: Mystery
Grade: C
Reason for reading: review for MyShelf.com
Blurb (from back cover): "Rabbi Robert Geller was rumored to have had so many affairs with women that his congregation was like his own heavenly harem. When his wife is killed, the good rabbi is tried for murder, but the result is a mistrial. Two men who claimed to be hired assassins plead guilty to avoid the death penalty-and Rabbi Geller is released. But neither his daughter, Roberta, nor Lou Tedesco believes he's innocent. And when trouble strikes again, Lou peers into the darkest corners of the rabbi's life to uncover his most private sins..."
Opinion: Not one of the best mysteries I've read. I did however like the characterization throughout the book. For a more complete review, please check out MyShelf next month.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Started: 1/26/07
Finished: 2/2/07
Year: 1997 (this edition)
Pages: 461
Genre: Classic Romance
Grade: B+
Reason for reading: booksfree.com
Blurb (from back cover): "With her 1847 novel, Jane Eyre, CharlotteBronte created one of the most unforgettable heroines of all time. Jane Eyre is an orphan, penniless and plain, but full of courage and spirit. She has endured incredible hardship to secure her humble status as a governess in the household of her brooding employer, Mr. Rochester. Jane's sharp wit and defiant nature meet with Rocester's sardonic temperament. The two become enmeshed in a deep, intense bond. But Rochester has a terrible secret-a remnant from his past that could threaten any hope of happiness with his only love.
"An unconventional love story that revolutionized the scope of romantic fiction, Jane Eyre is ultimately the tale of one woman's fight to claim her independence and self-respect in a society that has no place for her."
Opinion: One of the best classics that I have read. I loved the spirit that Bronte put into Jane Eyre-in the beginning, it seemed that Jane was much older than she was due to the spirit that her character had. If you're a fan of classics or romance, pick up a copy of this book.

Unprintable by Julie Kaewert

Started: 1/23/07
Finished: 1/26/07
Year: 1998
Pages: 381
Genre: Mystery
Grade: C
Reason for reading: grabbed it off the TBR pile
Blurb (from back cover): "It is possibly the most repugnant piece of fiction in all of England. So why is Plumtree Press, one of the country's most respectable publishing houses, about to add the hotly controversial new novel to its list? Publisher Alex Plumtree isn't talking. So hardly anyone knows he has taken on the project as a favor to the Prime Minister. Forget the bad press and hateful reviews, Alex swiftly finds himself on the wrong side of a lawsuit, bugged, betrayed, roughed up, and implicated in murder. Suddenly Alex doesn't know who to trust. Suddenly Alex doesn't know who to trust. For someone is clearly determined to stop the presses at any cost. The only think Alex does know for certain is that going to press with this book may cost him more than just his reputation...it may cost him his life."
Opinion: Not as good as other Julie Kaewert's books. I had read one and loved it and was looking forward to this one but I found my mind constantly shifting to other things while reading this.

Murder of a Botoxed Blonde by Denise Swanson

Started: 1/22/07
Finished: 1/23/07
Year: 2007
Pages: 237
Genre: Mystery
Grade: B
Reason for reading: review for MyShelf.com
Blurb (from back cover): "A health spa complete with tofu turkey and 'Dress for Sexcess' lectures is the last place school psychologist Skye Denison wants to spend Thanksgiving. But when her best friend, Trixie Frayne, convinces her to take a complimentary weekend at the new Scumble River Spa, Skye accepts her fate and prepares to be slathered, wrapped, and roasted.
"Then an annoying quartet that includes both Skye's mom and her ex-boyfriend's mother impulsively joins her for a girls-only holiday, and Skye wonders just how bad things can get. She soon finds out-when she's confronted with treatments only a masochist would enjoy, a diet plan fit for a Barbie doll, and a troublesome trespasser searching for a cache of jewels supposedly hidden on the spa grounds seventy years ago. Worst of all, a famous former model turns up dead in the Miracle Mud bath. It looks like no one will be leaving the spa until Skye can identify which of the eccentric guests, pesky local protesters, or sneaky treasure hunters is also a killer deserving of special treatment-in the county jail."
Opinion: Not as clever as Swanson's previous books but still a good mystery. For a complete review, check out MyShelf.com next month