I loved the characters in this novel. There were many subplots that in the end explained the original storyline.

Summer Knight is the fourth book in the Dresden Series by Jim Butcher. Harry Dresden is a wizard who helps the Special Investigation unit of the Chicago police force investigate unusual crimes.

The Dresden series novels remind me of a cross between a grownup Harry Potter and a gumshoe detective story. In Summer Knight, Harry is attacked by faeries, hunted by vampires and called to appear before the White Council which oversees wizard behavior. Harry Dresden almost never has a good day. He is often attacked, aching and short on funds but Harry always tries to do the right thing.

The fourth book was my favorite so far – good amount of action and pretty fast paced. I also enjoyed the first book of the series. The second and third books moved a bit slower. I have just started book 5, Death Masks. Summer Knight will appeal to men and women alike.

Emotionally Provoking. That's a simple summation of how I felt about this book. I experienced a wide variety of emotions while I read this story, but the emotion I felt the most was irritation. I had a difficult time "listening" to Delores; the main character in the story. I found myself many times sighing when I knew I would have to start reading She's Come Undone. The character Delores was shallow and pitiful and often brought my mood down. She felt like that pessimistic, self absorbed friend that you try hard to help at first; only to later find that you have to politely steer her out of your life. When I finished the book, I was relieved to be done with Delores' journey. Unexpectedly however, when it came to discussing this book during book club, I was delightfully surprised by the fabulous discussions that this book provoked.

I read quite a few reviews on this book before I started reading it. And because of the reviews I thought it was going to be extraordinary. Some reviews even regarded the author; Wally Lamb, as a literary lion and extremely gifted. Reviews even stated that Wally lamb slammed dunked his perspective as a female character. Sure, I can agree that he is gifted in that he actually created and followed through with writing and publishing a novel. That in and of itself is a major accomplishment. However, I'm bewildered. I may be completely unfair here but I just can't agree with the reviews. I don't feel that based on one book that critics can dub anyone as a gifted literary lion. Perhaps if critics said "an up and coming gifted literary lion" then I think it would have some meaning to it. I'm so tired of everything becoming an instant classic. Number #1 bestseller. I think ostentatious comments such as these can diminish the accomplishments from those authors that the majority of us actually deem as timeless.

I am so conflicted with this book. If you ask me what I think of She's Come Undone as a book I would say this; read it if you have nothing else to read and make sure you go to the library to get it. But if you ask me as a book club pick then I would say to you that it is a spectacular book to discuss. All of the girls in our book club had a fervent comment about the book. Many of us could relate aspects of Delores' life to someone we knew; whether to a friend, family member, or even to a friend of a friend. Some of us pitied her, some loathed her, and some sympathized with her. The whale was even a great discussion topic in and of itself. We had several discussions trying to determine the whale's symbolism. We could all agree however that we could not find the gut bursting humor that we were hoping to get. Granted there were some good one liners, but that was the extent of the humor.

Overall I was let down with the book. If you are looking for a great book to discuss in book club then you won't be disappointed with She's Come Undone. But if your looking for a book that you just can't put down, then She's Come Undone will disappoint you for sure. What are your thoughts about this book if you have read it?

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult begins with a list of all the things you can do in nineteen minutes ending with - in Nineteen Minutes you can change your life.

In Nineteen Minutes, Jodi Picoult explores a young man going into his high school on a shooting rampage. She explores the young man's life and the lives of those around him. She also causes us to reflect on how our own expectations for the teenagers in our lives can mix with years of disappointment and torment by their peers to push a young person to desire relief through such an extreme action.

All is not what it seems and I found myself haunted by this book, so much so that more than a year after reading it, I am writing this review.

I like to read books that make me think, challenge my perceptions and stay with me. This book gets high marks in all these areas.

Lullaby is a book by Chuck Palahniuk, the author of Fight Club. The premise of Lullaby is the existence of a culling song, a song or lullaby that when spoken, song or even thought causes a painless death. When a culling song is included in a book of Poems and Nursery Rhymes from around the world, infants are dying.

