So Cold the River by Michael Koryta

Just in time, I finished my last spooky book. (I think November I am going to try all books about thankfulness, can I even find them?) Earlier this month, I read The Ridge by the same author and really enjoyed it. I liked this one too.

A down-and-out filmmaker, Eric, is presented with a job opportunity. He is to travel to Indiana and research the father-in-law of his client and make a movie of his life. His client gives him an old bottle of Pluto Mineral Water which is the only object from the past the man has. As Eric gets to Indiana, he starts to have visions and the bottle of water is getting colder and colder...

Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill

This is Joe Hill's first book. I picked it up as part of my creepy Halloween reading. A couple of weeks ago, I read his other book Horns which I really liked. This one was good, but it dragged a bit or else I just wasn't in the mood for it.

Here's the deal: A Ozzy Osbourne-type aging rock star collects morbid curiousities. His assistant alerts him to the internet sale of a ghost. They buy the ghost, the ghost comes and terriorizes him. He tries to return the ghost, but all is not as it seems. BOO! It was a great premise but I got lost a bit. I do think it's worth reading though, but I found my self skipping ahead (which I rarely do).

Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon

This is one of those books I picked up because ANOTHER book I was reading mentioned Chabon as an author of 'intelligent' books. WHY DO I PAY ATTENTION TO THIS? I think this was a movie as well. This book is DUMB. Nothing happens. Well, a lot of stuff happens, but it's dumb. The main character is constantly stoned, has a wife, a mistress, steals someone's prized possession, gets attacked by a dog, the dog gets shot, drives around with the body of dog in the car. Then he befriends a lying weirdo, takes him to his soon-to-be-ex wife's parents' house, kills their unwanted giant snake, drives around with the body of the snake next to the body of the dog. At one point there is a tuba and a transvestite. Oh, and the main character has been writing the same book, Wonder Boys, for 7 years and the mistress is pregnant and he may sleep with his young roomate and then he smokes another joint. I will never get why 'intellectuals' think this type of garbage is intelligent. I am sure that they would give a million examples of how this is symbolic of something stupid, how the story follows the story that the character is writing, etc. I DON'T CARE. This is a dumb, stupid book.

State of Fear by Michael Crichton

I got this book on kindle, free through the library. I had read it before but was confusing it with another similar book. (I am struggling to remember the name of the other book so now I am wondering if I made that book up. It was really good so maybe, if I made it up, I should write it down and be famous?)

This book follows Peter Evans, a young attorney whose primary client is a philanthropist (Morton) and his environmental activist organization (NERF). NERF is suing the US on behalf of a small island nation which is facing catastrophe due to rising ocean levels caused by global warming. However, as Evans begins to learn, there is no rising ocean levels and the science behind the theory of global warming is fairly suspect.

If you are a big 'global warming' believer, you are going to HATE this book. It is full of actual data from around the world and it basically debunks the current environmental viewpoints on global warming, rising ocean levels, humans impact on the earth etc. It's a great book but not quite as good as that other book that I may have made up.

Left Neglected by Lisa Genova

This was the October book for my book club (let me know if you want details on the book club. It is fabulous!). I liked this book but I did NOT like the main character. It is a great book for discussion IF you can get past the debate on stay-at-home vs. working mothers.

Sarah who is a fast-paced career woman and mother of 3 is in a car accident (DO not play with your phone while you drive!!). She emerges from the accident with a traumatic brain injury that leaves her suffering with 'Left Neglect'. Basically, her mind erases the left side of everything and then fills it in with a made up version which may or may not be accurate. So if she looks at an apple, she is seeing the real right-side of the apple and then her brain fills in what the left hand side SHOULD look like. So if the left hand side has a bite out of it, a worm hole or is filled with rot, she has no idea. However, the book isn't really about that. It is about her re-prioritizing her life with what she is able to do and reconnecting with the things in her life that HAD been neglected (her relationships with her family, etc.)

I think my book club as a whole really enjoyed this book. Lisa Genova (who is my facebook friend) is a beautiful writer. Frankly, I liked Still Alice better, but probably because I just didn't relate much to this book's main character. This was a great book though and I would recommend it.

The Bachelor List by Jane Feather

This was the first book I borrowed from the library for my Kindle! This book is about three sisters Constance, Prudence and Chastity. It is part of a series, each one focusing on one of the sisters and her search for love. It is a 'romance' book. I did like the story and the characters and would be interested in reading about the other sisters but this is truly just a silly bubble gum book. Good if you are looking for that kind of thing.

Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult

I really like Jodi Picoult's books. I think her strength is taking an issue and presenting all sides in such a manner that you find yourself sympathizing with a viewpoint that you did not have sympathy for. She has such a gift of personalizing a story. In this book, I think she failed.

This is the story of Zoe and Max and their frozen embryos and what should happen to them once Zoe and Max get a divorce. Telling the story are Zoe, Max and Vanessa (Zoe's new spouse). Also in the story are Liddy and Reid (Max's brother and sister-in-law), Clive (Max's overzealous, extremely conservative, nasty pastor) and some nasty, conservative attorneys. By only speaking in the voices of the three characters, Picoult takes the easy route. She does not give a voice to the ultra-conservative (or even the moderately conservative voices). Instead we hear from 2 women who share the same viewpoint and an alcoholic, unintelligent surfer-boy who seemingly can't think on his own. I found this book hugely biased, while claiming not to be so. I wasn't offended, just disappointed. I enjoyed very much how her other books made you expand your mind to consider other viewpoints and stayed nuetral on the author's. This book did not do that. Disappointing.