Short answer: I loved it!

Longer answer: Earth has been invaded by an alien species who take over human bodies and use them as a host.  That’s the human version of events.  The aliens, called “souls”, would argue that theirs is a benign invasion. They’re taking better care of the planet then humans ever did and they’ve made it a peaceful, beautiful place to be.  Peaceful except for the few human holdouts that is. 

Wanderer is a soul who is a legend amongst her own kind.  She has inhabited a wider variety of host species then any other and is therefore considered the perfect candidate to take over the body of one of the human rebels, Melanie Stryder.  The problem is, Melanie isn’t ready to vacate the premises.  She’s not only making Wanderer’s transition painful and difficult, she’s forcing Wanderer to rethink what it means to be a soul.

Though this is called science fiction in some reviews (and I’ve had people say they won’t read it because of that fact) The Host could better be described as an exploration of human nature and what it means to love someone.  The 3-sided (sometimes 4-sided) relationship that exists for Melanie and Wanderer and the man/men in their lives is intriguing and well-done.  And if the novel could have been shortened a little bit, that’s a minor quibble.

Guess that leaves only one question.  Can I get Meyer’s Edward and Bella books read before the new one comes out in August!

Nick heads to the bar and tries to hide in the crowd.  But there she is again.  So he grabs the girl closest to him and asks her to pretend to be his girlfriend.  She complies with a steamy kiss and the drama between Nick and Norah begins.  Come to find out, Norah and Nick’s ex, Tris, have been frenemies since the 5^th grade and the emotional baggage hovering between the three weighs approximately ten tons.  Norah kind of already knows who Nick is, even though they’ve never met, and Nick is having a hard time getting over Tris and is totally confused about how Tris and Norah know each other.  But they’ll figure it out.  From the moment Nick asks Norah to pretend to be his girlfriend, you just know they belong together.

Set in a couple of different New York City clubs, a Korean grocery, a taxi, a deli, a Marriott and around Midtown over the span of one late night into one early morning in spring, Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan is romantic, edgy and hopeful.  With the various music venues, bandmates, Nick’s lyrics, Norah’s secret identity as the daughter of a famous record producer and the playlist of their lives running throughout the novel, the reader can’t help but dance along. 

Michael Cera (Paulie Bleeker from Juno and Evan from Superbad) plays Nick in the movie version out later this year.  I pictured Nick more like Ephram Brown from Everwood (did anyone else watch that show?), but I imagine Michael Cera will be perfect in a sensitive, not too slick way.  Because the majority of the book takes place in punk clubs, the soundtrack will probably be pretty great, too.

Bluestem, Minnesota is a small town southwest of Minneapolis where murder is unheard of until someone starts killing off a generation of elderly residents.  Flowers is sent to investigate and discovers a house fire on the edge of town.  The owner Bill Judd is killed in the blaze and the investigator soon learns that the recluse is hated by many in town for a scheme years ago that made him rich and others in Bluestem poor.  Judd escaped conviction and the money was never recovered.

After three murders in a couple of weeks , Flowers begins digging for a connection between the victims and discovers a variety of suspects and motives from a criminal leader of a religious/survivalist cult to the many participants in Judd’s wild lifestyle years ago.

Virgil is an appealing character on his own with his self-deprecating humor and carefully chosen alternative-rock t-shirts which match his day’s agenda.  Sandford* keeps the reader guessing throughout the story and fans of the “Prey” series will enjoy the emergence of Flowers as an alternative to the popular Minneapolis investigator, Lucas Davenport (who does make an appearance).

*According to his acknowledgements Sandford says this novel was “written in cooperation” with Larry Millett.  Some reviews have suggested he was a co-author.

The commoner is Haruko, a young woman raised in a wealthy household during and after World War II.  After her cheeky independence catches the eye of the Crown Prince, Haruko emerges as the ideal candidate to become Crown Princess–and pull the centuries-old Chrysanthemum Throne into the modern era.  But once inside the palace grounds, Haruko is isolated, bullied and worn down by the Imperial Court, entrenched in its own suffocating traditions.  Somehow, she endures.  But years later, Empress Haruko faces the task of convincing a brilliant young diplomat to marry her son, the Crown Prince, and join her at a court whose only regard for a woman comes from her ability to produce a male heir.

