84. Hold Tight

This was a page-turner that I could not put down. It reminded me a lot of a Jodi Picoult book and I definitely recommend it and can't wait to read more by this author.

Here's the description from B&N:

Tia and Mike Baye never imagined they'd become the type of overprotective parents who spy on their kids. But their sixteen-year-old son Adam has been unusually distant lately, and after the suicide of his classmate Spencer Hill—the latest in a string of issues at school—they can't help but worry. They install a sophisticated spy program on Adam's computer, and within days are jolted by a message from an unknown correspondent addressed to their son: "Just stay quiet and all safe."

Meanwhile, browsing through an online memorial for Spencer put together by his classmates, Betsy Hill is struck by a photo that appears to have been taken on the night of her son's death... and he wasn't alone. She thinks it is Adam Baye standing just outside the camera's range; but when Adam goes missing, it soon becomes clear that something deep and sinister has infected their community. For Tia and Mike Baye, the question they must answer is this: When it comes to your kids, is it possible to know too much?

83. Fearless Fourteen

And I've come to the end of the Stephanie Plum series. Kinda sad there isn't another one I can move right on to but kinda glad I can read some other things now. :)

Here's the description from B&N:

Personal vendettas, hidden treasure, and a monkey named Carl will send bounty hunter Stephanie Plum on her most explosive adventure yet.

The Crime: Armed robbery to the tune of nine million dollarsDom Rizzi robbed a bank, stashed the money, and did the time. His family couldn’t be more proud. He always was the smart one.

The Cousin: Joe MorelliJoe Morelli, Dom Rizzi, and Dom’s sister, Loretta, are cousins. Morelli is a cop, Rizzi robs banks, and Loretta is a single mother waiting tables at the firehouse. The all-American family.

The Complications: Murder, kidnapping, destruction of personal property, and acid refluxLess than a week after Dom’s release from prison, Joe Morelli has shadowy figures breaking into his house and dying in his basement. He’s getting threatening messages, Loretta is kidnapped, and Dom is missing.

The Catastrophe: MoonmanMorelli hires Walter “Mooner” Dunphy, stoner and “inventor” turned crime fighter, to protect his house. Morelli can’t afford a lot on a cop’s salary, and Mooner will work for potatoes.

The Cupcake: Stephanie PlumStephanie and Morelli have a long-standing relationship that involves sex, affection, and driving each other nuts. She’s a bond enforcement agent with more luck than talent, and she’s involved in this bank-robbery-gone-bad disaster from day one.

The Crisis: A favor for RangerSecurity expert Carlos Manoso, street name Ranger, has a job for Stephanie that will involve night work. Morelli has his own ideas regarding Stephanie’s evening activities.

The Conclusion: Only the fearless should read Fourteen.Thrills, chills, and incontinence may result.

82. Lean Mean Thirteen

Just one more to go!

Here's another review from B&N:

In her rollicking 13th Stephanie Plum adventure (after Twelve Sharp), bestseller Evanovich is in top, quirky form. Plucky, bumbling New Jersey bounty hunter Plum is reunited with her two-timing lawyer ex-husband, Dickie Orr, while doing a favor for the mysterious, sexy Ranger. But when Dickie disappears from his house leaving behind only bloodstains and bullet holes, Plum becomes the prime suspect in his alleged murder. Determined to clear her name, Plum and her on-again off-again Trenton cop boyfriend, the irresistible Joe Morelli, uncover Dickie's ties to a shady group of men involved in everything from money laundering to drug running. And when Dickie's jilted business partners decide Stephanie holds the key to the $40 million they believe Dickie stole from them, she's in for a wild ride. With the author's usual cast of eccentric side characters-everything from a taxidermist with a penchant for bombs to a grave-robbing tax man-Evanovich proves once again that Stephanie Plum and her entourage are here to stay.

81. Twelve Sharp

Sorta sad I only have two more to read but sorta glad I'll be able to get to the stack of other books I have to read once I get this series finished. :)

To spice things up a bit, here's a review from B&N instead of the usual description:

The mixture of slapstick and gunplay that has put Evanovich's series about a sassy, less than competent New Jersey bounty hunter at the top of bestseller lists once again works its magic in Stephanie Plum's latest caper (after 2005's Eleven on Top). Stephanie, who freely admits her failings as a hunter of fugitives, faces a growing work backlog that threatens the continued existence of her job. Her clumsy efforts to clear some cases, along with the help of her outrageous colleague, Lula, result only in their adding another sad sack to the office payroll a forlorn shoe salesman who's talked off a ledge by Stephanie's offer of a position as file clerk. Stephanie's ambivalence toward the two men in her life becomes harder to maintain when one of them, the mysterious Ranger, is accused of kidnapping his own daughter. Countless over-the-top scenes, including one at a funeral parlor, will delight longtime fans.

80. Eleven On Top

I tried to take a break from these, really I did... started another book, like the other book but couldn't resist this one long enough to get more than about 50 pages into the other book.

Oh well, I guess we all know what comes next. :)

Here's the B&N description:

Stephanie Plum is thinking her career as a fugitive apprehension agent has run its course. She's been shot at, spat at, cussed at, fire-bombed, mooned, and attacked by dogs. Stephanie thinks it's time for a change. So she quits. She wants something safe and normal. But the kind of trouble she had at the bail bonds office can't compare to the kind of trouble she finds herself facing now…

Stephanie is stalked by a maniac returned from the grave for the sole purpose of putting her into a burial plot of her own. He's killed before, and he'll kill again if given the chance. Caught between staying far away from the bounty hunter business and staying alive, Stephanie reexamines her life and the possibility that being a bounty hunter is the solution rather than the problem. After disturbingly brief careers at the button factory, Kan Klean Dry Cleaners, and Cluck-in-a-Bucket, Stephanie takes an office position in security, working for Ranger, the sexiest, baddest bounty hunter and businessman on two continents. Tempers and temperatures rise as competition ratchets up between the two men in her life—her on-again, off-again boyfriend, tough Trenton cop Joe Morelli, and her boss, Ranger. Can Stephanie Plum take the heat? Can you?

79. Ten Big Ones

Loved it loved it loved it. Especially the unlikely hero at the end.

Here's the description from B&N:

Take an exit off the Jersey Turnpike to the irresistible world of Stephanie Plum, America's favorite bounty hunter, where she gets into more trouble than ever. This time, she faces a notorious gang in Trenton who wants her dead. Morelli warns that she's in too deep, and Stephanie more than agrees. But the gang won't let her bow out. With Ranger missing in action, Stephanie has to go into hiding—and stumbles on to the secret location of Ranger's “bat cave.” Is it the perfect place to disappear? Or will she get into more trouble than she knows by delving into his private world? The tenth Stephanie Plum novel is filled with Evanovich's trademark high stakes, high adventure, high wit, and sly comedy.

