Monster by A. Lee Martinez

A witty, fantastical book, similar to Christopher Moore's style of writing.

Monster is employed by the pest control company but his expertise lies in the more extraordinary household pests....hungry yetis, walrus dogs, pesky demon goats, and the like.

Judy is an ordinary woman, working the night shift in a local Food Mart, until one day her life is turned upside down when she finds a couple of yetis eating all the ice cream in the frozen food section. Enter Monster.

From then on, Judy and Monster keep running into each other and lots of unwanted company in the form of mystical creatures bent on destroying them. What they don't know is that they both have a greater destiny and the universe is keeping tabs. They'll need each other to get out of the biggest scrap of their lives and save the universe's hide in the process.

Before I Die by Jenny Dowham

Tessa Scott has been living with leukemia since she was a little girl. Now, she is in her teens and time is running out. There are so many things she hasn't experienced: sex, drugs, crime, falling in love.... She writes a list of everything she wants to do before she dies and plans on carrying out every single one. She struggles to feel alive though she is dieing.

A haunting story, one that kept me enrapt in Tessa's life, even though I didn't want to finish, didn't want to care for her. I knew that the end was inevitable, but I felt so much for her that I persevered, just like the family and her friends that loved her so much. 

A beautiful book. Caution: Even though this is a YA book it is somewhat graphic and has very mature content. 

A Dirty Job

by Christopher Moore

The first book I read by Christopher Moore was The Stupidest Angel, about Santa turning into a zombie and taking over an entire town during Christmas. So, I expected A Dirty Job to have the same quirky, odd ball humor and fantastical scenerios. I wasn't disappointed.

You'll meet Charlie, a self-titled "Beta Male", who undergoes a sudden change after the passing of his wife when she gives birth to their daughter, Sophie. He suddenly starts seeing a red glow in various objects and comes to learn that he has been chosen as a pawn of death, to become a death merchant, who collects these "soul vessels" and returns them to their rightful owners. It gets weirder. Some of the other characters include another death merchant named Minty Fresh, Hell Hounds, a disabled (of sorts) ex-cop with a thing for online dating, a goth chick who wants to be a chef, one Chinese and one Russian babsitter, three raven women who live in the sewers, and oh so much more. Charlie must team up with some of these characters to fulfill a prophecy before the world is destroyed.

Moore has a great sense of humor and the way he describes objects and events is spot on. A unique voice and a great read!

True Evil

I started listening to Greg Iles on the recommendation of a librarian from Shaker Heights. I listened to Turning Angel, and I loved the way Iles told a story. Even though it was graphic and the subject matter wasn't my favorite, Iles's mastery of the language and his ability to build a compelling plot led me to pick up True Evil. I loved this audiobook; it was suspenseful, the characters were strong, and the plot had a medical element that kept me on the edge of my seat.
I find medical and legal thrillers interesting because there are so many twists and turns that are dictated by powers beyond the characters' control. Special Agent Alexandra Morse visits Dr. Chris Shepard at his office, pretending to be a patient, but she is really investigating a series of mysterious deaths. Chris is next on the list. Like all of Iles's books, the story takes place in the evocative setting of Natchez, Mississippi. I can't say much more without revealing too much, so go and enjoy True Evil!

Peter and Max, by Bill Willingham

An excellent literary tie-in with the Fables series of graphic novels. If you haven't read the graphic novels (really, you should, they're fantastic) this still stands on its own. If you are familiar with the series, this fills in some back-story and builds on the main story line.

Complete Joy of Home Brewing, by Charlie Papazian

A tremendous resource for those curious about brewing their own beer. This book covers the history of brewing and how the American commercial brewing scene evolved, the science behind brewing, and the actual art involved.

Angela's Ashes

If you haven't read this book and enjoy audiobooks, this is a fantastic one to listen to. Frank McCourt narrates this autobiography of his childhood growing up in Ireland. His thick Irish brogue is charming and his tale transports you to the dirty streets of Limerick. Living in the lane, children went without proper shoes, food, and were plagued by the guilt ingrained in them by the Catholic church. His child-like style of narration is endearing as he introduces us to the people in his life: his father, a man who spends all his wages on pints and comes home most evenings singing Rody McCalley and Kevin Barry, making the boys get out of bed and promising to die for Ireland; his mother, who tries to support her broud of boys by scrounging for coal on the roads, begging at priests' doors, and getting used items from the St. Vincent Paul Society; his strict but supportive school masters; and his rambunctious brothers. You'll fall in love with this scrappy young Irish boy who survives typhoid and eye infections, who dreams of one day coming to America.

