The Midnight Palace - Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Niebla #2)

While this is the second in Zafon's juvenile fiction Niebla series, it has absolutely nothing (that I could discern) to do with the first book in the series.  It focuses on twins, separated at birth, and reunited unknowingly on their sixteenth birthday.  Ben grew up in an orphanage and is just about to set out on his own.  Sheere was raised by her grandmother who hid all information about her birth and her past in an effort to protect her.  With the help of Ben's friends, the two set out to learn more about their mysterious past and the deadly figure that has hunted them all their lives.  Once again, I found this book way too scary for a kid -but again, my scare threshhold is low, and maybe kids like these things.  This book is suspenseful and stretches the suspension of disbelief.  The dark figure that pursues the twins is almost too fantastical, but I did enjoy the mystery of it all - a nice quick read that got me through some tedious time in the hospital before the birth of my own twins.

Happier at Home - Gretchen Rubin

Awhile back I read and quite enjoyed Gretchen Rubin's book - The Happiness Project.  So when I saw that her new one employed many of the same happiness concepts - just focused more on the home, I was eager to read it - and actually places an advanced order on amazon - something this proud libary card holder does for only the rarest of books.  What I appreciate about Rubin's quest for happiness, and her eagerness to share her thoughts - is that she never assumes that what would make one person happy would necessarily work for another - and she intends her book to act as inspiration for all of us to create our own happiness agendas, rather than as a guide for what we should do to achieve happiness.  I also like her regular reminders that we cannot make others happy, and we cannot rely on others make us happy - and that these goals cannot guide our actions.  There was actually quite a bit in this book that I thought would affirmatively not work for me - and I was frustrated on her behalf (though she did not seem frustrated at all) at her husband's often reluctance to participate in her happiness suggestions.  Because I am a firm believer in the adage that "happiness is not a destination, but merely a mode of travel," I liked the reminders this book gave me in general to look for ways in my everyday life to create happiness around me.  While I did read the book straight through - like The Happiness Project, I feel like it's one I'd like to leave lying around to peruse now and again for inspiration.

Office Girl - Joe Meno

One line of the description of this book hooked me, "Nothing takes place during a World War."  Not that there aren't great books that take place during World Wars, but I have read many of them in my time, and I could use a different setting (as long as it's not also post 9/11 PTSD land).  Office Girl, however, was not quite what I was looking for.  It tells the story of "artists" Odile and Jack and reads like a literary version of Zooey Deschanel's quirky too-cool projects.  As the two work menial office jobs during the day, they spend their evenings contemplating the more esoteric - condemning commercial art and making renegade art of their own.  I think I am too old for this book - not that I'm too mature by any means, but just that I find characters in their 20-somethings who are complaining about life and finding themselves to be tedious.  I just want them to get over themselves.  That being said, some of their art was clever and funny.  Overall, however, I found the book a little too hip for my tastes.

Double Dexter - Jeff Lindsay (Dexter #6)

Once again, I've caught up with this series, and reading it always makes me want to start watching the HBO TV series - though I'm not sure I can handle all the gore visually.  This installment finds Dexter back to his old tricks, but this time, it seems he has been observed by someone who doesn't plan just to expose him, but to give him a taste of his own painful medicine.  While Dexter aids in the investigation of a serial killer targeting Miami police detectives, he is simultaneously looking over his shoulder for the killer trying to track him down.  In typical Dexter fashion, I found myself simultaneously rooting for him while also cringing at his internal monologues and the example he sets for his step-children.  A thoroughly entertaining series that I hope will continue.