78. To The Nines

Yes... I can't seem to stop with these.

Here's the B&N description:

Stephanie Plum’s got rent to pay, people shooting at her, and psychos wanting her dead every day of the week (much to the dismay of her mother, family, the men in her life, the guy who slices meat at the deli… oh, the list goes on). In TO THE NINES, her cousin Vinnie (who is also her boss) has posted bail on Samuel Singh, an illegal immigrant. When the elusive Mr. Singh goes missing, Stephanie is on the case. But what she uncovers is far more sinister than anyone imagines and leads to a group of killers who give new meaning to the word hunter.

77. Hard Eight

The latest in the Stephanie Plum series... another fun read!

Here's the description from B&N:

In HARD EIGHT, Stephanie, Morelli, Ranger, Lula, Valerie, and Grandma Mazur are strapped in for the ride of their lives. This time, Stephanie is hired to find a missing child. But things aren’t always as they seem and Stephanie must determine if she is working for the right side of the law. Plus there’s the Morelli question: Can a Jersey girl keep her head on straight when more than just bullets are aimed at her heart? And with the Plum and Morelli relationship looking rocky, is it time for Range to move in for the kill?

76. Seven Up

Loved it!

Here's the description from B&N:

Semi-retired mob guy, Eddie DeChooch, is caught trafficking contraband cigarettes through Trenton, New Jersey. When DeChooch fails to show for a court appearance, bond enforcement agent Stephanie Plum is assigned the task of finding him and dragging his decrepit ass back to jail. Not such an easy job, it turns out, since DeChooch has learned a lot of tricks over the years and isn't afraid to use his gun. He's already shot Loretta Ricci and left her for worm food in his shed. He wouldn't mind shooting Stephanie next.

Likeable losers (and former high school classmates) Walter "MoonMan" Dunphy and Dougie "The Dealer" Kruper have inadvertently become involved with DeChooch. They've gotten sucked into an operation which is much more than simple cigarette smuggling and holds risks far greater than anyone could have imagined.

When Dougie disappears, Steph goes into search mode. When Mooner disappears, she calls in the heavy artillery and asks master bounty hunter Ranger for help. Ranger's price for the job? One night with Stephanie, dusk to dawn. Not information she'd want to share with her some-time live in roommate, vice cop Joe Morelli.

A typical dilemma in the world of Plum.

And on the homefront, Stephanie's "perfect" sister Valerie has decided to move back to Trenton, bringing her two kids from hell. Grandma Mazur is asking questions about being a lesbian, and Bob, the bulimic dog, is eating everything in sight-including the furniture.
Mud wrestling, motorcycles, fast cars, fast food, and fast men. It's Seven Up. Absolutely Janet Evanovich at her very best.

75. Hot Six

It's official. I'm hooked. I'm on my way to the library right now to pick up 7, 8 & 9. :)

Here's the B&N description of book six:

In this, her sixth Stephanie Plum adventure, readers will follow Stephanie on her biggest quest yet: Ranger, the super bounty hunter, is on the lam, and Stephanie has to team up with vice cop Joe Morelli to find him. Also, Hot Six answers the big question: Did Stephanie sleep with Ranger or Morelli? In addition to all the sex, FTAs, and donuts Stephanie can handle, Grandma Mazur has a fight with Stephanie's father and moves in with Stephanie and Rex, her hamster. Anything can happen-and everything does-in Janet Evanovich's wildest Plum adventure yet. She's back, and her latest band of offbeat characters fit the town of Trenton, New Jersey to a "T".

74. High Five

Ahh... the joys of jury duty meant I got to read all but about 30 pages of this one bright and early this morning before being sent home, unneeded. Oh well, at least i got another book in. :)

Here's the description from B&N:

Stephanie Plum, America's favorite Jersey-girl bounty hunter, is back in her fifth entertaining hit, High Five . Uncle Fred is missing, and even though Grandma Mazur is convinced aliens abducted him, Stephanie drops everything in order to sniff out her luckless relative. But finding dear ole Fred isn't all our hero needs to worry about. No, not in the least. Give Janet Evanovich a high five.

73. Four to Score

My latest in the Stephanie Plum series...

Here's the description from B&N:

The mix this time includes seven-foot-tall transvestite rock musician Sally Sweet; Lulu, a hooker-turned-file-clerk and wannabe bounty hunter; 83-year-old crazy Grandma Mazur; and, of course, sexy vice cop Joe Morelli. Not to mention some highly unpleasant people who want Stephanie hurt—or dead.

72. By A Spider's Thread

Yet another great one by Laura Lippman! And set in the parts of Baltimore I'm most familiar with which makes it even better!

I definitely recommend reading these in order because they do reference prior books a lot - so really, you should just read them all.

Here's the description from B&N: Mark Rubin's family is missing -- and the police won't do a thing because all the evidence indicates his wife left willingly. The successful furrier turns to Tess Monaghan, hoping she can help him find his wife and three children. Tess doesn't know what to make of Rubin, a wealthy Orthodox Jew who doles out vitally important information in grudging dribs and drabs. According to Rubin, he and his beautiful wife, Natalie, had a flawless, happy marriage. Yet one day, without any warning or explanation, Natalie gathered up their children and vanished.

Tess is able to locate the runaway wife and her stolen progeny, moving furtively from state to state, town to town, but the Rubins are not alone. A man is traveling with them -- a stranger, described as "handsome" and "charming" but otherwise unremarkable to casual observers who have no way of sensing the fury beneath his smooth surface.

An intricate web of betrayal and vengeance is already beginning to unravel, as memory begets rage and rage leads to desperation ... and murder. Suddenly much more than one man's future happiness and stubborn pride are in peril; the lives of three innocent children are dangling by the slenderest of threads.

71. Zapped

I like Carol Higgins Clark's books... they are quick reads and more lighthearted then her mother's books.

Here's the description from B&N:

Sleuth Regan Reilly and her husband, Jack, return to New York from their honeymoon in Ireland and discover that their next-door neighbor has put up his apartment for sale. They decide to buy it and enlarge the loft Jack lived in as a bachelor.

Regan takes time off from her work as a Private Investigator to supervise the construction, while Jack resumes his job as head of the Manhattan Major Case Squad.

On a sweltering summer night, a major blackout hits New York City and more than one person in the Reilly's building blows their fuse! In the midst of the chaos, with Jack out coping with the city's problems, Regan finds herself drawn into a case she would never expect to happen in her own home.

Zapped, set in New York City, blends Clark's sophisticated humor with her remarkable gift for portraying characters in different walks of life. Here, she creates a penetrating, humorous profile of bosses and workers in the New York real estate and construction business and the ardors of renovating a home, which we all know can drive one crazy.

