Whiskey Sour

J.A. Konrath's book Whiskey Sour, features a Chicago policewoman named Jack Daniels. Lt. Daniels (she got stuck with her name when she married and didn't change it after the divorce) works very hard for her violent crimes unit, and has an appalling lack of a social life. This police procedural features the case of a serial killer who mutilates his victims. But in the midst of the case, Daniels is an appealing character - a bit of a cynic, but someone you want to root for especially after the killer finds her fascinating as well.

I really enjoyed the book in spite of the fact that this is something I would not normally pick up at first glance. I am reading it for a book discussion. It is a bit too gory (for me) in places - but perhaps I just have a vivid visual imagination when I read. But there is something always interesting in taking a chance on a new author or new genre that is a bit more than your used to. If you don't like it - the result can be agonizing- to have wasted your reading time and energy on something you really dislike. Or it can be a pleasant surprise and a new discovery. Try something new, you might like it. Or in my case, I found a new mystery series to watch for. Don't know if I will read every page of the gruesome details, but I really like this character and want to see her go places.

Jane's World - Everything You Wanted to Know About Jane Austen's Books But Were Too Busy to Ask

Are you a Janite? Do Jane Austen's novels rock your world? Can't get enough of Mr. Darcy and Anne Elliot? I have the book for you. Deirdre Le Faye's book Jane Austen: The World of Her Novels is a great study of Austen's works. And she goes in depth and manages to be entertaining in the process.

Even if you only have one favorite Austen novel, you can go into this book and see the detail about the time period of the book, where it might have been set - what were the styles of houses, clothes and people during that time. It gives the average reader an peak into Jane's influences while writing and what references her readers of her time would have caught and appreciated. And Le Faye does this all in an engaging but serious style.

This may not be for everyone - she does go into enormous detail, book by book, but it is a must for the Austen fan. A great compact book to add to your literary reference shelf. I'm going to have to get this keeper.

Janet Evanovich's Hot Stuff

Janet Evanovich is a busy woman. Not only is she writing her mystery series, she is co-authoring several other books as well. Hot Stuff is a book she co-wrote with Leanne Banks. And as usual there are some great characters.

So what you do when your roommate, Marty, is a cross-dressing lounge singer with a lot of out of town shows? Well, you water his plants and you wonder why scary people keep coming around asking when he will be back. But then he has a 120 pound dog delivered to the building as a guard dog. Who has time to take care of this Beast? Cate, the bartender/college student is getting a little bit weirded out. Especially when the cute guy at the bar who was trying to pick her up, keeps asking questions about Marty. The cute guy happens to be an ex-cop. He's on a job for his private investigation firm, but he still realizes that Cate is a keeper - even if she isn't aware of it yet. She's too busy for a relationship and trying to get rid of the last guy her family set her up with.

This one is light and fluffy but has a lot of funny scenes and quirky characters that just make you laugh. And the dog is a piece of work himself. A fun fast read.

The Texan's Reward

Having grown up watching western movies on TV, sometimes I get a taste for a little western romance. Some authors dabble in it, but Jodi Thomas is a master. But you do have to like Texas, since Thomas sets almost all of her books there. But you know Texas is a very big state full of stories so that should not be too hard.

The Texan's Reward is the final book in a series, but like most books from Thomas, if you pick it up without knowing that, it's okay - it will just make you go back and read more. The story starts out with Texas ranger Jacob Dalton coming back to the ranch of his "friend". His friend happens to be an orphan girl, he befriended long ago, who has grown up to be quite a lady (she wasn't when she started). Nell needs a husband - she is bound to a wheelchair and while she can get along in the house she needs a partner for the ranch work. Dalton is mad she's advertising for a husband, and thinks since he has had to bail her out of trouble so many times in the past, he's up for the current job. However ranger duties, other suitors and other trouble soon intervene.

