#49 You Had Me At Halo

#49
You Had Me At Halo
Amanda Ashby
2007
288
Fiction
4
Library
What's Holly to do when she gets kicked out of Heaven while observing her own funeral only to be placed into the only body currently available on earth - a man, and have two days to solve her own murder, purge her anger and make amends. Such is live or death for twenty two year old Holly Elliott Evans, but that isn't even the strange part. Fun book.

#48 The End of the Alphabet

#48
The End of the Alphabet
CS Richardson
2007
119
Fiction
5
Library
This small book will be one of my all time favorite reads. I can't describe this book adequately because it is one of those books that depending on where you are in your life - you will get a different meaning. Ambrose Zephyr a fiftish year old man who is suddenly diagnosed with an unnamed illness that will cause his death in 30 days. He has spontaneously decided that he will take his wife, the passion of his very simply ordered life, Zappora Ashkanazi (ZA to his AZ), also known as Zipper, on a trip that will encompass all the letters of the alphabet. As they travel the story goes back and forth from their present adventure to their life before the diagnosis and how two people can see the same thing in different ways. When the end comes, and it is inevitable, what story will Zipper have to tell. Awesome Book

#47 Eclipse

#47
Eclipse
Stephenie Meyer
2007
629
Fiction
3 out of 5
TBR
This third installment begins quite slow and stays that way with Bella planning for her future; Jacob and Edward warring over boundaries of both land and Bella; and Victoria still on a determined path toward getting her just revenge. Bella doesn't seem quite as melodramatic in this book as she did in the previous book -- thank goodness. The slow pace and the repeating of previous stories is troublesome and the werewolf legacy story is a bit complicated, but that being said, I've finally come to the conclusion that I don't like Edward, my vote is for Jake. Jacob loves Bella and Edward just wants to possess her. There didn't seem to be much depth to this book and I hope that Meyers takes more time with the next one and puts a little more meat into it.

#46 Death, Bones and Stately Homes

#46
Death, Bones and Stately Homes
Valerie s. Malmont
2003
295
Cozy Mystery
4 out of 5
TBR
Not realizing that this was part of a series and only being thrown off once when an old storyline was mentioned, I ended up liking this mystery involving the quirky people of Lickin Creek, Pennsylvania. Tori Miracle is a local news reporter and inadvertently discovers the body of Rodney Mellot who was a beloved music teacher that was thought to have run away with his bride to be. Unfortunately, this wasn't the whole story and Tori once again is in the middle of this mystery and has to reveal the towns secret. Midway through the book you are sure you know who-done-it, but keep reading, it's not what you think.

#45 Balzac and the little Chinese Seamstress

#45
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
Dai Sijie
2001
184
Fiction
4 out of 5
TBR

I would call this a coming of age story, but yet the narrator and his friend Luo are already 18 years old when they are sent away from there families as part of the Chinese Re-Education program. This took them away from their families and lives with very little hope of ever seen them again. But that is not what this book was really about for me, it was more a story of hope, of love, of lust, of friendship, of betrayal and how books when you don't have access to them, mean the world to you. They can be your savior and your burden, but you are willing to risk everything for them. How when you have so very little, you can still have a whole world available to you.

#44 I Feel Bad About My Neck

#44
I Feel Bad About My Neck
Nora Ephron
2006
137
Short Stories
5 out of 5

With 15 short stories, essays and random thoughts, Nora Ephron addresses the joys and traumas of being over 43 when maintenance takes more time than any reasonable person should invest themselves in, the definition of child rearing changes and how a love affair with an apartment can redefine who you are. Only a woman could understand how dead on this book is. And how laugh out loud funny we can be.
PBS

#43 California Demon: The secret life of a demon hunting soccer mom

#43
California Demon: The secret life of a demon hunting soccer mom
Julie Kenner
2006
342
Fiction
4 out of 5
TBR
In this second outing, Kate follows one of her charges from Coastal Mists knowing that no one recovers that quickly from a coma and that this must be another demonic possession. She is lead to her daughters school where she finds a book that appears blank only to finds that it is a portal to tortured demonic souls. Just another day for Kate who has to fit this in-between getting her teen daughter to cheerleading practice, getting her 2 year old to daycare, and having dinner on the table by 6. But the twists to this book are what keep the story moving - the notes and quirks that bring back her memories of Eric, her first husband that was killed five years ago, her daughters teacher - who has a few secrets of his own, and Cool - the surfing phenom that has a sudden interest in San Diablo. Kenner is such a funny writer that you can't help but laugh out loud when a demon gets a ice pick through the eye.