70. Three to Get Deadly

The third Janet Evanovich book... I liked it. These are cute mysteries, not scary ones which is good.

Anyway... here's the description from B&N:

A "saintly" old candy-store owner is on the lam-and bounty hunter extraordinaire Stephanie Plum is on the case. As the body count rises, Stephanie finds herself dealing with dead drug dealers and slippery fugitives on the chase of her life. And with the help of eccentric friends and family, Steph must see to it that this case doesn't end up being her last...

69. The Beach House

This one was hard to follow at first - lots of different characters and quickly jumping between them. But... in the end it all made sense and was a really good read.

Here's the description from B&N:

Jane Green is one of the preeminent authors of women's fiction today, and with each new novel, her audience grows. Green's avid and loyal fans follow her because she writes about the true-to-life dilemmas of women—and The Beach House will not disappoint.Known in Nantucket as the crazy woman who lives in the rambling house atop the bluff, Nan doesn't care what people think. At sixty-five-years old, her husband died twenty years ago, her beauty has faded, and her family has flown. If her neighbors are away, why shouldn't she skinny dip in their swimming pools and help herself to their flowers? But when she discovers the money she thought would last forever is dwindling and she could lose her beloved house, Nan knows she has to make drastic changes.So Nan takes out an ad: Rooms to rent for the summer in a beautiful old Nantucket home with water views and direct access to the beach. Slowly, people start moving into the house, filling it with noise, with laughter, and with tears. As the house comes alive again, Nan finds her family expanding. Her son comes home for the summer, and then an unexpected visitor turns all their lives upside-down.

68. Lovehampton

Perfect summer fluff!

Here's the description from B&N:

It's almost summer, and in certain circles, summer means summer share. After an intervention by her three best friends forces her out of a breakup-induced personal hiatus (read: depression), TV producer Tori Miller ditches her old look with the help of a makeover on a reality show pilot. She premieres her new-and-improved self in a rented Hamptons summer house she's sharing with seven complete strangers. Over the next three months, Tori becomes the wing-woman to a glamorous new B.F.F., attempts to win over her house's prickly Resident Alpha Female, is drawn into a web of secrets by a charming Brit, and suddenly finds herself entangled in one too many complicated romances. But it isn't long before Tori starts getting tripped up by the many Hamptons Unwritten Rules of Survival, which threaten not only to implode her new, carefully cultivated social standing but more importantly, call into question Tori's ability to see people for who they truly are, including herself. Ultimately, Tori must decide who she really is, what she wants, and what she's willing to give up to get there—all by Labor Day.

67. Sleeping Arrangements

I was hoping for light and fluffy reading today as last night's mystery freaked me out so much. This sorta met that expectation, but actually had a bit too much substance for my current frame of mind.

Here's a review from B&N:

Wickham (The Gatecrasher; also, the Shopaholic series as Sophie Kinsella) spins a delightful story of British families forced to spend their vacation together after a mutual friend promises them the same week in his Spanish villa. Chloe Harding hopes that a holiday will soothe the strain between her and longtime partner Philip Murray, who is worried that a recent takeover of his company may cost him his job. Their hopes are dashed when they arrive and find another family already settled at the villa. To Chloe's disappointment, she'll be sharing the space with Hugh Stratton, the beau who broke her heart 15 years ago. Now married to high-maintenance Amanda and with two children, Hugh apologizes, and though Chloe initially expresses nothing but hurt and disdain (all the while keeping their past a secret from Philip), she eventually considers beginning life anew with Hugh. Wickham does a bangup job of creating believable characters-even Amanda is less vapid than she at first seems. Surprises abound as the plot unfolds, and the families begin to wonder whether their mutual friend made an innocent mistake in getting them together.

66. The Last Place

This one freaked me out. I think it was the change in perspective from the usual third person of the other Tess Monaghan books and the first person freaky stalker. Especially since he was after Tess for some reason that was implied tied to her past but, I couldn't figure it out even having read all of the prior books.

yeah, the twists and turns were really good and unpredictable and... freaky!

Here's a description from B&N:

Five brutal homicides ... zero arrests. Disgraced private investigator Tess Monaghan agrees to review the police murder files for blunders and finds a single common thread emerging with shocking clarity -- the link is Tess Monaghan herself.

65. Girls in Trucks

Here's another that I liked, but didn't. The story jumped around a lot and switched from first person to third frequently and well, it was just enough jumping and switching to make it hard to follow, or really, I guess better phrased hard to care.

Here's a review from B&N:

Sarah Walters was born into the prim and proper debutante class of South Carolina, but that's as close as she ever comes to white-gloved gentility. The heroine of Katie Crouch's debut novel, Girls in Trucks, is a salty-tongued rebel who slips the bonds of a girlhood of dance lessons to find freedom in the cold and baffling North. There, Sarah loses her accent, her values, and, in sometimes sad and often spectacular fashion, her way in life. She had planned on greatness and instead has to settle for survival. Here's Sarah, halfway through the book, self-aware and still defiant: "I have made many mistakes in my life so far, the biggest of which, according to my mother, was leaving the South. Never mind the fact that I managed to spend three good years pining after a cruel man, that I have let a once promising career in journalism go, that I drink too much and have come to like my pot. I wouldn't say that I'm an addict, but try and take it away, and swear to God, I'll bite you like a snake." The story caroms from man to man and job to job, as Sarah struggles to make sense of her life. Just as it seems Crouch has written herself into a corner, she'll switch scenes, push forward or backward in time, and give herself a clean slate. It's a tricky little dance, and unlike our heroine, Crouch is up to it. From start to finish, she makes smart choices that keep the chick from derailing this often lovely bit of lit.

64. Two for the Dough

Still on the mystery kick, this was the next in the Stephanie Plum series. I'm sure book three will be coming soon...

Here's the description from B&N:

Bounty hunter Stephanie Plum is still learning the ropes at her cousin Vinnie's bail bond office, so when she sets out on the trail of Kenny Mancuso—a suspiciously wealthy, working class Trenton boy who has just shot his best friend—the stakes are higher than ever. That Mancuso is distantly related to vice cop Joe Morelli—who is trying to beat Stephanie to the punch—only makes the hunt more thrilling….Taking pointers from her bounty hunter pal, Ranger, and using her pistol-packing Granda Mazur as a decoy, Stephanie is soon closing in on her mark. But Morelli and his libido are worthy foes. And a more sinister kind of enemy has made his first move…and his next move might be Stephanie's last.

63. Butcher's Hill

This was the Tess Monaghan book i skipped and it explained a lot that I had been missing so I'm glad I read it.

