Book 'Em

Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip-Confessions of a Cynical Waiter by Steve Dublanica- Yet another book with an Anthony Bourdain blurb on the cover! I mostly enjoyed this book, with the exception of the parts where he talked about writing the book. A part of me kept thinking, "Uh, yeah, we KNOW." Not bad, though. He seems like a good guy.

Final Truth by Mariah Stewart- Yep, Mariah Stewart pops up again. This one was a little grisly maybe, and not my favorite of the quartet, but it was okay.


The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim-This caught my eye at the library, because it came through as a hold for a friend of mine. I asked her to let me know how it was. She said, "It was good." Not in a "you-HAVE-TO-read-this" kind of way, but she liked it. I liked it too. Be warned: It isn't packed with action, and it isn't a book you can race through. It's a gentle, even book that's good for a lazy, summer day. Sort of daydreamy.





Dirty Blonde by Lisa Scottoline- My disappointment with her latest book kind of had me questioning what I ever liked about her books, so I went back to one from a few years ago. This was more like it.

Dune Road by Jane Green- Ugh. Last year I was pleasantly surprised by Beach House. This summer I'm sadly disappointed. Pass on this one.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho- I decided to read this because it's required reading for one of the grades at the local high school, and I wanted to see what the kids were in for. My brain must be suffering in my old age, because I could not get into this at all. I trudged through it, but I'm not a fan. Poor kids.


Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie- This is one of my all time favorite book covers, and it's even a cute tiny format, but I'd never read the book. I was always intimidated after reading the inside flap. I expected it to be, well, filled with inscrutable references to Chinese history, and I couldn't have been more wrong. I stayed up a few hours later than I should have to finish this book. My favorite of the bunch.





Killer Cuts: a Dead-End Job Mystery by Elaine Viets- A few parts of this latest installment felt a little awkward, but I was happy to catch up with some old friends at the Coronado Apartments. I think her next dead-end job should be as a cashier in a grocery store...I could offer some insights into that one!

And there was one more that I will post about later, because I have a lot to say!