Chuck Palahniuk writes modern day parables that are intriguing stories and so much more. He is a keen observer of pop culture and weaves his observations through the story line.

The book is 260 pages with short, quick paced chapters. I was completely absorbed by the book and found it invaded my dreams the night I finished it.

Definitely not a "warm and fuzzy" read but a book I find myself pondering days later.

Tell No One by Harlan Coben is an action and mystery novel rolled into one. The characters in the book were described with enough information to keep your interest piqued throughout the entire book. I did sense quite a bit of predictability but the action and mystery within the story was compelling enough to keep you turning the pages quickly. The majority of the characters in Tell No One were similar to any Hollywood action movie that you have seen before but the twist between the main character David Beck, and his deceased wife Elizabeth was riveting.

Harlan Coben did a great job delivering the reader into all the danger and suspense in one chapter, to then providing the reader with just enough of the puzzle pieces in the next to keep you intrigued and satisfied. I don't think this will be a book that will be your overall favorite but I do think you will recommend this book highly to someone looking for a quick, easy and action packed book. The trailer for the movie looks really good and I plan on watching the movie soon. I think because of the story line it will be one that my husband will enjoy too.

To visit the author Harlan Coben's web site, go ahead and click here.

The movie Tell No One is available on DVD. You can visit the movie's web site by clicking here.

The Friday Night Knitting Club was decent but it was not a book that I would highly recommend. When I finish a book, I base my reading experience usually on two questions. The first is, was I completely engrossed in the book to the point where I didn't want to put the book down? The second is, was this story unique and unpredictable? My experience after reading The Friday Night Knitting Club was not so much for either answer.

My biggest issue that I had with this book was that it was very predictable.  I was hoping my assumptions would be wrong when I read the back cover and it said "something unthinkable happens". That statement was compelling enough though to get me to want to find out if my assumptions were wrong or not. I think things would have been far less predictable had the "unthinkable" not have happened to the main character. You saw what was coming so early in the book. It was very disappointing.

Alright, aside from the predictability issues, what I did enjoy about the story was the way the author, Kate Jacobs, put a spotlight on the importance of friendships. I thought she did a really good job in making the reader reflect on their own friendships. Maybe if only to realize how important the existing friendships really are. Hands down I think The Friday Night Knitting Club did a great job proving the importance and power of friendship. However, the overall impression when I finished reading this book was that it was way too predictable and therefore it was boring and came across as a been there done that story.

If you would like more information about Kate Jacobs or information about the sequel to The Friday Night Knitting Club click here.

Here is some good news for Julia Roberts fans. In 2009, the movie The Friday Night Knitting Club is scheduled to premiere starring none other than Julia Roberts. You can search the following web site to find the most current information about the movie.

I had a preconceived notion of what The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger was going to be about. I thought that the story was going to be about an eccentric and wacky "science guy" creating endless number of experiments all the while ignoring his doting wife and ultimately her loneliness surely would push her into the arms of another man. Thus forcing "science guy" back in time to restore his relationship...yada, yada, yada. Well my preconception was not even close and I was glad.

The story itself and the way the story was told to the reader was very unique and interesting. The story has a science fiction flare but focuses mainly on the love story. As unique as the story telling was, it ultimately took me a long while to get through the book.  I lost interest in it about half way through. But not so much that I didn't pick it back up. I'd have to say that I really did not start to enjoy The Time Traveler's Wife until the last quarter of the story when a specific event occurred (I don't want to give anything away).

One major disappointment for me was that I could not seem to connect with any of the characters at all. To me the characters didn't seem like they could be real; even with the unique twist that the author gave as to why time travel occurs for Henry. I found I was reading just to finish the book. I just didn't get pulled into the story like I had hoped. I really felt let down.

One of the most confusing issues for me were the two main characters Henry and Clare. To me they seemed to be one in the same. I found that I was continuously flipping back and forth to see which character was actually talking because to me they both sounded the same. I felt that the author Audrey Niffenegger, struggled in portraying the role of a man well enough for the Henry character to be believable.

