Wicked:The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Macguire

Started: 2/15/10
Finished: 2/22/10
Year: 1995
Pages: 406
Genre: Literature
Grade: B-
Reason for reading: borrowed from Jen M.
Blurb (from back cover): "When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious Witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked? And what is the true nature of evil?
"Gregory Maquire creates a fantasy world so rich and vivid that we will never look at Oz the same way again. Wicked is about a land where animals talk and strive to be treated like first-class citizens, Munchkinlanders seek the comfort of middle-class stability, and the Tin Man becomes a victim of domestic violence. And then there is the little green-skinned girl named Elphaba, who will grow up to become the infamous Wicked Witch of the West, a smart, prickly, and misunderstood creature who challenges all our preconceived notions about the nature of good and evil."
Opinion: I was hoping to be more entertained by this book. I liked seeing the Witch's side of the story but something was missing.

The Runner by Peter May

Started: 1/31/10
Finished: 2/15/10
Year: 2010 (US release)
Pages: 336
Genre: Mystery
Grade: B
Reason for reading: review for MyShelf.com
Blurb (from back cover): "A top Chinese swimmer kills himself of the eve of an international event, shattering his country's hopes of victory against the Americans. An Olympic weightlifter dies in the arms of his Beijing mistress, a scandal to be hushed up at the highest level. Tragic coincidence-or something more sinister?
"Beijing detective Li Yan is troubled to discover that they are not the first of China's athletes to die. He is so troubled that he brings American pathologist Margaret Campbell out of retirement to perform the autopsies. Could natural causes conceal the most unnatural deaths and threaten the future of international athletics?
"Battling to save his career and preparing for marriage, Li Yan knows the key to the case lies with a champion runner-the only member of the athletics team prepared to talk. But when the runner disappears, time starts running out in the race to catch the killer."
Opinion: Picked up basically where the last book of the series ended. There could have been more of a conclusion about a major plot idea but readers are left hanging to read the next one. Overall a good police novel. For a more complete review, please check out MyShelf.com in the upcoming months.

The Silent Bride by Leslie Glass

Started: 1/20/10
Finished: 1/31/10
Year: 2002
Pages: 379
Genre: mystery
Grade: B
Reason for reading: grabbed it from the TBR pile
Blurb (from the back cover): "A beautiful bride's glorious trip down the aisle is cut short by a sniper's bullet. The crime has stunned the city and baffled NYPD detective April Woo. The sweet, modest, eighteen-year-old virgin couldn't have had an enemy in the world...
"Under the magnificent steeples of St. Patrick's Cathedral, a posh society wedding ends in the same horror. Rich and spoiled, the second bride shares only one thing with the victim before her: getting caught in the crosshairs of a madman' gun...
"What links the startling crimes? Who's next to die? With the wedding of April's friend fast approaching, April and homicide specialist Mike Sanchez sift through the evidence for clues to the killer's identity. But they have to work fast. Because the mysterious maotive-and the next target-are becoming dangerously clear..."
Opinion: Decent mystery. Person behind the murders was kinda predictable but the way it was written, left me always wondering until the end.

Night of Demons by Tony Richards

Started: 1/3/10
Finished: 1/20/10
Year: 2009
Pages: 390
Genre: Dark Fantasy
Grade: B
Reason for reading: Review for MyShelf.com
Blurb (from back cover): "A serial killer with a corrupt and twisted soul, Cornelius Hanlon has freely entered Raine's Landing, undeterred by the ancient magical safeguards. And when he chooses the town's oldest adept as his first victim, the maniac inadvertently gains possession of a powerful 'gift' more terrible than anything he could have sadistically dreamed.
"Ex-town cop Ross Devries and his Harley-riding sometime-partner, Cassandra Mallory, have no supernatural abilities. But they are the last line of defense in this village of secrets and shadows-facing a psychopath who now wields the power to bend the living and the dead to his will."
Opinion: Despite how long it took me to read this novel, it is really good. I'm not a big fantasy fan but I will be checking out Richards' other novels. For a more complete review, check out MyShelf.com in the upcoming months.