Thomas has a great way with characters - even the secondary ones, and makes the reader feel like they are old friends. So go a "little Western" why don't ya? A fun read.

Eat, Pray, Love - a traveling memoir of learning

Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia is a book about self discovery. After a divorce and a bitter follow-up relationship, Gilbert decides that she needs to travel and get away from her current life and decides to spend several months in Italy, India and Bali. The "Eat" chapter focuses on Italy and her learning to open herself to new friends. "Pray" takes place in India where she travels to an quiet Ashram where she studies with a local guru. (And to my surprise, my favorite section.) And "Love" takes place in Bali where she starts a relationship with someone new.

When I started this book - I did not necessarily like Gilbert. And you need to like her or empathize with her, to care about her journey. I read the first section and then stopped. I picked the book up again several months later and gave it another try. This time, I was much more receptive to her and her tale of self discovery. So give the book a chance if you have a hard time getting into it. It really is true that there is "the right book at the right time" for you to read. So if you are in an introspective mood, or coming out of a bad relationship - this may be the right book for you.

Here's something from my favorite section - which was "Pray". There is a lot of food for thought in these chapters...

When talking to a fellow yogi about the man she thought was her soul mate - he replies -

"He probably was. Your problem is you don't understand what that word means. People think a soul mate is your perfect fit, and that's what everyone wants. But a true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that's holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life. A true soul mate is probably the most important person you'll ever meet, because they tear down your walls and smack you awake. But to live with a soul mate forever? Too painful. Soul mates come into your life just to reveal another layer of yourself to you, and then they leave. In this case, you can't let go. His purpose was to shake you up, drive you out of that marriage that you needed to leave, tear apart your ego, show you your obstacles and addictions, break your heart open so new light could get in, make you so that you had to transform your life....That was his job."

So, something to think about and ponder. Try the book - maybe you will like it too. At the very least, the "Eat" section will make you crave good Italian food!

All Jacked Up

All Jacked Up by Penny McCall is a little like a thrill ride. The book hooks you in and takes you up and down places. Our story starts in the Library of Congress map room. Aubrey, a librarian who works there - faces a patron who appears to have a gun and wants her to go off with him. Jack doesn't mention he's a Fed, but there really is not time - considering people are starting to shoot at her.

Jack and Aubrey manage to escape - with her asking questions all they way, and thus begins the series of their adventures. Aubrey is not your usual librarian, she has a photographic memory, which allows her to recall all sorts of useful stuff in a hurry - like how to shoot painkillers into a guy whose seems to be kidnapping you. Jack learns she isn't what she seems, and needs to convince her that someone has a contract out on her. She's not so sure he is what he says he is - but then again, he's not shooting at her and seems to want to help. Now if she can only remember what she knows about that has people wanting her dead.

McCall takes you through the chaos to a satisfactory conclusion. They are fun characters, so have a good time on the roller coaster ride. A good read.

Austenland

Austenland: a Novel by Shannon Hale is a great book for anyone who has daydreamed for their own Mr. Darcy. In fact that seems to be the problem for the lead character Jane. Colin Firth's BBC version of Jane Austen's Mr. Darcy has ruined her relationships. Every guy she meets just doesn't measure up. When she admits this to her elderly aunt, she receives a strange bequest. Her aunt leaves her an all expenses paid holiday to Pembrook Park in England for an exclusive three week regency vacation. Jane feels like an addict who just got a hit. Should she go? Will this cure her fascination with a literary character?

Guest at Pembrook Park have to dress, dance, walk and talk in the regency style. Jane receives a briefing before she actually makes it to the grand estate that will be her home for the next three weeks. And the others who are there? Is this their vacation too? Is this real? Perhaps it is a bad TV reality show and no one told Jane? And what about these men who are here? After swearing off of guys, the ones here look pretty yummy... But the restrictions of the time period are still restrictions here - will Jane ever find some one real or it will it be just pretty conversation and polite enquiries about the weather? Will she leave the Mr. Darcy dream behind?