Dirty Little Angels

by Chris Tusa

Tusa immediately draws you into the world of Hailey Trosclair, a typical teenager discovering herself, questioning the meaning of life and the existence of God in a world fraught with misery, loss, and desperation. In such a short amount of time, you become entangled in the lives of the people in Hailey's life - genuinely feel for them, sharing their trials and their triumphs. Only a master craftsman could have created such a believable and emotionally charged narrative in a mere 170 pages. A must-read!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and couldn't put it down (or close the window of my ebook). I was first intrigued by this rambunctious and endearing girl, remember what it was like to be a teenager, with the temptations of boys, drugs, parties, etc....then by utter suspense as surprising events unfolded in shocking detail. I was enrapt from beginning to end

Her Fearful Symmetry

by Audrey Niffenegger

We begin with a death. Elspeth Noble is dead and leaves her two twin nieces, Valentina and Julia, her flat in London with the stipulation that her sister and twin, Edie, and her husband are not allowed in the flat and the twins have to live there for a year before they can sell it. Other tenants of the building await the twins' arrival: Elspeth's lover, Robert, lives in the flat below hers and is anxious to meet the two girls whom he has never met. Martin, a severe OCD case, and his wife Marjke live in the flat above and were friends with Robert and Elspeth.

What seems like an ordinary story takes a turn towards the paranormal when the reader is introduced again to Elspeth, this time as a ghost living in her flat, unseen (at first) to her two inheritors. There is mystery surrounding Elspeth's and Edie's relationship - as in what caused the rift in the sisters' relationship. The answer to which is kept in a diary in Robert's flat.

The story becomes more intriguing when Elspeth is able to communicate with the twins and as the twins develop relationships with the other tenants that knew Elspeth. Though the motivation for a secret plan hatching between one twin and the ghost seems unrealistic, it makes for a good story and will hopefully have you reading till the last page.

Ten Thousand Sorrows

by Elizabeth Kim

Out of the frying pan and into the fire... that sums up life for this Korean war orphan. A product of an American soldier's conquest, this young child and her mother are shunned by their Korean families and neighbors. They form a tight union of mother and daughter, alone in a world that views them as nonpersons, not worthy of existence. One fateful night, her mother is killed in an act of "honor" by her extended family to cleanse the family blood of her shame, leaving the young girl an orphan.

She spends a brief, though terrifying, sojourn in an orphanage where the children are kept in dirty cages, dying of sickness and malnutrition. She is adopted, though her relief is short-lived, by an Fundamentalist Christian couple and brought to America. Elizabeth (as the couple names her) leaves one life of fear to another. The couple's radical Christian beliefs manifests into abusive behavior that creates an environment of shame and terror.

Only through the birth of her daughter, Lee, is Elizabeth able to confront the horrors that she experienced as a child. An autobiography of hope despite seemingly insurmountable odds and the power of mother-love.

Shortcomings, by Adrian Tomine

A serious graphic novel about relationships, and the false impressions that can destroy them.

When You are Engulfed in Flames

by David Sedaris (audiobook)

Back again from the author of Me Talk Pretty One Day, Sedaris' book of comical and insightful essays had me in stitches. I found myself laughing out loud at his descriptions of people and events. His boyfriend Hugh's habit of losing him anytime they walk anywhere. The woman who kept a babyfood jar filled with water and old cigarette butts that she sniffed anytime she thought about taking up smoking again. His sister quizzing him on his Japanese, asking, "Do you know how to say, 'My sister and I went to see a movie with a dragon in it' " though it wasn't on the index cards. Keeping a giant spider as a pet and feeding it live flies for entertainment.

Though sometimes foul (a disclamer for sensitive types), it is utterly hilarious and laugh out loud funny.

Watchmen

I'd read this before and remembered it fondly. The recent movie prompted me to revisit it. This book is a classic, having single-handedly given graphic novels legitimacy. The intricacy of plot and subtlety of artwork come together in a spectacular work of art.

Bel Canto

by Ann Patchett

A suspenseful romantic story of a soiree gone wrong. A wealthy Japanese businessman, Mr. Hosokawa, is thrown a birthday party by a South American Vice President in order to gain his favor so that he might construct factories in their country. To lure Mr. Hosokawa to the affair, the Vice President hires the Japanese man's favorite opera soprano, Roxanne Coss, to entertain.