Haunting Rachel by Kay Hooper

Started: 12/28/09
Finished: 1/3/10
Year: 1998
Pages: 338
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Grade: B-
Reason for reading: grabbed off the TBR
Blurb (from back cover): "Ten years ago Rachel Grant's fiance, Thomas, disappeared. His body was never found. Now there's a stranger in town, a man who could be Thomas's twin-or his ghost. His name is Adam Delafield. He's been watching Rachel for days. He has the locket she gave Thomas before he vanished. And he says he owed her father three million dollars.
"But there's no record of the loan-or a shred of proof that Adam is who he claims to be. And he's always nearby as accidents begin to threaten Rachel's life. Is he an innocnet man who only wants to repay a debt? Or a figure from the past with a score to settle? Rachel must expose lies and unravel stores, find out who wants her dead and why, before the next attempt to kill her succeeds."
Opinion: A good mystery with a decent romance interwoven.

The Sacred Blood by Michael Byrnes

Started: 12/13/09
Finished: 12/28/09
Year: 2009
Pages: 337
Genre: Religious Fiction
Grade: B-
Reason for reading: review for MyShelf.com
Blurb (from back cover): "When American geneticist Charlotte Hennesey examined what she believed were the remains of Jesus, the Vatican buried her discovery. But the DNA Charlotte extracted from the sacred bones and injected into her own body has eliminated every trace of the cancer that was devouring her from within. And it has given her the power to perform medical miracles.
"Now wheels have been set in motion that will have cataclysmic consequences for the volatile Middle East and all humankind. A two-thousand-year-old destiny is about to be fulfilled-resulting in the brazen kidnapping of Charlotte Hennesey, and ensaring Israeli archaeologist Amit Mizrachi and noted Eqyptologist Julie LeRouz in an ancient mystery centered around the world's most powerful relic. As zealots plot to rip the Holy Land asunder, the race begins to avert the unthinkable-for the armies gathering to meet on the hills of Meggido can mean only one thing: Armageddon!"
Opinion: I'm not for religious concepts in fictional pieces of work. It is an interesting concept but I wasn't blown away by the book. For a more complete review please check out MyShelf.com in the upcoming months

The Cellar by Richard Laymon

Started: 12/11/09
Finished: 12/13/09
Pages: 254
Year: 1987
Genre: Horror
Grade: C
Reason for reading: grabbed it off the TBR pile.
Blurb (from back cover): "Visitors flock to see the Beast House with its blood-soaked corridors and creaky doors. Armed with Instamatics and video camcorders, these poor souls enter the forbidden house, never to return. The deeper the tourists go into the house, the darker their nightmares become. The men are dealt with quickly. The women have to wait longer....first they are tortured and sexually ravished.
"But the worst part of the house is actually beneath the haunted structure. There lies even a more terrifying presence waiting for its next victim. Don't even think about going into The Cellar."
Opinion: Not as good as the blurb indicates. The last chapter is completely pointless and ridiculous. As part of a series, I'm probably NOT going to continue with it.

The Sweethearts' Knitting Club by Lori Wilde

Started: 12/3/09
Finished: 12/11/09
Year: 2009
Pages: 384
Genre: Romance
Grade: B
Reason for reading: Review for MyShelf.com
Blurb (from back cover): "For ten years, pretty Flynn MacGregor has been turning down the same solid, upright man's marriage proposal. Her friends at the Sweethearts' Knitting Club tell her they're a match made in heaven, but Flynn knows there's only one dangerous reason why she keeps saying no: high school sweetheart Jesse Calloway. She was just sixteen when Jesse was forced out of town under a cloud of suspicion...but he's never left her heart.
"Now Jesse is back, and every time she turns the corner he's there-gazing at her with his smoldering eyes amd tempting her with his kisses. Jesse has never played by the rules, and he's made it clear that he's not going to now. And Flynn, who's always donr just what her family, friends and fellow knitters have told her to do, must finally break free and claim the love that binds Jesse to her heart."
Opinion: Despite it being predictable it is well written and readers will connect with the characters. For a more complete review, please check out MyShelf.com in the upcoming months.