In the quiet, cloistered world that Haruko chooses, even world shaking events like the Tokyo bombings register like distant tremors in a well-insulated world.  Yet the portrait of Haruko is created so delicately that when the inevitable happens it really is shattering.  Schwartz’s depiction of the Imperial Court is so absorbing that if the ending is a little improbable, it’s a slight quibble for an otherwise beautifully written book.  And one that doesn’t look too bad, either.�

Well, they say with age, comes wisdom.  I’m not sure of that, but certainly change comes with age, and I am once again tiptoeing into the world of wine.  This is thanks mostly to a younger sister now living in Portland, Oregon.  It is pretty hard to visit without also visiting the wineries nearby, and with Geni’s assistance I am actually both learning about and broadening my tastes in wines.  But I am still very much a novice, so when the book To Cork or Not to Cork: Tradition, Romance, Science, and the Battle for the Wine Bottle by George Taber came across my desk, I grabbed it with the thought of learning a bit more.

And so I entered a fascinating world about the battles for enclosures to hold the wine.  The author starts with a little history about the various vessels used to hold wine through the ages but the focus is the development of the wine bottle and the use of cork as a seal.  Why cork and how it became a monopoly despite continued problems from the point of view of the wine makers is at the heart of the book.  Besides the history the author gets behind the science of winemaking and the why and how of cork or the more recent uses of plastic or screwcaps matter to the winemaker, the marketplace, and the consumer.  I especially enjoyed the side trips employed by the author in his “Message in a bottle” sections which give a personalized look into the world of wine.

The first of my groups was with friends and co-workers and the book was Diane Setterfield’s The Thirteenth Tale.  In Setterfield’s novel quiet, bookish Margaret Lea is asked to write the biography of the renowned, but mysterious, Vida Winter.  Vida is an aging author who has always kept her past secret.  Though her reasons for picking Margaret are not immediately clear, Margaret will eventually learn why and perhaps puzzle out her own past in the process.  I realize most of you probably read this eons ago when it came out, but I’d held off for some reason.  Now I’m glad I did because I could come at it fresh for book group.  Moody and suspenseful, this was a fabulous read and made for great discussion as well.

The second book was for the mystery book group I lead here at the library. 

Blatant Book Group Promotion Alert!!  If you’re a mystery reader and want to talk about them, come on down.  We meet at 2 pm on the second Thursday of the month at the Central library (there are other library book groups if this one doesn’t work).  The Central mystery group is very informal and fun and we’d love to have you join us.  Next month we’re reading Farthing by Jo Walton.

Heartsick by Chelsea Cain wasn’t as well liked by the rest of my group because of the graphic nature of some of the scenes, but I read it in one sitting and can’t wait for the next.  Heartsick is homicide Detective Archie Sheridan who spent ten years trying to find a serial killer who ended her spree by nabbing him.  Gretchen Lowell tortured and killed many, many people.  But for reasons known only to her, after ten days of torment, she decided to let Archie go and turned herself in.  Two years later Archie is still barely getting by.  Called in to head another case of serial murder, Archie isn’t convinced he’s ready, though he does have a plan .  Gretchen and Archie’s relationship is dark and twisty but fascinating all the same.  And I’m looking forward to the sequel due out in September.

As I said, a good week for book group choices.  How about your?  Has your book group read anything good lately?

But that’s not the book I’m reviewing.  I just finished How To Talk To a Widower.  Doug Parker lost his wife Hailey in a plane crash.  Even though it’s been a year, he’s not the least bit ready to stop grieving.  But it seems everyone else wants him to move on.  His occasional column on his grief is wildly popular, and his agent can get him a book deal and a spot on Oprah.  His sexy (married) neighbor Laney is ready for him to move on to an adulterous relationship with her.  His wife’s son Russ (a grieving and now troubled teen) wants Doug to take custody of him as Russ hates his father.  His twin sister Claire thinks he should start dating.  His other sister Debbie wants him to be in her wedding - she’s marrying Doug’s best friend who she met at Hailey’s seder, and who Doug resents because he’s marrying his sister because they met because Hailey died.  And all Doug wants to do is sit around, get drunk, wallow in his sadness and throw rocks at the rabbits on his lawn.

