On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King

A great book if you have a hard time getting through normal non-fiction/how-to manuals.  King mushes it all together, story, plot, actual writing recommendations... It's easy to get through.
However, the actual information of it is light. If you're hardcore about wanting to know the precise formula, you will be disappointed.  I, on the other hand, who learn by observing others, thought it was perfect because that's essentially what King does; runs through his own thought process in how he comes up with his ideas and brings them to life.
I plan to re-read this if I ever get a fully-fleshed out first draft of my book (or 2 or 3).

Reminiscences of a Stock Operator by Edwin Lefèvre

This is an old book. I did not realize how old it was until I started reading. That being said, I believe it is timeless and still 100% relevant to today.  I would recommend this book to anyone who has even the slightest interest in any high-risk investments or markets.  However, if you don't have the time for a whole book (just do audio book because everyone has time for that) the take home message is: Get smart, put in the long hours of studying, and once you know your stuff, don't be swayed by rumors, tips, or your idiot brain. Keep cool and rely only on your smarts and your numbers.

Wolves of the Calla - Stephen King (Dark Tower Series, Bk 5)

A good story, but it didn't really advance much in the general arc of the overall story purpose.  We have our characters trying to make it to the dark tower, but this entire book was spent helping some village people repel and destroy unknown raiders who show up and steal children, which is a good story, but I don't see how it did anything to further the actually getting to the dark tower.  It's a giant cross-over with Salem's Lot and has some funny pop references. It's more of a stand alone book. You could read this whole story without really needing the other books, except for possibly setting up the style of the series, which is really weird.
Overall: good, but totally unnecessary

Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides

I'm not sure how I feel about this book.  It was good, an interesting story, but somehow despite that, I had a hard time finishing it. The author goes off on a lot of tangents and seems to relish the occasional absurdly artistic sidenote.  I'm sure that's what won it the Pulitzer prize, but I hated that stuff. It brought the momentum of the actual story to a screeching halt for some random bits that sounded cool, but were nearly irrelevant.  Cut all that crap out, and I'm sure I would have liked it a lot better.  Also, as a scientist, I wanted much more explicit description of what exactly was going on during sex scenes and examinations.  Maybe the author just assumes you'll go to the internet and check it out yourself, but that seems like his research is incomplete or he never truly understood what he was writing about to begin with.  Either way, it comes off weak and shy of hard details.
To sum it up:  Story is good, pacing is slow, too many artsy forays thrown in

Visitors - Orson Scott Card (The Pathfinder series, Bk 3)

I love Orson Scott Card. I think he might be my favorite author. He is beautifully articulate. His ideas are so complex they are sexy, yet he presents them in a way in which nearly anyone could understand.  This book wraps up the Pathfinder series and has an excellent ending.  As time jumpers, where, or more exactly, when, do you end a book? Do they go on and on forever? Card ends with a very nice, "I'll jump ahead to sometime and settle there." Indicating the continued use of the time manipulating powers and leaving it open, but with a plan so you still feel satisfied that you know how it will end.
My favorite part was how he resolved the time continuum conundrum:  Do you go back in time and change the future? Or is the present this way because you already changed the past?  Card's answer: Both.  And of all the time things I've read, that's my favorite.
I highly recommend this series to anyone with a brain, who likes to use it.

Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism - Temple Grandin

I was completely unprepared for the impact this book would have on my life. I have never had so many personal revelations from reading a book.  If you would like to understand me, read this book.

American Gods - Neil Gaiman

Well, I wasn't really sure what to expect here. Just out of nowhere, Neil Gaiman blew up. I'd never heard of the guy a year ago, then suddenly he's everywhere. I'd also heard that American Gods was being made into something, tv show? series? I'm not sure, but I knew of it and thought I should read it before it gets ruined into a show.
My opinion is that it is a good book, but perhaps not worth all the hype over it. The idea is fantastic, the characters are a little weird (though I believe that to be on purpose, it didn't rub me as the right kind of weird), but the pacing is good.
Overall, I would say: Eh. Perhaps a let down based on the hype, not that it was a bad book. I think I would have liked it more if I'd not heard anything about it beforehand.