The Fourth Hand by John Irving

Started: 11/21/09
Finished: 12/3/09
Year: 2001
Pages: 381
Genre: Literature
Grade: B
Reason for reading: grabbed it off the TBR pile
Blurb (from back cover): "While reporting a story from India, New York journalist Patrick Wallingford inadvertently becomes his own headline when his left hand is eaten by a lion. In Boston, a renowned surgeon eagerly awaits the opportunity to perform the nation's first hand transplant. But what if the donor's widow demands visitation rights with the hand? In answering this unexpected question, John Irving has written a novel that is by turns brilliantly comic and emotional moving, offering a penetrating look at the power of second chances and the will to change."
Opinion: A slightly different book from John Irving. Still very touching and well written.

The Cat Who Smelled a Rat by Lilian Jackson Braun

Started: 11/15/09
Finished: 11/21/09
Year: 2001
Pages: 229
Genre: mystery
Grade: C
Reason for reading: TBR pile
Blurb (from book jacket): "The Big One is on its way, and none too soon for the residents of an unusually arid Moose County, who are becoming increasingly anxious about wildfires as they await the first snowstorm of the season. A Citizens' Fire Watch is formed, and volunteers go out on shifts to patrol areas of concern, particularly the old minesites, which have been rumored to contain subterranean fires deep within. When a volunteer is murdered near the Big B minesite, which had been set ablaze, the people of Pickax realize they are dealing with both an arsonist and a killer. And Koko, Siamese cat extraordinaire and owner of journalist James Quilleran, knows even more than that, as evidenced by his suspicious scrutiny of an antique pitcher, a batik of robins, and an old-fashioned glove box.
"The string of catastrophes continues as a local builder dies in an apparent accident, and it's up to Qwillerian & Co. to trap the rat who's behind it all."
Opinion: An average quick read. Very similar to the other Cat Who series of books.

The Black Hand by Chris Blatchford

Started: 11/4/09
Finished: 11/15/09
Year: 2008
Pages:366
Genre: True Crime
Grade: B+
Reason for reading: review for MyShelf
Blurb (from back cover): "Rene 'Boxer' Enriquez grew up in East L.A., where gang fights and drive-by shootings were everyday occurrences fueled by rage, drugs, and alcohol. Sent to prison at nineteen, he was recruited by La Eme, the near-mythic Mexican Mafia, arguably the most well-armed and dangerous gang in Amrican history. A young man without fear who would kill without hesitation, Enriquez's loyalty and iron will drove him quickly up the ranks, from mob enfocer to the upper echelons, where he would rule for nearly two decades. Seeking respect, he devoted his life to a bloody cause, only to find betrayal and disillusionment."
Opinion: More biographical than true crime. A very good read if you want an insider's look at a well developed gang. For a more complete review, please check out MyShelf.com in the upcoming months.

Miss Julia Takes Over by Ann B. Ross

Started: 10/30/09
Finished: 11/4/09
Year: 2001
Pages: 236
Genre: mystery
Grade: C
Reason for reading: grabbed it off the TBR pile
Blurb (from book jacket): "The Southern belle befriends the high-heeled mamma and becomes frantic when Hazel Marie disappears after a dinner date with a church fund-raiser who, in Miss Julia's opinion, wears his short too tight: 'nobody can be that upright and pious without trouble going on underneath.' Since the sheriff won't help her, Miss Julia takes matters into her own hands. With Little Lloyd in tow, she finds herself tracking Hazel Marie across North Carolina. From a most ungenteel display of fisticuffas to a hair-raising car chase, Miss Julia stands strong and forges ahead. Because...if Miss Julia doesn't take care of things, who will?"
Opinion: Slightly better, more entertaining quick read

Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind by Ann B. Ross

Started: 10/25/09
Finished: 10/30/09
Year: 1999
Pages: 198
Genre: Mystery
Grade: C
Reason for reading: Grabbed it off the TBR shelf
Blurb (from book jacket): A proper lady of a certain age, Miss Julia Springer's quiet existence is interrupted when a close 'friend' of her deceased husband shows up at her doorstep with none other than Wesley Lloyd Springer's illegitimate son. Hazel Marie Puckett, with 'heels too high, a dress too short, and hair too yellow,' announces that since the two-timing man left her penniless, she's leaving Little Lloyd in Miss Julia's good Christian care. Now Miss Julia cuts loose and speaks her mind as the boy and his randy mother bring scandal and rollicking adventure into her life-especially since Hazel Marie is the target of a hilarious misguided kidnap plot!"
Opinion: Well, it was a quick read but Miss Julia's character pisses me off sometimes with her naivity. Pretty good mystery however.

