121. Killer Heels

Ok, so I totally should be doing homework but instead spent part of my afternoon reading a chicklit mystery. Such good fluff. :)

Here's a review from B&N.com:

Mix a splash of Carrie Bradshaw, a dash of Stephanie Plum and a wee bit of Kinsey Millhone and you have Molly Forrester, advice columnist ("You Can Tell Me") for Zeitgeist magazine by day and amateur sleuth by night. At the start of Anderson's debut comic crime novel, Forrester literally steps in it gooey blood, that is when she returns to the office late one night and stumbles over a dead coworker. Molly's spanking new Jimmy Choos are covered in blood and she's soon knee-deep in sex, lies and crime-scene tape. Thrown into the fray are a hottie cop named Kyle Edwards; Molly's two gal pals, lawyer Cassady Lynch and event planner Tricia Vincent; and soon-to-be ex-boyfriend Peter Mulcahey, who happens to be a reporter for a rival magazine. Can Molly solve the murder and segue into a serious writing career? Or is using the death of a coworker as a major career move utterly uncouth? ("I always knew I'd make my mark on the world. I just didn't expect it to be one of those chalk outlines they draw around dead bodies.") While Molly explores her options, there's a second murder, and financial irregularities pop up in Zeitgeist's accounting department. Ample laughs help propel a well-crafted plot.

120: Universal Coverage: The Elusive Quest for National Health Insurance

This was school reading. Pretty interesting, though quite similar to the Starr book I had to read earlier in the semester.

Here's the description from B&N:

In Universal Coverage, Rick Mayes examines the peculiar and persistent lack of universal health coverage in America, its economic and political origins dating back to the 1930s, and the current consequences of this significant problem.

119. My Husband's Sweethearts

For the majority of this book I didn't like it. I only kept reading because I was babysitting and it was all I had with me. But, in the end, I guess it turned out ok. Not great, but it did get better.

Here's a review from B&N:

Faced with the imminent death of her charming, cheating and estranged husband Artie, Lucy Shoreman decides to call the names in his little black book and invite the ladies to his Philadelphia home to say a final farewell. For her part, 30-ish Lucy, who's 18 years Artie's junior, can't decide whether she loves or hates the man, while her much-married mother insists he deserves forgiveness. As a broad spectrum of his ex-lovers arrives, including a surprised mother-and-daughter duo and a troubled young woman Lucy takes under her wing, Artie's previously undisclosed and estranged grown son, John, shows up and seems as wickedly appealing as Dad. Asher, a pen name of prolific author Julianna Baggott, takes the edge off her sharply drawn characters with a succession of familiar sentiments. But flashes of wit and a parade of memorable women keep pages turning as Lucy grows increasingly and endearingly confused about her feelings toward Artie, John and the rest. (Aug.)

118. Mother Warriors

This is Jenny McCarthy's follow up to Louder Than Words. She writes about what it was like to first go public with Evan's story and then includes interviews with other parents who have fought to do more for their kids with autism. It was a very interesting book and, like Louder Than Words, opened my eyes to the issue in a new way.

Here's the description from B&N:

Stories of hope and recovery from a nation of parents of autistic children, by the high-profile, bestselling author of Louder Than Words.

When Jenny McCarthy published Louder Than Words, the story of her successful efforts to save her son, Evan, from autism, the response was tremendous. It hit #3 on the New York Times bestseller list; and Jenny and Evan were featured on the covers of several magazines, including People. But what she hadn't anticipated was the overwhelming response from other parents of autistic children, who sought her out to share their stories.

No two autistic children heal in exactly the same way. And in her new book, Jenny expands her message to share recovery stories from parents across the country. Mother Warriors, shows how each parent fought to find her own child's perfect "remedy of interventions" and teaches parents how to navigate safely through the many autism therapies.

Along the way, Jenny shares her own journey as an autism advocate and mother as well as the progress of her son, Evan. Emotional and genuinely practical, Mother Warriors will inspire a generation of parents with hope.

117. The Lucky One

Nicholas Sparks' latest and I think my favorite... well, though I did like Dear John a lot too. This one also deals with the war in Iraq and its impact on people when they come home. It was a really good read, and not as sappy as some of his others.

Here's a review from B&N:

A photograph found by chance; a chain of events that lead inexorably to the woman it portrays: The Lucky One traces a path so ephemeral and artful that we would know that Nicholas Sparks had written even if his name did not appear on the title page. This story about a man whose scrape with death leads to his one true love will keep you up at night and then make you sleep more soundly. Inimitable storytelling.

