Range of Motion by Elizabeth Berg

8/10 - I tend to struggle with books that revolve almost entirely on the inner workings of peoples minds. I know it's bad, but I find them boring. I'm kind of childish in my reading. Let's go somewhere, let's DO something. But Elizabeth Berg crafted such nice characters for this book, that I was able to get by nicely. I was so proud of myself for not looking ahead to find out what happens, because that would have ruined it. I did see some areas that could have been improved, but if I talked about them I could ruin the book for you. So I'll leave them unsaid.

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

8/10 - A sweeping epic based in Scotland about a woman from the 40-s who's swept back to the 1740's. This book is a quick read despite it's 850 pages with tons of great characters and just enough sex to really keep things interesting. It's is action packed with very few slow parts. I enjoyed it so much, I'm going to hop over to Paperback Swap and order the second in the series.

Love Marriage by V.V. Ganeshananthan

2/10 - I'm so relieved to be finished with this book, I felt like it was never going to end. There was no real flow or plot whatsoever. It really should have been billed as a book of short stories. It felt more like the author was trying to find an excuse to talk about Sri Lanka. I love learning about other cultures, but you have to have a story in there too. Otherwise, it just becomes a droning history lesson.

Who are all these characters and why do I care about them? Did we have to hear the story of every family member? I would have liked to see the author delve more into the main characters similarities to Uma. I would have liked to hear more of her story and how it intertwines with the Yalini's. We could have had a little Sri Lankan Bell Jar.

How can you write a book called Love Marriage and not have a hint of romance? Yalini's parent's story was a little romantic, but still there was so much family history that I feel like the characters you really cared to know about got watered down. I was really looking forward to this one, and I feel let down.

Promise Not to Tell by Jennifer McMahon

8/10 - Short, suspenseful read. When it arrived from Paperbackswap, I was just glancing over it, reading a few pages. I only got 7 pages in before the phone rang, but I about jumped out of my skin! I had to limit my reading of this book to the daytime hours, because it made me to jumpy to read it after dark. But then again, I'm a wuss when it comes to those things.

The Center of Everything by Laura Moriarty

7/10 - This was an okay book. I liked the main character Evelyn. She was very believable. This is the first book that I've read that is about a girl growing up in the same time period as me. It made it very easy for me to relate to her. I remember friendship pins and watching the Challenger go down on TV. But in the end it didn't really go anywhere, so I felt let down.

Enlightenment for Idiots by Anne Cushman

7/10 - This was a pleasant read. I liked the characters well enough although I thought they all were a bit flaky. My favorite was Devi Das, who was the only character I felt really warm toward. I think my enjoyment of the book was hindered by my inability to identify with any of the characters even though I liked them. I think some of my reformed Neo-hippy friends from college would probably like this book more than me. I thought the story story was well paced and held my interest. It arrived just before I left on vacation and turned out to be good vacation reading. I enjoyed the excerpts which described different yoga poses. My husband found it very amusing to watch me try them out, and I was surprised to find that I can still stand on my head, even if only for a few seconds. ;-) I think readers will find it delivers just what you would expect from the title.

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

11/10 - Okay, I don't want to hear any comments about the rating. I just had to set this book on a pedestal somehow and that's how I chose to do it. This is far and away the most moving book I've ever read. It should have been called A Thousand Falling Tears. I implore you to read it. I won't bother to describe the story line because what ever I say won't do it justice. Just read it..Please. I'm blown away.

The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz

6/10 - Similar to Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series, The Spellman Files is an entertaining book about a family of private investigators. I'm usually partial to books that are heavy on character development, but I really felt that character development was all this book was about. There really was no discernible plot. The characters are quite entertaining which makes the book readable, but nothing to write home about.

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

6/10 - This was a somewhat entertaining little YA book. Generally though I didn't really understand the whole supernatural concept the book was based on, and the characters were all very cliche. I felt like it followed that unwritten boarding school recipe. I don't think I'll be picking up anymore of this authors.

Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos

9/10 - Everything I love in a book; love family, great kids. It gave me a cozy feeling down to my bones. Some reviewers complained about predictability, but I didn't see it. I can see how her writing style might not appeal to everyone, it's a bit halting, but I liked it. I think I would have appreaciated the book more if I was a fan of old movies. This will be a great one to pass on to friends.