Here's the description from B&N:

Tess Monaghan has finally made the move and hung out her shingle as a p.i.-for-hire, complete with an office in Butchers Hill. Maybe it's not the best address in Baltimore, but you gotta start somewhere, and Tess's greyhound Esskay has no trouble taking marathon naps anywhere there's a roof. Then in walks Luther Beale, the notorious vigilante who five years ago shot a boy for vandalizing his car. Just out of prison, he says he wants to make reparations to the kids who witnessed his crime, so he needs Tess to find them. But once she starts snooping, the witnesses start dying. Is the "Butcher of Butchers Hill" at it again? Like it or not, Tess is embroiled in a case that encompasses the powers that-be, a heartless system that has destroyed the lives of children, and a nasty trail of money and lies leading all the way back to Butchers Hill.

62. Things I Want My Daughters to Know

This was a complete and total tear jerker and a really really good read. Definitely recommend it.

Here's the description from B&N:

Warm, funny, and loving, Barbara had always been the backbone of her family. Her four daughters adored her and relied on her. Faced with the reality of leaving them before any of them are ready, Barbara writes letters to each of them, and a journal about the things she wants them to know.

Facing their first year without her, drawing on the wisdom in the legacy she has left behind, her girls might just find a way to cope with their loss. And in coming to terms with their bereavement, can they also set themselves free to enjoy their lives with all the passion and love each deserves?

61. In A Strange City

Another Tess Monaghan mystery... I liked it and obviously read it quickly. On to the next one now... :)

Private investigator Tess Monaghan witnesses a local tradition turn deadly at the gravesite of Edgar Allan Poe. Now someone's leaving cryptic clues on her doorstep ... someone who knows her every move. Someone who must be stopped.

60. The Sugar House

The next in the Tess Monaghan series, again, a good mystery. I have yet to actually figure out all of the twists and turns of these books before they are revealed in the end. I would suggest reading them in order - I skipped one because it wasn't in at the library and there are new recurring characters that I am in the dark about and it annoys me greatly.

Anyway, here's the description from B&N:

A nameless teenage girl was killed 14 months ago. The glue-sniffing youth who did the deed spent barely a month in prison before meeting the same fate. The dead boy's sister wants Tess Monaghan to find out why.

But first Tess must uncover the identity of the original victim. And once she does, the shocking revelation will make headlines across the country, and drag Tess down into a fetid and deadly swamp of power, dirty money, high-level political corruption, and sordid secrets.

59. One for the Money

The first in the Janet Evanovich series, I think I'm hooked on these now and will quickly move through the rest. I listened to the audio version of this and think I'll like reading the books better as the "Joisey" accents got a bit annoying :)

Here's the description from B&N:

Stephanie Plum is a bounty hunter in Trenton, New Jersey. She's out of work and out of money. Her first assignment is to nail Joe Morelli, a former vice cop on the run from a charge of murder one.

58. In Big Trouble

The next in the Tess Monaghan books, I liked this one but I didn't get through it as quickly as the prior ones... it just didn't quite pull me in as quickly, but in the end, still a good read.

Here's the description from B&N:

First as a reporter and then as a p.i., Tess Monaghan has learned how to survive and thrive on the streets of Baltimore. But a new case will force her to confront her own past, and a man she loved and lost. It starts when she gets a newspaper photograph of her old boyfriend with a tantalizing shard of headline attached: In Big Trouble. The answers lie far from Baltimore, deep in a world of good-time music, old-fashioned ambiiton, and rich people's games. For Tess must find out what happened to a man she thought she knew, to a woman who may have changed him forever, and to the victims of a killer who dances to a different—and deadly—drummer.

57. Death by Chick Lit

This was a cute beach read, or should I say pool read as most of it was read while standing in the pool, at the beach. :)

Here's a review from B&N:

Chick lit authors become a killer's target in this loving sendup of the popular genre from journalist Harris (Miss Media). After Mimi McKee, author of Gay Best Friend, has her throat slit with a shard from a broken martini glass, Lola Somerville, a 32-year-old freelance writer living in Brooklyn, determines to unmask the murderer. The investigation could help land Lola a new book deal and boost flat sales of her debut novel, Pink Slip. Is the fiendish killer "Reading Guy," a 40-something dweeb who stalks chick lit author signings? Or could it be Mimi's boyfriend, Quentin, a crossword puzzle composer? Then there's Wilma, the militant leader of the Jane Austen Liberation Front, who has no love for authors of low-brow literature. When not sleuthing or scribbling, Lola gabs on her cellphone to best friend Annabelle and leans on her "geek-hottie" husband, Doug, for support. Readers will down this fizzy "murder-tini" in one gulp.

56. Queen of Babble Gets Hitched

Chick lit fluff at it's best. :) If you liked the other Queen of Babble books, or the Heather Wells books you'll love this one too. And if you didn't like those, well, then there is something wrong with you. :)

Here's the description from B&N:

Things are looking up at last for Lizzie Nichols. She has a career she loves in the field of her choice (wedding gown restoration), and the love of her life, Jean-Luc, has finally proposed. Life's become a dizzying whirl of wedding gown fittings—not necessarily her own—as Lizzie prepares for her dream wedding at her fiancé's château in the south of France.

But the dream soon becomes a nightmare as the best man—whom Lizzie might once have accidentally slept with . . . no, really, just slept—announces his total lack of support for the couple, a sentiment the maid of honor happens to second; Lizzie's Midwestern family can't understand why she doesn't want to have her wedding in the family backyard; her future, oh-so-proper French in-laws seem to be slowly trying to lure the groom away from medical school and back into investment banking; and Lizzie finds herself wondering if her Prince Charming really is as charming as she once believed.

Is Lizzie really ready to embrace her new role as wife and mistress of Château Mirac? Or is she destined to fall into another man's arms . . . and into the trap of becoming a Bad Girl instead?

55. Celebutantes

This one was OK. It took me awhile to get into it and then it kinda annoyed me. It did have it's good moments, and as usual, a happily ever after ending I enjoyed. It is the perfect read for those obsessed with fashion and with Us Weekly/TMZ/Perez Hilton, etc.

Here's a review from B&N:

Gawker.com meets Glamour in this insider's look at Oscar week penned by L.A. junior royalty: Goldberg, producer Leonard Goldberg's daughter, has worked for Todd Oldham; Khalighi Hopper, daughter of Dennis Hopper and Daria Halprin, produced and starred in the indie film Americano. After a disastrous turn acting and bedding her superhunk co-star, Lola Santisi, 26 and the daughter of famed director Paul Santisi, swears off actors and acting for good. But Lola agrees to be the Hollywood ambassador for "Best Gay Forever" designer Julian Tennant, to help get a major actress to wear one of his dresses at the Oscars. Lola woos an array of glitterari, each more self-absorbed than the next in the runup to Graydon Carter's famed Vanity Fair bash, and competes against the ruthless Prada ambassador Adrienne Hunt for the plum actor bods. There's up-to-the-minute star chatter and fashion name-checking throughout; wonderfully dead-on moments as Lola negotiates underlings to get on set; and a possibly fatal relapse of actor fever. The shallowness is more severe than Angelina's neckline, but that's the point, and it quickly becomes imperative to discover just who is going to wear Julian Tennant to the Oscars.