Turn of Mind - Alice LaPlante

Awhile back, I read a fiction book called Still Alice about a woman with early onset Alzheimer's disease.  I highly recommend the novel, though it is a frightening reality, I found the book immensely intriguing in its portrayal of this degenerative disease.  Then the Stanford Book Club picked this novel - Turn of Mind - a murder mystery also feautring a main character with Alzheimer's.  With recent media attention on the possible connection between Alzheimer's and diabetes, this condition has been much on my mind and with that background, I picked up this thriller.  Written in the first-person, this is the story of former hand surgeon, Dr. Jennifer White, has a caretaker and is watched over by her daughter and delinquent son.  She suffers from Alzheimer's and when he best friend is found murdered - with several fingers severed from her hand - Jennifer becomes a prime suspect.  The book is written in fragmented sections - there are present day interactions such as the repeated interogations by the police in which Jennifer is painfully reminded at each visit that her best friend has been murdered.  And there are fragments of memories from Jennifer's past - descrbing her marriage, her friendship, her practice, and the raising of her children.  Like Still Alice, I found this a very painful and difficult read, while at the same time fascinated by the author's ability to get into the mind of someone with this disease (as realistic as we can ever know that the portrayal is).  In terms of a murder mystery, the plot unfolds nicely with the reader constantly wondering if Jennifer committed the crime, and if she did, whehther she actually remembers doing so.  The end unfolded a bit strangely, and while I want to avoid any spoilers, I'm not sure I was entrely satisfied with it.  But, I loved the writing in this book and the interactions between the characters - a little frustrating at times, but certainly nothing compared to the frustration of having this disease, or caring for a loved one suffering from it.

The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln - Stephen L. Carter

I became a fan of Stephen Carter's right away with his intelligent and superbly well-written novels The Emperor of Ocean Park and New England White.  Then he burned me with Jericho's Fall which I found just an complete disaster on all fronts.  So, it was with a bit of trepidation that I approached his latest - a novel set in the hypothetical world where Abraham Lincoln survives the assassination attempt at the Ford Theater and goes on to face an impeachment trial for overstepping his Constitutional authority during and after the Civil War and Reconstruction.  The general idea of writing with this type of historical background reminded me of Philip Roth's novel, The Plot Against America, in which Charles Lindberg is elected President of the United States.  I'm a bit ambivalent about the idea of playing with history in this way, but I thought I'd give Mr. Carter another shot.  And I'm glad that I did because this book is fantastic - not only well-written and intricate, but filled with intrigue and interesting characters.  The book centers around the law firm representing Mr. Lincoln in his impeachment proceedings, and in particular a black female law clerk, Abigail Canner, and her white male counterpart.  When one of the law firm partners is found murdered, Abigail distrusts the police investigation and finds herself (and her family) wrapped up in solving the mystery.  Throw in racial politics, courtroom drama, and countless society wives full of gossip and this book made for both a page turning thriller and a Gone with the Wind-esque soap opera.  The book is relatively long at approximately 520 pages and I wondered if Mr. Carter could keep it up throughout - and he did.  I also found his portrayal of Lincoln fascinating, and commend Mr. Carter on his keen research eye, as well as his fiction writing creativity.  A definite favorite for the year.

Fifty Shades of Grey - E.L. James

After a long long wait in the library queue, I finally borrowed a copy of this most recent literary phenomenon.  I felt like I had to read it under the same theory I read The Da Vinci Code - because everyone else was, and I needed to see if it was worth all the hype.  After reading it, I can honestly say that I just don't really get it.  But at the same time, I did find that there was quite a bit that it made me think about - so maybe James really is doing something more than just peddling smut.  The basic story is recent college grad/virgin/ingenue meets rich and powerful mogul.  They sense an undeniable attraction for each other.  She is looking for a boyfriend.  He is looking for a submissive to partake in his S&M fantasies - and his relationships come complete with signed contract.  He opens up this whole new world for her - which she's not sure she wants to participate in.  And, of course, there is just "something" about her that makes him break all his rules and maybe, just maybe, fall a little bit in love.  Along the way, the dialogue is more horrendous than Twilight and countless questions are raised about the automony of women and the element of choice in inherently debasing activities.  On the one hand, I thought this book was absolute trash.  Plot-wise, nothing really happens and there is no understanding for why these characters find the other attractive.  On the other hand, I thought this would be a fantastic book to read in one of my college feminist studies classes - to better examine the nature of male/female and dominant/submissive relationships.  And to discuss what it is about this relationship that so many readers are drawn to - is it simply that Christian Grey is a wealthy handsome man?  Is it that women really do want to be treated like objects with no thoughts or opinions of their own?  Is it just another case of a woman believing that she can change a bad boy's behavior? Or is it just the intensely graphic sex scenes (which, if they really are empowering women in some way to demand more spice in their own relationships, I say - more power to them).  So, I definitely don't think this was a very well-written book.  And I didn't even find it that entertaining.  I did, however, think it raised a lot of important questions - including whether it's just a good thing to have people reading actual books (or ebooks), no matter what the subject matter.  And, I'm not sure I know the answer to that question.  I may just have to read the rest of this trilogy to figure it out.