Hale has a great character in Jane - the reader wants to cheer her successes and moans at her past romantic failures. The author draws us in to this surreal world and we understand Jane's confusion over what is real and what - and who, is pretend. This is the ultimate fun and frothy novel and it is a great read. Enjoy!

Tim Gunn and Style

Are you a fan of Project Runway? Is Tim Gunn your guru of fashion sensibility? If so, take a look at the book Tim Gunn: A Guide to Quality, Taste & Style by Tim Gunn and with Kate Moloney.

Is this the book that will change you into a fashion diva? And help you rid your closet of the things you never wear? Maybe, Maybe not. But it is an amusing extension of Gunn's personality and personal thoughts on fashion. He is a verbose guy and his pithy commentary makes this witty book fun. And you if absorb just a little bit (Isn't that the way self-help books are? You get a little something out of all of them?) you can be a better dressed person! Fans of Gunn may enjoy this more, but a fun read.

The Searching Hearts

Dorothy Garlock is one of those rare romance writers who tells it like it is. Her female characters swear, sweat, and go to the bathroom. Yeah, in romances that is the exeception. In her book, The Searching Hearts, her gals do all three.

Garlock is known for her western romances and in this one she combines the desire to find a place to belong, with the struggle of a wagon train. This wagon train is special - it is made up mostly of women. Future brides to be precise. (Just before you pooh- pooh the idea that this never could have happened - there is a historical basis for this. Except the gals left in a boat to go around South America to get to California!)

And this is their story of the struggle to get to the "promised land" and a better future for themselves. Strong women characters, and excellent secondary characters. A great read.

Word Freak - Obsession or Passion?

Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble Players by Stefan Fatsis.

Stefan Fatsis is a Scrabble player. He also happens to be a reporter for the Wall Street Journal. In this book, he is studying and participating in the world of competitive Scrabble. The reader follows his journey from being a good living room player competing in a New York park, to his rise into intermediate status for the 2000 National Championship.

Fatsis take the time to explain the origins of Scrabble and the rise in competitions. The differences between how the Americans play it, vs. the rest of the world. And he lets us get to know the characters and eccentrics who play the game. Are these people obsessed? Or have they truly found their passion in a whole that may not appreciate their unique skills?

He gets involved in the minutiae of the game. Is it better to play for points or word knowledge? How much does strategy play a part? Can the tiles just be against you that day? How many wins will raise his point rating for the next competition?

If you are a Scrabble player you will love this glimpse into this world. I am not a scrabble player, but besides getting a little bored with some of Fatsis' fine details on the game, I still enjoyed this look into a subculture of America. A good read.

Secret Life of Bees

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, takes a 14 year old girl, Lily, who has grown up without a mother and any parental affection, and sets her loose during the days of the 1964 Civil Rights Act in South Carolina. She gets into trouble when she tries to help her black caretaker who is beat up when she tries to register to vote. They escape her father's farm with what little possesions Lily has left from her mother and head toward the one town she thinks her mother may have been to.

In this town, they are taken in by three black sisters who are beekeepers, producing a line of honey with a Black Madonna on the label. Lily soon finds out that everyone has secrets, including her mother, and while racial tensions stir around them she finds a place of refuge.

There are great characters in this book. August is the older woman mentor that every woman needs in her life. Monk writes of friendship, motherhood, and a community of women with reverance and respect. She makes this a wonderfully written book, something worth reading - not just as the latest hot read for book discussion groups. And you also learn a bit about bees!
A great read.

One of my favorite passage between August and Lily:

"But lifting a person's heart - now that matters. The whole problem with people is ---"
"They don't know what matters and what doesn't," I said filling in her sentence and feeling proud of myself for doing so.
"I was gonna say, The problem is they know what matters, but they don't choose it. You know how hard that is Lily? .... The hardest thing on earth is choosing what matters."