Olive Kittridge by Elizabeth Strout

First sentence:

"For many years Henry Kitteridge was a pharmacist in the next town over, driving every morning on snowy roads, or rainy roads, or summertime roads, when the wild raspberries shot their new growth in brambles along the last section of town before he turned off to where the wider road led to the pharmacy."

Description:

"At times stern, at other times patient, at times perceptive, at other times in sad denial, Olive Kitteridge, a retired schoolteacher, deplores the changes in her little town of Crosby, Maine, and in the world at large, but she doesn’t always recognize the changes in those around her: a lounge musician haunted by a past romance; a former student who has lost the will to live; Olive’s own adult child, who feels tyrannized by her irrational sensitivities; and her husband, Henry, who finds his loyalty to his marriage both a blessing and a curse.

As the townspeople grapple with their problems, mild and dire, Olive is brought to a deeper understanding of herself and her life --- sometimes painfully, but always with ruthless honesty. Olive Kitteridgeoffers profound insights into the human condition --- its conflicts, its tragedies and joys, and the endurance it requires." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

I liked this book about a small town in Maine and the people who live there. At first, I considered Olive to be aloof, but as the book progressed, I discovered she was more than I thought.

Date read:10/20/2012
Book #:38
Challenges: Off the Shelf Challenge 2012, A to Z Challenge 2012, New Author Challenge 2012
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Fiction

ISBN-10: 0812971833
ISBN-13: 9780812971835
Publisher: Random House
Year: 2008
# of pages: 270
Binding: Trade Paperback
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Machine Man by Max Berry

First sentence:

"As a boy, I wanted to be a train."

Description:

"Scientist Charles Neumann loses a leg in an industrial accident. It's not a tragedy. It's an opportunity. Charlie always thought his body could be better. His employer, military contractor Better Future, has the resources Charlie needs to explore a few ideas. He begins to build parts. Better parts.

Prosthetist Lola Shanks admires a good artificial limb and Charlie admires Lola. In Charlie, she sees a man on his way to becoming artificial everything. Others see a madman. Others still, a product. And Better Future sees a weapon of unparalleled potential." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

I enjoyed this book. I liked the mix of human and machine and the way Charlie became more human as he replaced parts of himself.

Date read: 10/11/2012
Book #: 37
Challenge: Off the Shelf Challenge 2012
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Fiction

ISBN-10: 0307476898
ISBN-13: 9780307476890
Publisher: Vintage Books
Year: 2011
# of pages: 274
Binding: Trade Paperback
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Heat Rises by Richard Castle

First sentence:

"The thing about New York City is you never know what's behind a door."

Description:

"The bizarre murder of a parish priest at a New York bondage club opens Nikki Heat's most thrilling and dangerous case so far, pitting her against New York's most vicious drug lord, an arrogant CIA contractor, and a shadowy death squad out to gun her down. And that is just the tip of an iceberg that leads Nikki Heat to a dark conspiracy that reaches all the way to the highest level of the NYPD.

But when she gets too close to the truth, Nikki finds herself disgraced, stripped of her badge and out on her own as a target for killers, with nobody she can trust. Except maybe the one man in her life who’s not a cop: reporter Jameson Rook.

In the midst of New York’s coldest winter in a hundred years, there’s one thing Nikki is determined to prove: Heat Rises." -- from the inside flap

My thoughts:

I enjoyed this third book of the "Nikki Heat" series. It was fast-paced and it kept me guessing throughout. I look forward to reading the next book, Frozen Heat.

Date read: 9/22/2012
Book #: 36
Series: Nikki Heat, #3
Rating; 3*/5 = good
Genre: Mystery

ISBN-10: 1401324436
ISBN-13: 9781401324438
Publisher: Hyperion
Year: 2011
# of pages: 301
Binding: Hardcover
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The Xander Years, Volume 1 by Keith R.A. DeCandido

First sentence:

"The argument started when Cordelia saw what Xander was wearing."

Description:

"Unfulfilled crushes. Awkward first conversations. A date who wants you. . .dead.

Having a Y-chromsome in Sunnydale is never easy. But Buffy the Vampire Slayer's friend Xander Harris seems to find more than his share of trouble with the opposite sex.

At first Xander is happy being the teacher's pet--until his schoolboy crush brings out her true animal instincts. Then his whirlwind romance with the exotic foreign exchange student falters when she demands the ultimate sacrifice.

Some members of the Slaying squad might say that dating Cordelia Chase could kill a guy. But Xander's relationship with the high-maintenance Cordy actually seems to be working out--until she decides he's seriously harming her social standing. His craft plan to win her back may earn him more love than one guy can handle.

Now collected for the first time, are three stories from the hit TV series chronicling Xander's search for love on the Hellmouth." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

At first, I wasn't sure if I wanted to read stories based on a television show, even a show I like. But as I continued reading, I started to enjoy reading about Xander's misadventures and finding out how he saw things and what he thought.

