This is the second of three memoirs by Ruth Reichl (so far). Ms. Reichl has been in the news of late, as she was the editor of Gourmet magazine, which recently ceased publication. She has hinted that maybe now she will write another memoir, covering her time at Gourmet.

I really do read more than one book a month. I am not sure why I forget to post about them. So, here is a partial list of other books I have read this month...

A Touch of Dead (Sookie Stackhouse Collection)
Dead and Gone (Sookie Stackhouse #9)
Fables: Vol. 1, Legends in Exile
Some Buried Cesear (Rex Stout)
Dot.Dead (A Silicon Valley Thriller)

I might get around to posting my opinions on these. But I might now. So, anyway, I am reading! Really!

I picked up this book for two reasons. First, the TV show FlashForward used this book for inspiration. Second, the book is by Robert J. Sawyer, who wrote several other books that I enjoyed (including Hominids and Humans -- I haven't read the third one in this trilogy though).

If you have watched the TV series, don't worry. The book is only the inspiration; there is really nothing in common between the book and the TV show, other than the flash forward itself. In the book, people see 21 years into the future; in the TV show, it is six months. The book is set in and around the large hadron collider at CERN; the TV show is set in the US. As you can guess from the setting, the book resolves the cause of the flash forward very early on; the LHC experiment combined with some cosmic activity lead to the flash forward. The book focuses on the scientists involved in the LHC experiment, on the physics of the incident, and on the philosophies of free will and predetermination.

One thing I like about Sawyer's book (this one included), is that he bases the plot around proven science, but takes it further. His books always make me want to read more about the science he uses. In this case, I spent a few hours reading about the large hadron collider and the search for the Higgs bosun particle.

Although this book is heavy on the science, I would recommend it highly for those who like science ficition set in (at the time it was written) near future versions of our own world.

I think I am just about done with vampires and werewolves.

Not that Patricia Briggs doesn't do an excellent job on this genre. This second book in the Alpha and Omega series is good. It is just that this story felt so familiar.

If you haven't read Cry Wolf, or if you didn't really love it, I wouldn't recommend this. If you did, however, like any of the Mercy Thompson books, then definitely read this one.

I am not sure if I liked this book or not.

This is an alternate future book, set at an indeterminate future time in Minnesota. It combines traditional religion and ultra-left-wing politics to make a sort of future dystopia where traditional religions are under attack under freedom of religion laws. Enter into this the release/return of a Norse god, and the apocalypse looms.

The author does a really good job of setting up some of the background of the world. But, as with many books from SF publisher Baen, the political slant almost slaps the reader in the face. Once one just accepts that, the story itself is good. The characters are well developed, and their actions flow from their expressed beliefs.

If you are interested, this book is available for electronic readers, for free, in the Baen Free Library, along with many other books.

It's back to school time for me! As a substitute teacher, I am never quite sure what is in store for me when I go to work in the morning. And sometimes I can get a lot of reading done! Today was not an exception. The first period I was there was a "planning period," which is essential for the classroom teacher, but pretty much free time for a substitute.

I had reading material, and other things to work on, but this book caught my eye:

When Plague Strikes: The Black Death, Smallpox, AIDS

This is a Scholastic book, so one can assume it is aimed at young reader. Sometimes I prefer non-fiction for young adults, as it is written, well, simpler. The books are also generally more interesting than those for adults, because it is harder to keep younger readers attention if the subject starts to bore them.

Anyway, I am fascinated by epidemics, so this book caught my eye. I really enjoyed the sections on the plague and small pox. I learned a few things (the derivation of the name smallpox, among other things), and thought some of the points the author brought up could inspire some spirited discussions. On the other hand, I did skip a lot of the AIDS section, having already read "And the Band Played On," which some say is the definitive history of AIDS. The author notes that he relied heavily on that book for his history of AIDS.

Overall, I would recommend this book to any reader middle-school or above who has an interest in plagues or epidemics and how they affected the world.

I haven't read any "real" books for a while. I have been too busy trying to read all the comic books that have been piling up on my nightstand. I finally made it through those books, and so I am starting to read some novels again.

So, while I was at the library this week, I saw the new David Skibbins book in the new book area. I really enjoyed his first three books in his "Tarot Card Mystery" series. I would almost call this a "cozy." Granted, the main "sleuth" is not a woman, but Warren has certainly been an amateur, not a professional, investigator. Warren doesn't live in a small town, but the way Skibbins writes about Berkely, and the areas Warren frequents, make it sound like a small town. Warren is a likeable fellow, in spite of his bipolar disorder, and he is surrounded by friends.

Skibbins has taken those components of a cozy mystery to make the reader comfortable, then skewed them slightly to take the books outside of the expected comfort of a cozy, and made a really enjoyable series of books that can be read by those who enjoy cozy mysteries, and those who want a little sharper edge.

In this volume, Warren enters the world of bondage and domination to help prove that a friend of a friend is innocent of murder. The usual cast of his friends (Sally, Heather, Max...) are all on hand, and have a hand in, to solve the case. I found this a very satisfying read.

I was going through some books my mom passed back to me, and came upon The Autobiography of Foudini M. Cat. I recommended this book to her since she liked (and, in fact, recommended to me) The Art of Racing in the Rain.

Both of these books are written with the pet in question as the narrator. In Foudini, the pet is a cat, who is giving advice to a new, younger, cat in the family. In Racing, the narrator is a dog, giving advice to, and telling the story of, his human, a race car driver. Both books are touching, emotional, and any pet owner can relate. We can only wish and attribute to our pets the eruditeness of these animals. Both of these books would be really good for book discussions, too.

Although I loved both of these books, I wonder about the anthropomorphism of the pets. Reading books like this which attribute thoughts and emotions to animals has led to an inability, in me, to kill spiders. This seems to be in direct opposition to my omnivorism. I am sure, though, if I had to kill my own (animal) food, I couldn't do it. And I blame books like these.

I thought this might be another one of those over-hyped books that I could never get through (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, anyone?), but it wasn't. This was a lovely story, told through correspondence, of the island of Guernsey (one of the Channel Islands between France and England), and how the German occupation during WWII affected the residents.

The book is a fairly easy read. Through the letter format, the reader gets to see through the main character's eyes, as well as though of residents of the island, and of London. This would be a great book for high school students studying WWII.

I am way behind on my comic book reading, and I haven't lately read a new book. Instead, I have been rereading the Vorkosigan books by Lois McMaster Bujold. Why, you may ask, am I rereading these books? Well, for one, they are very good. They are, for me, a sort of comfort book. Even though I know what is going to happen, I enjoy rereading them pretty regularly. I can pick and choose parts to read, and if I only have ten minutes or so to read, I can pick up my PDA and read just a bit.

And that is really why I am reading these -- they are all on my PDA and easily fit into my purse. With the advent of the Kindle and other ebook devices, a reader might think that ebooks are relatively new. Not so! I have been reading books on my PDA for years. And I have been reading very good books, reasonably priced (or free) in open formats, from Baen Books. I don't think Baen gets enough credit for their ebook options. Check out the books they offer for free, every day.

But back to Lois McMaster Bujold. This woman can write! She has a really elegant writing style, and her characters really come alive. Although these books are science fiction (space opera, one could say), she concentrates on the relationships between her characters and that's what I love about the books. And I do love the Vorkosigan saga, but another fantasy series she wrote, starting with (the especially good) Curse of Chalion.

Really, if you get a chance, read these books.