54. A Bad Bride's Tale

This one was good, but not quite about what the book jacket said. A pretty good example of where the jacket text writer didn't actually read beyond chapter 1 I suppose... the description only talks about one storyline - Stevie's so I was a bit surprised when all of the sudden there was a chapter from the perspective of someone named Katy who had yet to be mentioned.

In the end it all works out - characters all connected, and interconnected as it may be, and I liked the book. Good chick lit with the main storyline ending very predictiably and the side stories also wrapping up into their expected neat little conclusions.

If you are looking for a typical chick lit read, this is a good one.

Here's the (not so comprehensive) description from B&N:

Two weeks before her wedding, Stevie Jonson, a successful graphic designer in her mid-thirties, has got serious jitters. Is she finally growing up, or compromising horribly? In love or in denial? By the time Stevie steps into her 1930s vintage wedding dress for the last fitting, her life is coming apart at the seams. Her best friend, Lara, is moving to New York City, fulfilling Stevie's long-held dream of moving there herself; her parents' marriage is heading for the rocks; her teenage crush (The One That Got Away) is back in town, a reminder of everything her fiancé isn't; and that niggling little voice in her head is getting louder all the time. As the clock ticks, a shocking secret threatens to bring Stevie's future crashing down around her.

A Bad Bride's Tale is a grown-up love story about marrying, mating, compromising . . . and how love doesn't have a timetable.

53. Charm City

This was the 2nd in the Tess Monaghan series and I think I'll get through them pretty quickly if the library cooperates and has them in when I want them.

Here's the description from B&N:

As a practiced reporter until her newspaper went to that great pressroom in the sky, P.I. Tess Monaghan knows and loves every inch of her native Baltimore, even the parts being slobbered on by the sad-sack greyhound she's minding for her uncle. It's a quirky city where baseball reigns, but lately homicide seems to be the second most popular local sport. Business tycoon "Wink" Wynkowski is trying to change all that by bringing pro basketball back to town, and everybody's rooting fro him -- until a devastating, muckraking expose of his lurid past appears on the front page of the Baltimore Beacon-Light. It's a surprise even to the Blight's editors, who thought they'd killed the piece. Instead, the piece killed Wink -- who's found in his garage with the car running.

Now the Blight wants to nail the unknown computer hacker who planted the lethal story, and the assignment is right up the alley of a former newshound like Tess. But it doesn't take long for her to discover deeper, darker secrets, and to realize that this situation is really more about whacking than hacking. It's just murder in Baltimore these days -- and Tess Monaghan herself might be next on the list.

As a practiced reporter until her newspaper went to that great pressroom in the sky, P.I. Tess Monaghan knows and loves every inch of her native Baltimore, even the parts being slobbered on by the sad-sack greyhound she's minding for her uncle. It's a quirky city where baseball reigns, but lately homicide seems to be the second most popular local sport. Business tycoon "Wink" Wynkowski is trying to change all that by bringing pro basketball back to town, and everybody's rooting for him -- until a devastating,muckraking expose of his lurid past appears on the front page of the Baltimore Beacon-Light. It's a surprise even to the Blight's editors, who thought they'd killed the piece. Instead, the piece killed Wink -- who's found in his garage with the car running.

Now the Blight wants to nail the unknown computer hacker who planted the lethal story, and the assignment is right up the alley of a former newshound like Tess. But it doesn't take long for her to discover deeper, darker secrets, and to realize that this situation is really more about whacking than hacking. It's just murder in Baltimore these days -- and Tess Monaghan herself might be next on the list.

52. Baltimore Blues

This is the first in a series and I have a feeling I'll quickly work my way through them all. I have read all of Lippman's non-series books and decided it was time to start on these. I really liked it a lot - and of course, the fact that they are set in Baltimore doesn't hurt a bit. :)

Here's the description from B&N:

Until her paper, the BALTIMORE STAR, crashed and burned, Tess Monaghan was a damn good reporter who knew her hometown intimately—from historic Fort McHenry to the crumbling projects of Cherry Hill. Now gainfully unemployed at twenty-nine, she's willing to take any freelance job to pay the rent—including a bit of unorthodox snooping for her rowing buddy, Darryl "Rock" Paxton.

In a city where someone is murdered almost everyday, attorney Michael Abramowitz's death should be just another statistic. But the slain lawyer's notoriety—and his noontime trysts with Rock's fiancee—make the case front page news...and points to Rock as the likely murderer. But trying to prove her friend's innocence couls prove costly to Tess—and add her name to that infamous ever-growing list.

51. Chasing Harry Winston

This was super cute chick lit. A quick read but with identifiable characters who all just happened to be about to turn 30! Also very current on the pop culture references, which i always enjoy.

Here's the review from B&N:

The Devil Wears Prada author Weisberger delivers a hilarious, silly and entirely predictable chick lit romp. Book editor Leigh, chef Emmy and wealthy Adriana make a pact to change their disappointing lives within a year. Emmy vows to find the father of her future babies, and Latin temptress Adriana decides to settle on just one of her rich suitors. But Leigh is uncertain about what changes to make; she's lived in the shadow of her legendary literary father and accomplished boyfriend so long, Leigh barely recognizes what makes her happy. The protective wrapping dissolves when she gets the nod to edit bestselling, married author Jesse Chapman-and ends up polishing more than his prose. Emmy-after a year of trying to bed a man from every continent-might discover Mr. Right when he's least expected. As for the relentlessly slothful Adriana, she deflects engagement, but manages to snag something more important. Bookish Leigh defends chick lit as having "sensible structure and coherent language" in a package that's "witty, clever and fun to read." Weisberger is, of course, also talking about this book, and her assessment is right-on.

50. Belong to Me

I loved this book. It took me a little while to get into it, there are three separate but interwoven storylines going on, but in the end I absolutely loved it and definitely recommend it.

It's a sorta sequel to Love Walked In, a book I read and loved in late 2006. You don't need to have read that to get this one, but it too was wonderful so I'd recommend reading it as well.

Anyway, here's the description of Belong to Me from B&N:

Everyone has secrets. Some we keep to protect ourselves, others to protect those we love.

A devoted city dweller, Cornelia Brown surprised herself when she was gripped by the sudden desire to head for an idyllic suburb. Though she knows she's made the right move, she approaches her new life with trepidation and struggles to forge friendships. Cornelia's mettle is quickly tested by judgmental neighbor Piper Truitt, the embodiment of everything Cornelia feared she would find in suburbia. A saving grace soon appears in the form of Lake, and Cornelia develops an instant bond with this warm yet elusive woman.