For as many of my friends that enjoyed this book, there were as many of us who didn't enjoy it. Usually when we discuss books the majority of us agree and just a few disagree. With the Time Traveler's Wife though, most of us were evenly split. This book was not the worst book that I have ever read but it was certainly WAS a book that I COULD put down. I would be really interested in the perspectives and opinions of anyone else who read this book. I am hoping to be able to look at this book differently...

For One More Day by Mitch Albom is a quick read that says a lot during a small amount of time. I enjoyed reading it but it is not at the top of my list of books.

It doesn't have this grand plot with twists and turns nor does it have a large variety of characters that you become absorbed in. What it does have is the gift to remind us readers what really is most important in life.

We all come with some sort of baggage. And we find it is much easier to blame those around us, especially our parents. In reading For One More Day, you realize that the majority of parents did the best they could with what they had at the time. They never intended to hurt us, to annoy us, or to screw us up. But it always happens some way somehow.

Mitch Albom takes us through the journey of one man named Charley who is blessed with one more day with his already deceased Mother. However, Charley's life is in shambles and blames his Mother for everything that has ever gone wrong. Never once did he stop to acknowledge the sacrifices his Mom made along the way until it was too late. As a reader, you can't help but see similarities with yourself and Charley as you read about his encounters and changes in feelings. Especially when the author uniquely sets up examples of "Times I did NOT stand up for my Mother" versus "Times my Mother stood up for me". I thought this was brilliant. You can't help but stop to reflect on your life too. You start to see changes in Charley as the day progresses and he spends more quality time with his Mother. As a reader you stop to reflect not only about your loved ones still in your life but to those who have already passed. For One More Day is a friendly reminder to enjoy every moment you have with family and friends because you just never know when the game is over.

This is a good book especially if you are in a phase of self reflection.

The Pact by Jodi Picoult was a fabulous read with a jaw dropping first paragraph, an intense plot, and a slew of characters that you can relate to.

Although I have to admit, I did not enjoy the way the story concluded. I felt like the ending was forced instead of following its own natural path. But I can understand why Jodi Picoult ended it the way she did. There was so much despair and anger throughout the entire story that if it ended with its natural path there would be a lot of upset readers. To me though, it is great to read a story like that every once in a while just to shake you up.

The first paragraph is very intense. The main character dies by a gun shot wound with whom appears to be a childhood friend turned lover. Right there your mouth drops. Unexpected beginning for sure. As a reader you can't help but think "What the hell just happened?" It was a great beginning. Undoubtedly, you have to keep reading to find out what happens.

Jodi Picoult does a great job with the characters by making them realistic and likeable. You can imagine them so vividly. The friendships that are established between the Hartes and the Gold families are nothing but envious. We can all hope for a small amount of that kind of friendship in our own lives. Or if we do have a glimmer of it already, it makes you stop to think about it and appreciate what you already have. 

I enjoyed the integration of the Harte and the Golds friendship within the story. It really tears at your heart when the trajedy rips the two families apart. But I have to say that I was surprised at the way the bond between the Hartes and Golds came to such an abrupt end. As integrated as these two families were I would have expected the bond to have stayed cohesive longer than what was told in the story. I felt more could have been focused on the breakdown of friendship. It would have made the friendships seem more real since so much of the story kept focusing on how great friends the two families were and that the two mothers were best friends. It was even stated that the parents felt that eachothers kids' were like their own. Of course you never will understand how anyone would react in the face of a true tragedy. Someone you think is emotionally strong could be the first to break down. And someone whom you think could never make it through comes out thriving.

There were so many emotions flying around within this story. I know myself that it triggered reactions in me that I never knew were there and it surprised me. So even though I did not particularly care for the ending of this story, nevertheless I thought that it was cleverly written and was deeply entertaining. If you are interested, here is a link to the author Jodi Picoult's web site.