116. Firefly Lane

I liked this one a lot. It was a great give and take story of best friends, told over 3 decades. Sometimes it was from one's perspective, sometimes from the others. At the end it gets sad. Really really sad. Just a forewarning I wish I had been given. Otherwise, it's a good read and I definitely recommend it.

Here's the description from B&N:

From the New York Times bestselling author of On Mystic Lake comes a powerful novel of love, loss, and the magic of friendship. . . .

In the turbulent summer of 1974, Kate Mularkey has accepted her place at the bottom of the eighth-grade social food chain. Then, to her amazement, the “coolest girl in the world” moves in across the street and wants to be her friend. Tully Hart seems to have it all---beauty, brains, ambition. On the surface they are as opposite as two people can be: Kate, doomed to be forever uncool, with a loving family who mortifies her at every turn. Tully, steeped in glamour and mystery, but with a secret that is destroying her. They make a pact to be best friends forever; by summer's end they've become TullyandKate. Inseparable.

So begins Kristin Hannah's magnificent new novel. Spanning more than three decades and playing out across the ever-changing face of the Pacific Northwest, Firefly Lane is the poignant, powerful story of two women and the friendship that becomes the bulkhead of their lives.

From the beginning, Tully is desperate to prove her worth to the world. Abandoned by her mother at an early age, she longs to be loved unconditionally. In the glittering, big-hair era of the eighties, she looks to men to fill the void in her soul. But in the buttoned-down nineties, it is television news that captivates her. She will follow her own blind ambition to New York and around the globe, finding fame and success . . . and loneliness.

Kate knows early on that her life will be nothing special. Throughout college, she pretends to be driven by a need for success, but all she reallywants is to fall in love and have children and live an ordinary life. In her own quiet way, Kate is as driven as Tully. What she doesn't know is how being a wife and mother will change her . . . how she'll lose sight of who she once was, and what she once wanted. And how much she'll envy her famous best friend. . . .

For thirty years, Tully and Kate buoy each other through life, weathering the storms of friendship---jealousy, anger, hurt, resentment. They think they've survived it all until a single act of betrayal tears them apart . . . and puts their courage and friendship to the ultimate test.

Firefly Lane is for anyone who ever drank Boone's Farm apple wine while listening to Abba or Fleetwood Mac. More than a coming-of-age novel, it's the story of a generation of women who were both blessed and cursed by choices. It's about promises and secrets and betrayals. And ultimately, about the one person who really, truly knows you---and knows what has the power to hurt you . . . and heal you. Firefly Lane is a story you'll never forget . . . one you'll want to pass on to your best friend.

115. Getting Rid of Bradley

This one was kinda cute, chick lit/mystery combo.

Here's the description from B&N:

High school physics teacher Lucy Savage is finally getting rid of Bradley—and his hideous green recliner. In fact, her front lawn is littered with her cheating ex-husband's belongings. Because despite standing her up in divorce court, Bradley is out of her life for good. Or so she thinks.

When her sister takes her to lunch to celebrate Lucy's single status, all their talk of a no-good louse named Bradley catches the attention of a cop—who wants to arrest the very same Bradley for embezzlement. And Officer Zach Warren figures the lovely Lucy can lead him straight to his target.

When someone shoots at Lucy and then blows up her car, Zach insists she needs twenty-four-hour protection. What does he think her three dogs and attack cat are for? Still, he insists on moving right in to Lucy's house.…

Now there's danger lurking outside and in her own kitchen, bathroom— and bedroom. Or maybe Zach, who looks like a bad boy with that shaggy dark hair and black leather jacket, is really one of the good guys, and just what Lucy needs.

114. Savannah Breeze

cute chick lit fluff. :)

Southern belle BeBe Loudermilk loses all her worldly possessions thanks to a brief but disastrous relationship with the gorgeous Reddy, an "investment counselor" who turns out to be a con man. All that's left is a ramshackle 1950s motor court on Tybee Island.

Breeze Inn is a place where the very classy BeBe wouldn't normally be caught dead, but, with no alternative, she moves into the manager's unit, vowing to make magic out of mud. The work is grueling, especially dealing with the cantankerous caretaker, a fishing captain named Harry. With the help of Harry and BeBe's junking friend Weezie, she soon has the motel spiffed up and attracting paying guests.

Then there's a sighting of Reddy in Fort Lauderdale, and BeBe decides to go after him. She puts together a posse and heads south. The plan is to carry out a sting that may be just a little bit outside the law but that with any luck at all will retrieve BeBe's fortune and put the dastardly Reddy in jail where he belongs.