As their individual stories unfold, the women become entangled in a web of trust, betrayal, love and loss that challenges them in ways they never imagined, and that ultimately teaches them what it means for one human being to belong to another.

49. Look Me In the Eye

This is the story of a man with Asperger's who has lived a pretty amazing life. It was a really interesting read and I'd recommend it.

Here's the description from B&N:

Ever since he was small, John Robison had longed to connect with other people, but by the time he was a teenager, his odd habits—an inclination to blurt out non sequiturs, avoid eye contact, dismantle radios, and dig five-foot holes (and stick his younger brother in them)—had earned him the label “social deviant.” No guidance came from his mother, who conversed with light fixtures, or his father, who spent evenings pickling himself in sherry. It was no wonder he gravitated to machines, which could, at least, be counted on.

After fleeing his parents and dropping out of high school, his savant-like ability to visualize electronic circuits landed him a gig with KISS, for whom he created their legendary fire-breathing guitars. Later, he drifted into a “real” job, as an engineer for a major toy company. But the higher Robison rose in the company, the more he had to pretend to be “normal” and do what he simply couldn’t: communicate. It wasn’t worth the paycheck.

It was not until he was forty that an insightful therapist told him he had the form of autism called Asperger’s syndrome. That understanding transformed the way Robison saw himself—and the world.

Look Me in the Eye is the moving, darkly funny story of growing up with Asperger’s at a time when the diagnosis simply didn’t exist. A born storyteller, Robison takes you inside the head of a boy whom teachers and other adults regarded as “defective,” who could not avail himself of KISS’s endless supply of groupies, and who still has a peculiar aversion to using people’s given names (he calls his wife “UnitTwo”). He also provides a fascinating reverse angle on the younger brother he left at the mercy of their nutty parents—the boy who would later change his name to Augusten Burroughs and write the bestselling memoir Running with Scissors.

Ultimately, this is the story of Robison’s journey from his world into ours, and his new life as a husband, father, and successful small business owner—repairing his beloved high-end automobiles. It’s a strange, sly, indelible account—sometimes alien, yet always deeply human.

48. Fourth Comings

Another re-read, this one from the library. It was on a featured books shelf and I just couldn't resist. While looking back on last year's book list I said I liked it then, I think I actually liked it even more this time around because I wasn't as shocked by the more grown up version of Jessica Darling. I visited the author's website today and saw that the final book will be called Perfect Fifths and I guess will come out in 2009 as she's spending 2008 writing it. Very exciting!!

Anyway, for those unfamiliar with Jessica Darling, I'd definitely suggest starting with Sloppy Firsts and reading them all!

Here's the B&N description of Fourth Comings:

At first it seems that she’s living the elusive New York City dream. She’s subletting an apartment with her best friend, Hope, working for a magazine that actually utilizes her psychology degree, and still deeply in love with Marcus Flutie, the charismatic addict-turned-Buddhist who first captivated her at sixteen.

Of course, reality is more complicated than dreamy clichés. She and Hope share bunk beds in the “Cupcake”—the girlie pastel bedroom normally occupied by twelve-year-old twins. Their Brooklyn neighborhood is better suited to “breeders,” and she and Hope split the rent with their promiscuous high school pal, Manda, and her “genderqueer boifriend.” Freelancing for an obscure journal can’t put a dent in Jessica’s student loans, so she’s eking out a living by babysitting her young niece and lamenting that she, unlike most of her friends, can’t postpone adulthood by going back to school.

Yet it’s the ever-changing relationship with Marcus that leaves her most unsettled. At the ripe age of twenty-three, he’s just starting his freshman year at Princeton University. Is she ready to give up her imperfect yet invigorating post-college life just because her on-again/off-again soul mate asks her to... marry him?Jessica has one week to respond to Marcus’s perplexing marriage proposal. During this time, she gains surprising wisdom from unexpected sources, including a popular talk show shrink, a drag queen named Royalle G. Biv, and yes, even her parents. But the most shocking confession concerns two people she thought had nothing to hide: Hope andMarcus.

Will this knowledge inspire Jessica to give up a world of late-night literary soirees, art openings, and downtown drunken karaoke to move back to New Jersey and be with the one man who’s gripped her heart for years? Jessica ponders this and other life choices with her signature snark and hyper-intense insight, making it the most tumultuous and memorable week of her twenty-something life.

47. Dear John

This was a sappy romance novel by Nicholas Sparks that brought on the tears over and over and over again. So of course, I loved it. :) I listened to this one on my iPod during my recent travels and that was a bit much - just way too long, but, if you like Nicholas Sparks' other books you'll enjoy this one as well.

Here's the description from B&N:

An angry rebel, John dropped out of school and enlisted in the Army, not knowing what else to do with his life--until he meets the girl of his dreams, Savannah. Their mutual attraction quickly grows into the kind of love that leaves Savannah waiting for John to finish his tour of duty, and John wanting to settle down with the woman who captured his heart. But 9/11 changes everything. John feels it is his duty to re-enlist. And sadly, the long separation finds Savannah falling in love with someone else. "Dear John," the letter read...and with those two words, a heart was broken and two lives were changed forever. Returning home, John must come to grips with the fact that Savannah, now married, is still his true love--and face the hardest decision of his life.

46. Deep Dish

Cute and predictable chick lit... perfect for reading at the beach, which is exactly what I did. :)

Here's the description from B&N:

Chef extraordinaire Gina Foxton doesn't expect anything to be handed to her on a platter. After years of hard work, the former runner-up Miss Teen Vidalia Onion is now the host of her own local Georgia public television show called Fresh Start, and she's dating the show's producer.

But when her show gets canceled, and she catches her boyfriend in flagrante delicto with the boss's wife, Gina realizes that she's meant for bigger and better things. The Cooking Channel is looking for its next star, and Gina is certain that she fits the bill. Trouble is, the execs also have their eye on Mr. "Kill It and Grill It" Tate Moody, the star of a hunting, fishing, and cooking show called Vittles. Tate is the ultimate man's man, with a dog named Moonpie and a penchant for flannel shirts. Little does Gina know, though, that she and Tate are soon to embark on the cook-off of their lives.

45. The Book of Fate

I read a few of Meltzer's books years ago and forgotten how much I like them. Similar to Vince Flynn, this was a good read and I'd recommend it.

