Brsingr: Christopher Paolini

The third in The Inheritance Cycle, this really delivers. Paolini continues to grow as a writer and has not difficulty in taking his readers along for the ride. Aside from a nice tale filled with dragons and armies, elves and dwarves, this delivers some serious introspective philosophy on everything from politics to ethics. Nicely woven.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson

Fast-paced, thrilling and with meaningful subplots woven throughout, this gets a HolySmokesMustRead rating. Lisbeth Salander has become nothing less than a personal hero of mine. Once I got into reading it, there literally was no putting it down and I found myself sneaking mere minutes here and there to catch up with the plot, the characters, to find out, in the best tradition of storytelling, what happened next. Good grief, but I'm insanely jealous that I didn't write this book, and thankful to Larsson that he did.

Look Me in the Eye: John Robinson

This weekend I read Look Me in the Eye. Written by John Robinson, it is the witty and often painfully familiar account of an Asperger’s Syndrome adult who wanted desperately to fit, and finally did, and the road he took along the way. I highly recommend the book, not really so much as a textbook account, but for a beautifully written memoir. I by turns winced and laughed, but was always engaged. It’s a quick read, and one understands in the first chapter why this book was an instant bestseller.

Mosaic: Gayle Lynds

Eh. This is ok. It'll get you through the airport or the doctor's office, and at times it even promises to be interesting. It never really delivers, though, because Lynds can't decide if she's writing a conspiracy expose, a political thriller or a romance novel. Eventually it all breaks down into somewhat predictable fare, just as it ought to be getting really twist-and-turn-some. not recommended.

The Deathly Hallows: J.K. Rowling

I'm not entirely certain this final of the series could be read on its own. There is clearly a ton of stuff Rowling wanted to put in this, and just couldn't. Overall, I liked it. I liked the message of making your own future, claiming your path, thikning of others as well as of yourself. And most of all, I liked the epilogue.

The Looking Glass Wars: Frank Beddor

I thoroughly enjoyed this reinvention of the wonderland classic. Breathes new life into the tale, brings to the fore a compelling first piece of the coming of age and all the attendant themes of responsibility, honor and self, and does it so well that I simply can't wait to read the next one. The world is lush, inventive despite relying upon and tying in quite nicely to the original work, and the characters are believable, with foibles and inner-doubts enough to make them real and relevant.