Doug is extremely appealing; painfully honest about what the nightmare of grief is like, yet self-deprecating, witty and just plain sweet (though awfully inappropriate at times.)  Tropper’s dialog is spot on, quick, funny and sharp.  Though a bit predictable, the story includes entertaining turns with his stroke-addled father and actress mother, Russ’ adorable guidance counselor and other appealing supporting characters.  His dysfunctional family is a nightmare and completely endearing at the same time.  And Tropper captures those heartrending moments when grief hits so hard you can’t breathe. 

A must read.  See if you love JT too.

A lot of people assume that people who read nonfiction only do so because they’re interested in the subject.  Well, a lot of times, that’s true.  But sometimes, you get lucky and chance across a book that isn’t about anything you’re truly interested in, and yet…and yet…it looks interesting.

This is what happened to me recently with Gregory Gibson’s Hubert’s Freaks: The Rare-Book Dealer, the Times Square Talker, and the Lost Photos of Diane Arbus.  I think it originally caught my eye because of the words “book dealer” in the title, but it’s only tangentially about Bob Langmuir, the book dealer in question (who chanced upon a stack of rare and valuable photographs by Diane Arbus).  Just like it’s only tangentially about photographer Diane Arbus’s life and art, a man named Charlie Lucas who worked as a “talker” (front man) for a New York City sideshow, and that sideshow itself (complete with headlining flea circus act).  Each plotline on its own probably wouldn’t be enough to carry the narrative.

But taken together?  Wowza.  The best novel out there’s got nothing on this sweet, sweet nonfiction.

In Kiss Me, Kill Me, Scarlett doesn’t quite fit in at St. Tabitha private school in the posh Chelsea district of London.  She hangs out with her gymnast friends Lorie and Allison, but always has her eye on joining the cool clique led by Ms. Plum Saybourne because the cutest boy in the universe Dan McAndrew hangs out with them.  Overnight it seems her world changes when not only does her bust expand miraculously, but she also gets the nod from Plum and her friends “the plum-bots” to hang out with them.  After much primping she finally gets to attend a “cool kid” party, but that is when tragedy strikes.  In a surprising twist, Dan dies at the party.  Who is responsible for it?  The last person to see him was Scarlett and the scandal begins.

To escape her notoriety, Scarlett is sent to a boarding school where her grandmother is headmistress.  She’s hoping she can escape Dan’s scandalous death and her implied hand in it.  Though she’s escaped the gossip, Scarlett is still determined to solve the mystery and get her life back on track.  Once at her new school Scarlett finds new mysteries (and a possible new love interest).  Are they connected to the events in her past or something altogether new?  And will she ever uncover what really happened? 

This book starts out with a mystery and ends with a cliff-hanger and keeps you laughing all the way in between, give Henderson’s new novel a try.

In The Cruelest Month a seance in Three Pines, conducted by a guest at the B & B, has a fatal result.  One of the attendees has aparently been scared to death.  An autopsy reveals poison and  the expertise of Armand Gamache and his team from Montreal is required.  Gamache is the quintessential police detective, whose refusal to be a team player in his department has cost him dearly. 

The crime is eventually solved but it takes a back seat to intrigue and betrayal in the Surete de Quebec.  Gamache has made accusations against a popular superior and as a result Armand is under attack, his family is being portrayed unfairly in the press, and he thinks he has a mole in his team.  This plot line dominates the book and somewhat overshadows the solution to the murder.

That is a minor complaint however.  This series has a lot going for it and I am already ready to read the next book.  If you’re new to Penny’s series, you might want to start with Still Life.