Here's a really brief description from B&N:

"A two-hundred-year-old code devised by Thomas Jefferson becomes the key to a present-day conspiracy at the highest levels of Washington and the power elite of Palm Beach"--

44. Literacy and Longing in L.A.

This one took me awhile to get into, but in the end I did enjoy it. And of course, the main character's love of reading was... familiar. I love the idea of book binges and might just give that a shot next time I'm feeling blah. :)

Here's the description:

Some women shop. Some eat. Dora cures the blues by bingeing on books—reading one after another, from Flaubert to bodice rippers, for hours and days on end. In this wickedly funny and sexy literary debut, we meet the beguiling, beautiful Dora, whose unique voice combines a wry wit and vulnerability as she navigates the road between reality and fiction.

Dora, named after Eudora Welty, is an indiscriminate book junkie whose life has fallen apart—her career, her marriage, and finally her self-esteem. All she has left is her love of literature, and the book benders she relied on as a child. Ever since her larger-than-life father wandered away and her book-loving, alcoholic mother was left with two young daughters, Dora and her sister, Virginia, have clung to each other, enduring a childhood filled with literary pilgrimages instead of summer vacations. Somewhere along the way Virginia made the leap into the real world. But Dora isn’t quite there yet. Now she’s coping with a painful separation from her husband, scraping the bottom of a dwindling inheritance, and attracted to a seductive book-seller who seems to embody all that literature has to offer—intelligent ideas, romance, and an escape from her problems.

Joining Dora in her odyssey is an elderly society hair-brusher, a heartbroken young girl, a hilarious off-the-wall female teamster, and Dora’s mother, now on the wagon, trying to make amends. Along the way Dora faces some powerful choices. Between two irresistible men. Between idleness and work. And most of all between the joy of well-chosen words and the untidiness of real people and real life.

43. The Best Day of Someone Else's Life

this was cute... it took me awhile to get into it, but in the end I liked the main character and how things turned out. And the fact that it was set in DC certaintly didn't hurt. :)

Here's a description from B&N:

Despite being cursed with a boy's name, Kevin "Vi" Connelly is seriously female and a committed romantic. The affliction hit at the tender age of six when she was handed a basket of flower petals and ensnared by the "marry-tale." The thrill, the attention, the big white dress—it's the Best Day of Your Life, and it's seriously addictive. But at twenty-seven, with a closetful of pricey bridesmaid dresses she'll never wear again, a trunkful of embarrassing memories, and an empty bank account from paying for it all, the illusion of matrimony as the Answer to Everything begins to fray. As her friends' choices don't provide answers, and her family confuses her more, Vi faces off against her eminently untrustworthy boyfriend and the veracity of the BDOYL.
Eleven weddings in eighteen months would send any sane woman either over the edge or scurrying for the altar. But as reality separates from illusion, Vi learns that letting go of someone else's story to write your own may be harder than buying the myth, but just might help her make the right choices for herself.

42. Learning Curves

This one was cute, and again, not quite as much chick lit fluff while still being decidedly chick lit.

Here's the description:

Jennifer Bell used to travel the planet with her boyfriend, fighting the good fight for mother Earth. But after the breakup (not a good fight), Jen moved back to London to work for another mother: her own. Harriet Bell founded Green Futures, a consulting firm, after splitting up with Jen's big-shot father, who runs a rival (and Harriet thinks corrupt) company. But Harriet can't expose his crimes without proof. And she wants Jen to find some.Since Jen hasn't seen her dad in more than fifteen years, it's a snap to infiltrate his company . . . under an assumed name, of course. Soon she's worming her way into the good graces of the company's managers to find evidence of wrongdoing. What she discovers is that her father's world is a whole lot different from her own-filled with Palm Pilots, MBAs, martini lunches, designer suits, and Daniel Peterson, a guy who puts the gorge in gorgeous. Suddenly Jen is torn between Birkenstocks and Jimmy Choos, tree-hugging and air-kissing. Could it be that her Big Bad Dad isn't the monster her mom made him out to be? Or is Jen simply being seduced by the power of hard deals, hot nights, and wads of cash? Only time will tell-preferably from a Cartier watch on the wrist of Daniel Peterson. . . .

41. Love the One You're With

I really liked this one because it wasn't typical chick lit. The main character was real, not chick lit fluff. She wasn't perfect, she had real emotions and had to make a hard choice. You didn't always like what she did and she made some really bad choices but... again, it was real.

Here's the description from B&N:

Ellen's relationship to Andy doesn't just seem perfect on the surface, it really is perfect. She loves his family, and everything about him, including that he brings out the best in her. That is, until Ellen unexpectedly runs into Leo. The one who got away. The one who brought out the worst in her. The one she can't forget. This is the story about why we chose to love the ones we love, and why we just can't forget the ones who aren't right for us.

Emily Giffin brings both humor and heart to her novels and has an uncanny ability to tap into the things women are really thinking and feeling. With LOVE THE ONE YOU'RE WITH, she proves, once again, why she is the fastest rising star of women's fiction writing today.

40. The Manny

Total and complete chick lit fluff. Exactly what I was looking for...

Here's the description from B&N:

What’s a Park Avenue working mom to do when her troubled son desperately needs a male role model and her husband is a power workaholic? If she’s like the gutsy heroine of Holly Peterson’s astute new comedy of manners among the ill-mannered elite, she does what every other woman on the block does. She hires herself a “manny.”

A solid middle-class girl from Middle America, Jamie Whitfield isn’t “one of them” but she lives in “the Grid,” the wealthiest acre of real estate in Manhattan, where big money and big media collide. And she has most everything they have–a big new apartment, full-time help with her three children, as well as her very own detached Master of the Universe attorney husband. What she doesn’t have, however, is a full-time father figure for their struggling nine-year-old son, Dylan. But the rich haven’t yet encountered a problem they can’t hire someone else to solve.

Enter the manny.

At first the idea of paying a man to provide a role model for Dylan sounds too crazy to be true. But one look at Peter Bailey is enough to convince Jamie that the idea may not be quite so insane after all. Peter is calm, cool, competent, and so charmingly down-to-earth, he’s irresistible. And with the political sex scandal of the decade propelling her career as a news producer into overdrive, and her increasingly erratic husband locked in his study with suspicious files, Jamie is in serious need of some grounding.

Peter reminds her of everything she once was, still misses, and underneath all the high-society glitz, still is. But will the new manny in her life put the groundback beneath her feet, or sweep her off them?

39. Special Siblings: Growing Up with Someone with a Disability

I read this one for work - we might have the author come speak at an event in the fall. It was really interesting and a good resource for siblings of those with disabilities.

