Agent 6, by Tom Rob Smith

Wow. Convoluted. Takes place over the course of 30 years, from the visit to the USSR of a black American singer in the early 50s, to New York City 15 years later, to 1980 in Afghanistan. I really wanted to like Leo, but he really annoyed the crap out of me in this book. There were a lot of rather unbelievable situations here, but the story is pretty good.

"Agent 6" shows up early in the book, but under his actual name. It's not till the last 50 or so pages that we find out who that name refers to. And the end....what the heck? I don't even know what to say about it.

Glaciers, by Alexis M. Smith

Sweet, slight story about love between two uncommunicative souls who are perfect for each other (maybe), but thrust in different directions by life. Amusing that the main female character is a librarian.

I read this as an Advanced Reader Copy picked up at ALA in Dallas.

Finny, by Justin Kramon

This was a gift from a friend who loved it, which I just rediscovered. And it turns out to be a very good book following Finny Short from age 13 or so until her mid-30s. It's a sweet, potentially sappy story that manages to avoid getting treacly.

I'm donating my copy to the library, since no one in our consortium owns it.

The Rope, by Nevada Barr

This is a prequel to the series, and takes place in Glen Canyon where Anna has gone to try to escape after the death of her husband. Then she gets sort-of kidnapped and trapped for a couple of days in a deep hole in the desert. Creepy--had a little bit of trouble with the idea of her being at all willing to going underground in Carlsbad Caverns (in a later-in-life book written about 10 years ago, which cured me of EVER doing any spelunking!).

Anyway, this is how Anne ends up as a Park Ranger. Not sure how effective it is in explaining that, but it's wonderful to find out a bit more about what she was like as a young, pretty woman. A redhead? Who knew? :-)

Fallen, by Lauren Kate

Book one in the Fallen Trilogy. Book three got great reviews, so I figured I should start from the beginning. This is a pretty typical YA novel, similar in outline to the dreaded Twilight books, but "starring" angels instead of vampires, et al. Lucinda transfers to a reform school after she is involved in a tragic and deadly event at her former boarding school. Sword and Cross is not a typical prep/reform school: untidy, ugly, weird-but-not-criminal kids, and apparently lots of very hot guys, one of whom is quite charming and attentive, another of which seems to hate her on sight.

Of course, she is drawn more to the latter boy, who ends up being more attentive than he seems while Mr. Charming turns out to be a...well, demon.

War breaks out, her best friend turns out to be mortal after all, and the librarian, while not at all stereotypical, is definitely a villain.

Book Two awaits!!

Running Scared, by Lisa Jackson (on CD ... and paper)

I bailed on this CD near the end simply because I couldn't stand listening to it anymore. But I had to find out how the plot tied up. A little too neatly for my liking. Reminded me why I don't read romantic suspense novels very often. Ugh.

Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins (on CD)

As in all second parts of trilogies, this book suffers from a lot of plot building and a climax that mostly just leads to the next book, which can be annoying.

However, Collins is an exceptional author. While I found the first book (Hunger Games) a little "too YA-y", I didn't really pay attention to how well-written it was. Listening to this book, I realized the craft behind the story. So, I'm a convert to the excitement behind this series. Can't wait to get Mockingjay.

The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins

Very good YA dystopian book, first in a series. Not sure I want to read the rest--it's kinda melodramatic--but worthwhile reading.

The Late, Lamented Molly Marx, by Sally Koslow

Chick lit meets The Lovely Bones. Funny, silly, lightweight with enough 'nutritional value' to keep me reading.

Creepers, by Joanne Dahme

I Can't Tell You, by Hillary Frank

This book takes place all in written communication: the main character, Jake, has decided to stop speaking since talking has gotten him into "so much" trouble. In the process of note-writing, Jake finds out that more important than talking, it is critical to tell the truth about what's going on in his head, and how to do it appropriately, i.e. not when you're angry and just shouting out facts.

Fun book to read. I've just remembered why I like "young adult" novels.

Scattershot, by Bill Pronzini

Nameless, marking time till something happens. Can a PI have a personal life? This one is intent on messing up his, that's for sure. Also, he is involved in three cases, all of which have gone sour and he has become an active suspect in each case.

On a Day Like This, by Peter Stamm

Hmmm, this book reminds me of The Reader by Bernhard Schlink, though the story is quite different. It's just about a very European and angsty man.

Beyond that, it's a story of coasting through life in an emotion-free zone until shocked out of it by the possibility of change and the discovery that everything that has happenend in the past decade has been a holding pattern. Oh, and it's about love. I think. And it takes place (mostly) in Paris.

Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer (on CD)

So, I heard the author on NPR a few weeks ago talking about her new (adult) novel. They mentioned the series begun by this book and since it's been on reserve perpetually forever, I figured I'd give it a try.

It's not bad. OK, it's actually very good--although I was not in love with the person reading it--in fact, it's quite subversive for a YA novel. All about self-control and doing the right thing out of love in spite of a lot of reasons not to do the right thing; sometimes the right thing is against one's very nature. Interesting.

As a love story...meh, I'm not thrilled with it, however.

Did I mention the vampires? Oh. There are vampires.

Banishing Verona, by Margot Livesey

Excellent book, as long as you buy into the doggedness of the main male character, Zeke.

Zeke, though it's never spelled out, is autistic, probably has Asperger's Syndrome. His parents are greengrocers and want him to take over the shop now that he's approaching 30. He wants nothing to do with it; he enjoys his handyman jobs. His life is far from 'normal' but it fits him fairly well.

He's busy painting in a house whose owners are out of town on holiday when their visibly-pregnant niece shows up at the front door ready to spend the night. Of course, she's really not their niece, and he knows something isn't quite right, but he is taken by this strong but needy woman and she does spend the night. Then she disappears.

He can't forget her. He knows they have a connection and he is determinded to hold on to that connection no matter what. No matter if his father has just had a heart attack, his mother is intent on running off with her lover, his business is going to suffer...no matter, in fact, that he is terrified of flying and ends up flying to America on the basis of a 2 minute phone call from Verona.

It's quite a weird book, yes, but once I got inside Zeke's (and to a lesser extent, Verona's) head, all the choices they make are perfectly in character. I'd call this kind of book Literate Chick Lit.

[Autism is clearly the current Darling of the Literary World--I've read or heard about dozens of books on the subject in the past couple of years.]

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, by Jonathan Safran Foer (on CD)

Disclaimer 1: I tried reading Foer's Everything Is Illuminated which sounded wonderful...till I tried read it. Gave up; too weird.

Disclaimer 2: I wouldn't have read this book with my eyes. It's also very weird. But the narrators are excellent in this version, and I was hooked on the kid...the main character.

The kid, Oskar Schell is precocious in the extreme. At age 9 he knows far more than he 'should' about many things, including the death of his father in the World Trade Center tragedy. Oskar discovers a key in his father's closet months after his death, and spends the next several months searching for the owner of the lock based on some very slim evidence.

Interwoven in the main story are the stories of Oskar's grandmother and grandfather--separate stories but both equally sad and poignant that also begin with bombs, bombs that were dropped on Dresden over 60 years ago.

Wonderful stories, really fabulous characterizations of all the very different people. This is probably the first book I've ever read that made me think that living in New York City might not be such a bad thing.