Fall On Your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald

8/10 - I'm not one who says things like "I just couldn't put it down." when talking about books. But really, I just couldn't put it down. Someone wrote in another review that reading this book is liking driving past a grisly accident, you want to look away, but you just can't. I think that sums it up perfectly. This book contains some of the most unusual characters I've ever come across. How they end up in the same book is amazing as well. But I just could not stop reading it out of morbid curiosity if nothing else. The happy ending queen crosses over to the dark side.

One For the Money by Janet Evanovich

7/10 - Another fun, easy read with lots of likeable characters. I enjoyed it so much that I ordered the next in the series "Two For the Dough". I was really surprised that so many parts of the story line caught me by surprise. Usually, I have books like this figured out by the first chapter. I even had a "holy crap" moment when the main character did something I totally wasn't expecting. If you like series, I'm sure you've already read this, but if you haven't, you should.

Love is a Mixed Tape by Rob Sheffield

8/10 - It's amazing to hear someone talk about one of the worst times in his life with such humor. This is what Rob Sheffield does. He writes about his life with his wife, Renee, and about how music brought them together and how it helped him to heal after she died. There's music in this book for everyone, and some songs that noone has every heard before. Life Rob's rewording of "The Tigger Song" into "The Widow Song".

The terrible thing about widows,

is widows are terrible things.

Their eyes are covered with sunglasses.

Their fingers are covered with rings.

They're jumpy, dumpy, frumpy, glumpy,

dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb.

But the most terrible thing about widows

is that I'm the only one.

I'm...the only one.

Girls in Trouble by Caroline Leavitt

9/10 - This book was so much more than the cover or title would lead you to believe. The characters are so believeable and well written, that it's almost impossible to figure out who to side with. It's a very touching story about a sixteen year old girl who gets pregnant and decides to give the baby up in an open adoption. I highly recommend it.

The Alienist by Caleb Carr

8/10 - Interesting "Jack the Ripper" type mystery set in the late 1800's in New York. I thought the writing was excellent, and the story held my interest although it took me a really long time to read. I'm not a die-hard mystery lover, but if you are you'll probably love it. I thought it could have been condensed some. Oh, and don't read it if you are hungry. The detective crew has some pretty amazing meals thrown in there with the gore.

Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson

5/10 - I'm surprised at James Patterson for putting this out. It seems really beneath him. It is utterly predictable, I could have told you the whole story after reading 3 pages. He also does something that I find incredibly irritating. I absolutely hate it when authors repeat themselves. I find it condescending, like the reader isn't smart enough to remember important points. It would get you through a plane ride, but I could think of way better.

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

8/10 - It is rare that I find a book that I want to take my time with, this is an exception. I really enjoyed the poetry and spirituality of the writing. I found myself mulling over passages before moving on. I thought the journaling format was very effective. I especially loved that parts when he talked about his son and what he was doing. Those parts were especially warm. I did find myself wishing for more of a story interwoven in his thoughts. There were definite pieces of one, but they never really panned out. I also would have liked to hear the thoughts of the son when he grew and read the journal.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Argh. This one is really hard to rate because my thoughts are so divided. On one side there's the cynical part of me that says this is just a bunch of New Age Hooey. He just says the say thing over and over, and the phrase "to penetrate the Soul of the World" is just hard for me not to snicker at. On the other hand, if I'm feeling philosophical, I can find some real depth in the story. I think if you really read it with a totally open mind, you could get a lot out of it. It definitely makes you think. So I guess I'm taking the easy way out and I'm not going to give it a rating. Your take will depend so much on how you approach the book. You're just going to have to make your own mind up on this one.

Undead and Unwed by Mary Janice Davidson

7/10 - Fun, quirky read about a materialistic blonde who is killed and rises from the dead as the prophetized Vamipire Queen. I think that pretty much says it all. Great book to read on a plane, that sort of thing.

Atonement by Ian McEwan

6/10 - It's hard to fully explain my feelings about this book without giving away some plot details, so be warned. For starters, the first 100 pages were agony for me. I just found it to be very wordy and flowery. I started threatening the author that if he didn't get somewhere with all this fast then I was throwing in the towel. And then we got some where.... and fast! Wow! There was 50-100 pages there that I couldn't put the book down. Then we landed with a thud. There was all this build up for Robbie and Cecilia to be reunited and then he just shows up in the bathroom. WTH!!! And Briony never really atoned for anything. Sheesh! Guess this just wasn't my thing.