Here's a review from Amazon:

For siblings of those with physical, mental, or emotional disabilities, here is helpful advice, comfort, and the company of others who've been there. McHugh (formerly an editor at Woman's World and Cosmopolitan, and a frequent New York Times contributor) grew up with a mentally disabled brother for whom she became responsible as an adult after their mother died. McHugh doesn't shrink from the tough issues, even when looking at her own actions. Mostly, she reports, she blocked her brother and his problems out of her life as much as possible. So on one level, this is about McHugh's own journeyone viewed wrenchingly from another angle when one of her own children becomes blind and has a leg amputated as a result of complications from diabetes. But moving on from her own experience, McHugh offers information, understanding, and resources for others, on a wide range of issues: from childhood fears about the parents marriage, to troubles in ones own marriage caused by caring for a disabled sibling, to the urge to somehow make it all better (``For a sibling, there is nothing more painful than watching your mother's heart break because one of her children is wounded''). McHugh considers needs and problems for each age and developmental group, from childhood on. Real help, real comfort for those personally affected.

38. A Tale of Two Sisters

I liked this one, but didn't love it. It took me forever to read. As in I've owned it since last summer maybe and started it once or twice but never got through the first 50 pages until recently. Not bad, it just didn't draw me right in.

Here's the description from B&N:

The bestselling author of Getting Over It and Running in Heels, a writer who "excels at creating winning characters and placing them in artfully crafted muddles" (Florida Sun-Sentinel) has created an unforgettable story of siblings in the best of times and the worst of times in London.

Lizbet and Cassie are sisters and, though they've always wanted different things, best friends as well. But that's about to change.

Cassie is skinny, clever, charismatic, successful-every not-so-perfect girl's worst nightmare. The one defect in her quality-controlled life may be her marriage.

Lizbet is plumper, plainer, dreamier. She's desperate to make her name as a journalist, but is stuck writing embarrassing articles on sex for a men's magazine. Her one achievement is her relationship with Tim, who thinks she's amusing and smart-even when she asks ditzy questions.

Confronted by challenges that they never asked for, enticed by new loves, and forced apart by mistakes not their own, will Cassie and Lizbet ever figure out how to get back to the simple goodness of their sisterhood, even as their lives take them on a collision course of heartache and new beginnings?

37. Nice to Come Home To

I really liked this one. Especially since it was set in DC and Rehoboth!! I love it when the books I read talk place in places I know. Although I was a bit annoyed when she said she was on the BW Parkway to get to the beach - that isn't the road she should have been on... but oh well. :)

I definitely recommend this one - it's cute chick lit with lots of interesting characters.

Here's a review from B&N:

Though she's methodically navigated 36 years by making lists and plans, D.C. resident Prudence Whistler's carefully constructed life is about to get shaken up. She's let go from the nonprofit job that never did much to fulfill her in the first place. Then Rudy-who she's finally decided will suffice as "The One"-condescendingly dumps her. But before she has too much time to stew, her loved ones rally 'round: catty, coupled college friends; her younger sister, Patsy, the unmarried mother of a two-year-old; and John Owen, the in-divorce-proceedings diner owner Pru first encounters while schlepping Rudy's television out to the curb. This crew's the catalyst for a series of adventures and lifestyle shakeups that has retail-addict Pru wondering whether her love for fashion could deliver more than the latest Marc Jacobs dress. And then there's the ongoing coffee klatch at John's diner that inspires the big question: is Pru in the market for "getting-each-other-through-a-bad-time-love" with John, or is it time to stick her neck out for "real-love love"? Readers may find Pru's early bad luck streak contrived, but as her lovable friends and neighbors spring into action, the well-written story rounds out and rolls toward a satisfying finish.

36. Mr. Maybe

I'm still trying to be frugal and therefore re-reading things from my bookshelves that I haven't looked at in years. Since my good memory does not extend to what I read it isn't really like re-reading with most since I don't really remember them. :)

This one was cute, but 100% predictable. I mean, most chick lit is but really, from the very beginning you know exactly how it will end.

Anyway, here's the description:

To Libby Mason, Mr. Right has always meant Mr. Rich. A twenty seven-year-old publicist, she's barely able to afford her fashionable and fabulous lifestyle and often has to foot the bill for dates with Struggling Writer Nick, a sexy but perpetually strapped-for-cash guy she's dating (no commitments – really).

35. Certain Girls

A follow up to Good In Bed, I wish I would have re-read that one before I read this just as a refresher on the characters and their drama. I liked this one, but it got dramatically and suddenly sad which I can't stand about a book. If I know the sadness is coming I can totally handle it, but out of the blue sadness, especially when I'm reading in Barnes & Noble is just no good!

Anyway, here's the description from B&N:

Readers fell in love with Cannie Shapiro, the smart, sharp-tongued, bighearted heroine of Good in Bed who found her happy ending after her mother came out of the closet, her father fell out of her life, and her ex-boyfriend started chronicling their ex-sex life in the pages of a national magazine.

Now Cannie's back. After her debut novel -- a fictionalized (and highly sexualized) version of her life -- became an overnight bestseller, she dropped out of the public eye and turned to writing science fiction under a pseudonym. She's happily married to the tall, charming diet doctor Peter Krushelevansky and has settled into a life that she finds wonderfully predictable -- knitting in the front row of her daughter Joy's drama rehearsals, volunteering at the library, and taking over-forty yoga classes with her best friend Samantha.

As preparations for Joy's bat mitzvah begin, everything seems right in Cannie's world. Then Joy discovers the novel Cannie wrote years before and suddenly finds herself faced with what she thinks is the truth about her own conception -- the story her mother hid from her all her life. When Peter surprises his wife by saying he wants to have a baby, the family is forced to reconsider its history, its future, and what it means to be truly happy.

Radiantly funny and disarmingly tender, with Weiner's whip-smart dialogue and sharp observations of modern life, Certain Girls is an unforgettable story about love, loss, and the enduring bonds of family.

34. Change of Heart

Jodi Picoult's latest is just as emotionally charged and full of hard questions as her previous work. While I suspected one plot twist early on the ending still took me by surprise. I definitely recommend this one as a thought provoking read.

Rather than the usual description, here's a review from B&N:

Picoult bangs out another ripped-from-the-zeitgeist winner, this time examining a condemned inmate's desire to be an organ donor. Freelance carpenter Shay Bourne was sentenced to death for killing a little girl, Elizabeth Nealon, and her cop stepfather. Eleven years after the murders, Elizabeth's sister, Claire, needs a heart transplant, and Shay volunteers, which complicates the state's execution plans. Meanwhile, death row has been the scene of some odd events since Shay's arrival-an AIDS victim goes into remission, an inmate's pet bird dies and is brought back to life, wine flows from the water faucets. The author brings other compelling elements to an already complex plot line: the priest who serves as Shay's spiritual adviser was on the jury that sentenced him; Shay's ACLU representative, Maggie Bloom, balances her professional moxie with her negative self-image and difficult relationship with her mother. Picoult moves the story along with lively debates about prisoner rights and religion, while plumbing the depths of mother-daughter relationships and examining the literal and metaphorical meanings of having heart. The point-of-view switches are abrupt, but this is a small flaw in an impressive book.