Diplomats from all over the world are invited to the event, including the President of the country, though he does not attend. What starts out as a lovely evening of music and dining eventually turns disastrous as the party is taken over by terrorists hoping to kidnap the President.

The situation starts out as terrifying and chaotic, but evolves into something quite different. The terrorists and guests create relationships that would have been unheard of if not for the unique circumstance. Friendship, kindess, compassion, and even love blossom in the most unlikely of ways.

Beautifully written and compelling.

Family First

by Dr. Phil

In this book, Dr. Phil explains the five factors for a phenomenal family (great alliteration, right?). To do this you need to create a nurturing and accepting Family system; promote rhythm in your family life; establish meaningful rituals and traditions; be active in your communication; and learn how to manage crisis. I found this book to be helpful and, at least, reassuring about my desires to do simple things like eat dinner at the dining room table instead of in front of the tv and scheduling family time, making it a priority. Simple rituals like reading a story to your child every night before bed becomes an integral part of the glue that keeps the family together and ingrains wonderful memories for years to come.

A great read!

Finding Fish

by Antwone Quenton Fisher

I know this one was posted before but I wanted to elaborate a little....

This autobiography strikes into the heart as we follow a young Cleveland foster child, Antwone Fisher, through his years of abuse and neglect at the hands of his foster mother, Mrs. Pickett. Though the scenery is familiar to me, the family dynamic - if you can call it that - is foreign, shocking, and sadly true. From being locked in the basement, beaten down verbally and physically, Antwone not only survives but he truly learns to live.

According to Fisher, foster children have the odds stacked against them from the beginning. But, he was determined to make something of himself and after a brief interlude of homelessness, he did just that.

Truly well written and uplifting in the end! Now I am going to see the movie adaptation with Denzel Washington!

Burma Chronicles

The latest of Delisle's graphic novel travelogues. Graphic novels have proven to be a great medium for this type of thing. Delisle has an eye for odd visuals, like the fact that Burma, a former British colony, intentionally switched to driving on the right side of the road. Meanwhile, because of trade restrictions, people there can only get cars with the wheel on the right side, which makes passing trucks an adventure.

The Graveyard Book (Newbery Award Winner)

by Neil Gaiman

A little baby toddles off to the graveyard one night, narrowly escaping a murderous villain named Jack, who dispatches the baby's entire family. In order to protect the child, the ghosts of the graveyard adopt the boy, keeping him safe from harm, naming him Nobody Owens - "Bod" for short. As he grows, Bod is able to live the life of ghosts. Taught by ghosts and his guardian Silas, he learns fading, dream walking, passing through doors and walls, and even haunting. But as time goes on, Bod wants to venture out of the graveyard and find out what happened to his family and to be among the living - even though the man Jack is still hunting him. The book is full of colorful characters each with a unique voice - hounds of hell, murderers, ghosts, witches, ghouls, a slayer, and more. Gaiman is extremely clever the way he crafts the tale, with surprises around every turn of the page. For such a dark setting, it has some humorous parts as well. My favorite character is the poet, Nehemiah Trot! The audio version is fantastic, read by the author.

The Last Human: A Guide to 22 Species of Extinct Humans

This is a look back at the many-branched tree of the human evolutionary tree. The many versions of human (all but one, Homo Sapien - us - being extinct). This collection is a thought-provoking. Most of the critters featured survived longer than we've so far been around. It's entirely conceivable that we could wind up one of the least successful man-apes dreamt up by nature. Also interesting is the notion that we shared space with closely related Neanderthal for some time. Strange how we've come to see ourselves as so unique, the evolutionary equivalent of an only child.

A Simple Plan

I decided to read A Simple Plan by Scott Smith on the recommendation of my friend John, who had heard about it from Stephen King. John is a huge King fan and will read pretty much anything he recommends. And I like King too--although I was kind of annoyed about what he said about the Twilight books. Still, I loved Case Histories by Kate Atkinson, which King also recommended, so I decided to go for it. This is one of the few books I actually did not get from the library (I borrowed it from my friend). It's not owned by TPL, but you can reserve it, and we do own the movie adaptation. Hank Mitchell is an unassuming guy in a suburb of Toledo who stumbles across an abandoned plane in the woods as he's out with his brother and his friend Lou. They find $4 million in the plane and decide they will split it up in six months' time. What starts as a simple plan degenerates into blackmail and murder. The book is chilling because Hank is an everyman, and as a lifelong Northern Ohio resident, I could almost see the story happening. I know I will be scared by Smith's second book, The Ruins, but I can't resist reading it!