Death Message by Mark Billingham

Started: 10/13/09
Finished: 10/25/09
Year: 2009
Pages: 458
Genre: Mystery
Grade: B
Reason for reading: Review for MyShelf.com
Blurb (from book jacket): "Delivering the 'death message.' That's what cops call those harrowing moments when they must tell someone that a loved one has been killed. Now Detective Investigator Tom Thorne is receiving messages of his own: photographs of murder victims sent to his cell phone.
"Who are the victims? Who is sending the photographs? And why is he sending them to Tom Thorne? The answer likes in the detective investigator's past, with a man he had once sent to prison for life. But even behind bars, the most dangerous psychopath Thorne has ever faced is still a master of manipulating others to do his dirty work for him. And Thorne must act fast because the photos keep on coming, and the killer's next target is someone the detective investigator knows very well...."
Opinion: Not as good as Sleepyhead but still a good read.

Stupid White Men by Michael Moore

Started: 10/7/09
Finished: 10/13/09
Year: 2001
Pages: 277
Genre: Humor/Political
Grade: B
Reason for reading: grabbed off the TBR pile
Blurb: Basically Michael Moore's look at the men that run this country
Opinion: I've enjoyed Moore's movies and thought that the book would be interesting. And it was. I was happy to see that Moore not only made fun at the Republicans but the Democrats as well.

The Hunted by Brian Haig

Started: 9/24/09
Finished: 10/7/09
Year: 2009
Pages: 453
Genre: Thriller
Grade: B
Reason for reading: review for MyShelf.com
Blurb (from book jacket): "It's 1991, The Soviet Union has just collapsed, and a new democratic government is beginning to emerge. Alex Konevitch, who was thrown out of Moscow University in 1987 for indulging his entrepreneurial spirit, is now worth $300 million and is a major financial supporter of the new govenrment. In a country where greed and corruption run rampant and wealth is stolen, not earned, he is on track to become both Russia's wealthiest man-and a huge target.
"Then top executives in his company start getting brutally murdered one by one, and Alex makes a critical mistake: he hires the former deputy director of the KGB to handle his corporate security. Kidnapped, beaten, and forced to relinquish his business and his fortune by those hired to protect him, Alex manages to escape to the United States with his wife, only to be accused by his own government of stealing millions from his business.
"With a contract out on his life and the FBI hot on his trail, Alex is the number one most-wanted fugitive in Russia. He is a man on the run with no country to call home. And he must elude the bounty on his head and prove his innocence...if he is ever to build a new life for himself and his family."
Opinion: This was an interesting read and I'm not a fan of books that deal with the KGB and Russian politics. The title very properly fits the story. For a more complete review, please check out MyShelf.com in the upcoming months.

Just After Sunset by Stephen King

Started: 9/19/09
Finished: 9/23/09
Year: 2008
Pages: 367
Genre: Short Stories: horror
Grade: B
Reason for reading: borrowed book from mother
Blurb (from book jacket): "Stephen King-who has written more than fifty books, dozens of number one New York Times best-sellers, and many unforgettable movies-delivers an astonishing collection of short stories, his first since Everything's Eventual six years ago. As guest editor of the bestselling Best American Short Stories 2007. King spent over a year reading hundreds of stories. His renewed passion for the form is evident on every page of Just After Sunset. The stories in this collection have appeared in The New Yorker, Playboy, McSweeney's, The Paris Review, Esquire, and other publications.
"Who but Stephen King would turn a Port-O-San into a slimy birth canal, or a roadside honky-tonk into a place for endless love? A book salesman with a grievance might pick up a mute hitchhiker, not knowing the silent man in the passenger seat listens altogheter too well. Or an execise routine on a stationary bicycle, begun to reduce bad cholesterol, might take its rider on a captivating-and then terrifying-journey . Set on a remote key in Florida, 'The Gingerbread Girl' is a riverting tale featuring a young woman as vulnerable-and resourceful-as Audrey Hepburn's character in Wait Until Dark. In 'Ayana,' a blind girl works a miracle with a kiss and the touch of her hand. For King, the line between the living and the dead is often blurry, and the seams that hold our reality intact might tear apart at any momemnt. In one of the longer stories here, 'N.," which recently broke new ground when it was adapted as a graphic digital entertainment, a psychiatric patient's irrational thinking might create an apocalyptic threat in the Maine countryside...or keep the world from falling victim to it."
Opinion: I've always enjoyed King's short stories and this collection is just as good as his others. Some stories will stick with me for a while.

