Beware the Babysitter - Francine Pascal (Sweet Valley High, Bk 99)

I'm going back and re-reading a lot of books from when I was younger. This is one I remember kind of enjoying, but not getting into hard, it never made my heart beat faster. Seems the same is still true today. There's a lot of fluff, and pointless banter in this book while the actual story is being set up. It's like the first book with all the boring crap has continued for 4 books by this point. Pascal was never my favorite author, but I can certainly see the appeal for early teen girls (and pre-teens) based on the subject matter.  As an aspiring author, however, I cannot fathom taking the time to WRITE this drivel!

All the Light We Cannot See - Anthony Doerr

This was not a book I picked out, it was recommended by two friends who had already passed the book between themselves.  They both said it was ok, but nothing special.  I completely agree with their assessment.
The book jumps back and forth between two opposing characters, a blind French girl and a radio genius German boy, both in their mid-teens.  The French story line is exceedingly slow to take off. The German story line begins strong and then looses a little momentum. But together they make a pretty good balance, as one goes down, the other goes up.
The day after finishing this book, I saw that it was #6 on the Top Sellers List. I can't really think of anyone I would recommend this book to.

Queen of the Damned - Anne Rice (Vampire Chronicles, Bk 3)

I liked the resolution of this book, and the ancient story was very interesting.  I wish there was more real history from this time that I could find easily.
I love the idea put forward in this book: If all the men in the world were gone, would there still be mass violence?  I think there would not be, and I must agree with both sides put forward in the book.  If most men were removed from the population, humanity would instantly have less violence, but we are slowly working our way there already.
It did take an unnecessarily long time to get to these points though. As much as I love a good, long book, I think there could have been a solid 50 pages cut out of this and it wouldn't have lost any of its power.

Rework - Jason Fried

A short book, good for motivating, but sparse on details because it's written as a generic text.  If you need motivation or a good kick in the ass to get started or are feeling pressured to do things a certain way because that's how "everybody" does them, it's great. But that's about all it's good for.

Running Blind - Lee Child (Jack Reacher Series, Bk 4)

Yep, still like these books, though of the three I've read since starting this blog, this is my least favorite. There's a lot of running around and nice detail, but not enough killing compared to previous books. I'll continue with the series for sure, but I'm hoping the next one is better.

Dearly Devoted Dexter - Jeff Lindsay (Dexter Series, Bk 2)

I love the show Dexter, and these books are also good for all the same reasons.
Read them. Delightful.
I appreciate 2 things Jeff Lindsay does:  1). Uses words in a way that make them rich and velvety like the best damn chocolate cake in the world.  2). Creates trains of thought that really, honestly do sound like things that non-neurotypical people think.

Oryx and Crake - Margaret Atwood (MaddAddam Trilogy, Bk 1)

This was not the first book by Margaret Atwood I've read. The first was actually #2 from this trilogy pulled off the shelf at random. That book was ok, but having the background and a vague idea of the styling, I liked this more, considering, than the Year of the Flood.  However, I read that book years ago, and having actually read #1, I will now go back and finish the trilogy.
I LOVE the world she has created. The names of companies are fantastic.  The thought put into who did what and why is so very believable.  It's a bit weird at first, but after some thought on the subject, this world is completely plausible. It's great.