Rescue by Anita Shreve

The night before last, I couldn't sleep. I was up till almost 3 a.m. I started reading Rescue and made it halfway through. Last night, I finished it. I don't know when I've read a book that fast. And it was good!

Like I said, this book was good, but it certainly wasn't Anita Shreve's best book. The storyline was good but it seemed sort of simple, at one point near the end, way too convenient.

Something I really did enjoy was the setting. Anita Shreve lives in Massachusetts and  most of her books are set in New England, this one in Vermont for the most part. I think that's one reason I also really like reading Chris Bohjalian and Jodi Picoult's novels.

Do you have a favorite setting for stories that  you enjoy reading?

Book read:  Rescue
Author:  Anita Shreve
ISBN:  978-0-316-02072-5

Niagara Falls All Over Again by Elizabeth McCracken

Elizabeth McCracken is a wonderful writer. I'd read The Giant's House and Here's Your Hat, What's Your Hurry. Loved them both. I've been saving Niagara Falls All Over Again for a few years. I knew I'd love it, and I guess I wanted a good book to look forward to. She did not disappoint.

Writers like Elizabeth McCracken are the reason I don't write fiction. I'd want to do it just like this, and I don't think I can. I so admire her use of language, her wit, and her subtle way of telling a story.

Cases in point, from Niagara Falls All Over Again:

"Maybe that's all jealousy is, the ability to look into someone's future or past and see your own absence."

And "Her eyebrows matched the rest of her, instead of looking like a proofreader's fat-headed correction:  insert eyebrow here."

This novel has an old-time feel to go along with the old-time story of a pair of vaudeville performers who grow together and apart through the years. Highly highly highly recommended. Go get it and read it.

What are you reading?

Book Read:  Niagara Falls All Over Again
Author:  Elizabeth McCracken
ISBN:  0-385-33648-9

Damaged by Alex Kava

I don't usually pick up mystery books by authors I know nothing about, but I saw Damaged at the library last week and it looked good. And turns out, it was good.

I guess this is the latest Maggie O'Dell book, which means this character has appeared in several other books in a series by Alex Kava. Even though I've never read any of the other Maggie O'Dell books, it was no problem getting the gist of the character, an FBI profiler, and enjoying it.

I'd recommend this book as a light summer read because the number of characters are kept to a manageable number, there are no huge plot twists, and it was very well written. It is pretty gruesome in places though so if you have a weak stomach, you may not care for "parts" of it.

Book Read:  Damaged
Author:  Alex Kava
ISBN:  978-0-385-53199-3

Healer by Carol Cassella

A little more than a week ago I just finished reading Oxygen by Carol Cassella and checked online to see if she had written anything else. She had. So, I got her second novel, Healer, at the library. It was just as good. This author (a medical doctor) writes about, yep, medicine, but also society and the big picture. In this book, the big picture covered immigration, America's healthcare system, medical testing, losing it all when you've had it all plus some, but does it in a way that is woven into the story so well.

Again, this author hit it out of the park. Her characters are believable, optimistic without being sappy, and realistic enough to make you care about them. And not want the book to end.

Have you read any good books lately? I'm always open for recommendations! This is after all Phoenix's winter (too hot as opposed to too cold) to go outside. But summer reading is summer reading. Share which book you've read recently that you would recommend.

Book Read:  Healer
Author:  Carol Cassella
ISBN:  978-1-4165-5612-1

Save as Draft by Cavanaugh Lee

Save as Draft is a perfect summer read. I breezed through this lightweight of a book in a few days, and I have to say it was surprisingly good. I thought it would be a fluffy, girly book, but it ended up having more substance than I bargained for. Not that this book was rocket science, but it had a good story, was original, and was well written.

The entire book is written in emails or as a Twitterfeed or Facebook updates, which makes it a quick read. Many of the emails are saved as draft, thus the name of the book. Most of these email drafts never end up getting sent and I wanted to scream at the person writing it "Send it all ready!"

Book Read:  Save as Draft
Author:  Cavanaugh Lee
ISBN:  978-1-4391-9069-2

Oxygen by Carol Cassella

I finished reading Oxygen (but continue breathing it as I type) by Carol Cassella last night. This was a very good book on all counts:  it was well written, had a good plot, and had one of the most satisfying endings I can remember. And it was a such a nice change of pace from the Millenium trilogy. Those books were good, but I'm glad there were only three.

Throughout the book, there were hints (the major one that I picked up on immediately and kept waiting for it to be revealed) that kept you wondering what the whole story was of doctor Dr. Marie Heaton.

The author, Carol Cassella, is a medical doctor, an anesthesiologist to boot, and a fine writer. Makes me sick.

But more power to her. I do admire people who are talented in EVERYTHING they do. Dang.

Have you read Oxygen? What did you think?

Book Read:  Oxygen
Author:  Carol Cassella
ISBN:  978-1-4165-5610-7

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson

I finished reading the last book of Stieg Larsson's, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, yesterday. I feel like I've been in another world reading these three books back to back. And although they were good, really intense and involved, I'm glad I'm done with them. Maybe I should have read something else in between, but the stories continued and it was a nice way to keep it all straight in my head.

I was able to do one of my favorite things yesterday. After I read the last 50 pages or so of the book, I then watched the movie. If you've seen the movies made of this book trilogy, you probably know there were two options, on the DVD any way:  watch it in Swedish with English subtitles or watch the English dubbed version. Here's what I did:

• I watched The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in Swedish and read the subtitles.
• I watched The Girl Who Played with Fire with English dubbed in.
• I watched The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest in Swedish and read the subtitles.

For me, reading subtitles is usually very annoying, but in this case, I found that listening to the fake dubbed voices took away from the movie. They didn't match up the voices well, to me, so I opted for the subtitles for the third.

Have you read these books? Seen the movies? Swedish with subtitles or dubbed English? Share your tales of this amazing girl.

Book Read:  The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
Author:  Stieg Larsson
ISBN:  978-0-307-26999-7