Man in the Middle by Brian Haig

Started: 8/31/09
Finished: 9/19/09
Year: 2007
Pages: 647
Genre: Suspense
Grade: B+
Reason for reading: review for MyShelf.com
Blurb (from back cover): "For newly promoted Army Lieutenant Colonel Sean Drummond, his latest assignment seems simple enough: find out if the demise of an influential defense official was murder or suicide. But the case soon leads Drummond and Bian Tran, the attractive Army Military Police officer investigating the death, into the labryinthine channels of American intelligence an the war in Irag-not to mention the shadowy motives of his so-called colleagues. What Drummond uncovers will make him question everything he believes in. And force him to ask: Are my loyalities to my superiors or to the American soldiers battling for their lives?"
Opinion: This was better than I thought it was going to be. Solid book. For a more complete review, please check out MyShelf.com

Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding

Started: 8/24/09
Finished: 8/30/09
Year: 1996
Pages: 272
Genre: Chick Lit
Grade: B-
Reason for reading: grabbed off the TBR pile
Blurb (from book jacket): "Bridget Jones's Diary charts a devastatingly self-aware, hilarious year in the life of a thirty-something Singleton. Here is the compulsively readable, laugh-out-loud daily chronical of her permanent, doomed quest for self-improvement-a year in which she resolves to: reduce the circumference of each thigh by 1.5 inches, visit the gym three times a week not merely to buy a sandwich , form a functional relationshp with a responsible adult, and not fall for any of the following: misogynists, megalomaniacs, people with girlfriends or wives, emotional fuckwits, alcoholics, workaholics, chauvinists, or perverts. And to learn to program the VCR.
"Over the course of the year Bridget loses a total of 72 pounds but gains a total of 74. She remains, however, optimistic. Caught between her Singleton friend (who are all convinced they will end up dying alone and found three weeks later half-eaten by an Alsatian), the Smug Marrieds (whose dinner parties offer ever-new opportunities for humiliation), and crazed parental attempts to marry her off to a rich divorce in a diamond-patterned sweater, Bridget struggles to keep her life on an even keel-or at least afloat. Whenever her plans meet with disaster, as they invariable do, she manages to pick herself up, go out on the town, and tell herself it will be all right in the morning, when life will definitely be different this time and totally alcohol, calorie, and preverted-fuckwitted-misogynist free."
Opinion: A quick and fun read. Now I can go watch the movies.

Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Started: 8/11/09
Finished: 8/24/09
Year: 2006
Pages: 334
Genre: Memoir
Grade: B+
Reason for reading: friend gave it to me
Blurb (from back cover): "In her early thirties, Elizabeth Gilbert had everything a modern American woman was supposed to want-husband, country home, successful career-but instead of feeling happy and fulfilled, she felt consumed by panic and confusion. This wise and raptuous book is the story of how she left behind all these outwards marks of success, and of what she found in their place. Following a divorce and a crushing depression. Gilbert set out to examine three different aspects of her nature, set against the backdrop of three different cultures: pleasere in Italy, devotion in India, and on the Indonesian island of Bali, a balance between worldy enjoyment and divine transcendence."
Opinion: I enjoyed the writing style of Elizabeth Gilbert-just the right amount of sarcasm and humor mixed with the seriousness of one's life. I'll definitely be picking up more of her books.