Date read: 9/18/2012
Book #: 35
Challenges: Whats in a Name 5 Challenge, Off the Shelf Challenge 2012, A to Z Challenge 2012, New Author Challenge
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Paranormal Fantasy

ISBN-10: 0671026291
ISBN-13: 9780671026295
Publisher: Pocket Books
Year: 1999
# of pages: 227
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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Emotional Geology by Linda Gillard

First sentence:

"I talk to the Island."

Description:

"Rose Leonard is on the run from her life.

Taking refuge in a remote island community, she cocoons herself in work, silence and solitude in a house by the sea. But she is haunted by her past, by memories and desires she'd hoped were long dead.

Rose must decide whether she has in fact chosen a new life or just a different kind of death. Life and love are offered by new friends, her lonely daughter, and most of all Callum, a fragile younger man who has his own demons to exorcise.

But does Rose, with her tenuous hold on life and sanity, have the courage to say yes to life and put her past behind her?" -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

This was a moving story about love and art, strength and weakness, and learning to trust again. I liked the interaction between Rose and Callum and between Rose and her daughter Megan.

Date read: 9/15/2012
Book #: 34
Challenges: New Author Challenge, Off the Shelf Challenge 2012, A to Z Challenge 2012
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Fiction

ISBN-10: 1905175078
ISBN-13: 9781905175079
Publisher: Transita
Year: 2005
# of pages: 307
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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Naked Heat by Richard Castle

First sentence:

"Nikki Heat pondered red lights and why they seemed to last so much longer when there was no traffic."

Description:

"When New York's most vicious gossip columnist, Cassidy Towne, is found dead, Heat uncovers a gallery of high profile suspects, all with compelling motives for killing the most feared muckraker in Manhattan.

Heat's murder investigation is complicated by her surprise reunion with superstar magazine journalist Jameson Rook. In the wake of their recent breakup, Nikki would rather not deal with their raw emotional baggage. But the handsome, wise-cracking Pulitzer Prize-winning writer's personal involvement in the case forces her to team up with Rook anyway. The residue of their unresolved romantic conflict and crackling sexual tension fills the air as Heat and Rook embark on a search for a killer among celebrities and mobsters, singers and hookers, pro athletes and shamed politicians.

This new, explosive case brings on the heat in the glittery world of secrets, cover-ups, and scandals." -- from the inside flap

My thoughts:

I enjoyed this second book of the Nikki Heat series.  It's was fun remembering scenes from the television series Castle and seeing how they are portrayed in the book. I also enjoyed seeing the character Richard Castle thank the actors in the acknowledgements.I look forward to reading the third book - Heat Rises.

Date read: 9/13/2012
Book #: 33
Series: Nikki Heat, #2
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Mystery

ISBN-10: 1401324029
ISBN-13: 9781401324025
Publisher: Hyperion
Year: 2011
# of pages: 288
Binding: Hardcover
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Plague of Coins by Aiden James

First sentence:

"This looks promising..."

Description:

William Barrow carries a dark secret. A very dark secret.

An archivist for the Smithsonian Institute and also a part-time operative for the CIA, no one would ever suspect the handsome ‘thirty-ish’ William is in fact the most reviled human being to ever walk the earth. His infectious warmth and sense of humor make such an assertion especially hard to believe.

But long ago, William Barrow had another name…one that is synonymous with shame and betrayal: Judas Iscariot.

Forced to walk the earth as a cursed immortal, William/Judas is on a quest to reclaim the thirty silver shekels paid to him in exchange for Jesus Christ. Twenty-one coins have now been recovered—thanks in large part to the help from his latest son, the esteemed Georgetown University history professor, Alistair Barrow.

Ever hopeful the complete coin collection will buy him a full pardon from God and end his banishment from heaven, William plans a visit to a remote village deep within Iran’s Alborz Mountains to retrieve ‘silver coin number twenty-two’. But the CIA has a different objective for this trip, one that pits both father and son against an unscrupulous Russian billionaire searching for something else that’s just as precious within the ancient mountains of Iran…something that threatens peace in the modern world if William and Alistair fail to reach it first." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

Overall, I enjoyed this thriller featuring William Barrow (aka Judas Iscariot) and his quest to reclaim another silver shekel. At first, there was some awkward foreshadowing by Barrow at the beginning, but after a while it ended, and the pace of the story picked up. I look forward to reading the next book, Reign of Coins.

Date read: 8/30/2012
Book #: 32
Challenges: New Author Challenge, Off the Shelf Challenge 2012
Series: Judas Chronicles #1
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Thriller

ISBN-10: 1466386916
ISBN-13: 9761466386914
Publisher: Aiden James Fiction
Year: 2011
# of pages: 221
Binding: Trade Paperback
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