2011 Summer Reading List = Fail.

Hi there, readers (that is, if I still have any readers...)! 

It has definitely been quite a while since I last posted.  I'll blame that on grad school, moving back to MN, wedding planning, and Pinterest.

I feel a little bit bad about leaving the whole "Summer Reading List" series hanging last summer.  Eventually, I did get around to reading six of the nine books.  So, I will finally finish my reviews here.  Though, be warned, it has been a while and I can't promise that I remembered everything all that well.

1. "No Apparent Danger" by Victoria Bruce
 **** (4 Stars) = Very good.  I strongly recommend this book.  See the full review I gave it here.

2. "Side Jobs" by Jim Butcher
*** (3 Stars) = Pretty good, but it's not the best (still worth reading).  Again, see the full review here.

3. "Ghost Story" by Jim Butcher
*** (3 Stars) = Pretty good, but it's not the best (still worth reading).  Like the other Jim Butcher book, I recommend that you read the rest of the series before getting to this one (otherwise, HUGE spoilers!).  And because of those spoilers, there's not a whole lot I can say here other than this book was way different then the other Harry Dresden books.  This made it interesting, but, to me, not as fun.  With that said, I'm always looking forward to next book in the Dresden Files.

4. "Traveling Mercies" by Anne Lamott
Unfortunately, this was one of the books that I have yet to read.  It's still in my (growing) pile of books to read.

5. "The Meaning of Wife" by Anne Kingston
 ** (2 Stars) = Eh... I'm not a fan.  This book took me a while to get through; but, I should say that any book without a plot takes me a long time to read (which is why I mostly stick to fiction!).  Some of the early chapters that recounted "the meaning of wife" through history were interesting.  The later chapters, however, just pissed me off all the time.  Why?  I didn't think that this book fully addressed the modern meanings of wife.  Unless, of course, your only definition of wife is a stay-at-home-mom ready to get a big divorce settlement from her CEO husband...  Again, I'll note it's been a while since I read this, but certain chapters left me fuming.  But maybe that's a good thing?  I like books that make people angry, because they (hopefully!) make people think.

6. "Circus of the Damned" by Laurell K. Hamilton
*** (3 Stars) = Pretty good, but it's not the best (still worth reading).... if you're into vampire/crime/fantasy fiction in the first place.  Like the Jim Butcher books, I'd recommend reading the series from the beginning, but this was still an enjoyable read.  That's about all I can say because I don't remember much of it, which is the case (for me) for the other Laurell K. Hamilton books I've read as well.  I like fantasy/crime books, but I'm just not as sold on this series as I am on the Dresen Files.

7. "Heat Stroke" by Rachel Caine
** (2 Stars) = Eh... I'm not a fan.  This was book #2 of the Weather Warden series (book #1 is "Ill Wind"), and I think it definitely fell short of the first.  I started reading the series because Jim Butcher (author of the Dresden Files) recommended the series according to the book cover.  In this series, wardens are tasked the the responsibility of taming weather/earth/fire in order to keep disasters from destroying humankind on an everyday basis (but they're secret, so we ordinary humans don't notice).  Unfortunately, with how the first book ended, I can't say much about this one without spoiling the first.  As a book, I recommend "Ill Wind," but I just don't think I can recommend the series.  As an FYI, I'm currently reading the third book "Chill Factor," so I'm saying this based on reading three of her books (okay... technically 2 & 5/6 books), not just the two.  What? The world is about to end unless Joanne (the protagonist) saves us all? Eh... sorry, don't really care.  I'm pretty sure I should care, but I just don't think I connect with the main character, and thus, have no vested interest in her successes or failures.

8. "The River of Doubt" by Candice Millard
I didn't get around to this one.  It sadly gets pushed back into my "To Read" pile every summer because I am always craving fiction instead.

9. "The Well of Lost Plots" by Jasper Fforde
Also still in my "To Read" pile.