9 Books I Read in April

Don't give me that accusing look because I read 9 books instead of 10.  Yes, I wish it was a nice round number.  But it's not.  Deal with it.  How many books did YOU read this month?!?  I thought so.


1. Changes by Jim Butcher

This is the 12th book in the Dresden File series.  I doubt anyone would just pick up a random book in a series, so I'll recap the basic premise of all them:  Harry Dresden is a real wizard living Chicago.  He advertises in the phonebook, takes cases when they come to him, tries to help out the comes, is a smart ass, and typically kicks more ass than Harry Potter.  Fun series--I really enjoyed this one, especially as Harry becomes a bit darker as time goes on.  This is one of the few series that Batman also reads.


 2. Roadkill by Rob Thurman

 

Again, this is a series.  I think this is the fifth book.  The main character is a half Auphe (aka demon) with a brother that keeps him in line.  It's an interesting series, fast-paced, with a lot of action and not very much romance.  



3. The Wizard of London by Mercedes Lackey

 

 I found this book on my shelf.  I've apparently owned it for awhile but haven't read it.  I must have known it wasn't going to be very good.
My biggest beef with Mercedes Lackey is that while the plots are interesting, the characters are always boring.  They're too good with none of the interesting vices or personality flaws.  Blah blah blah goody-goody magic kids save the day blah blah blah.  

4. Firebird by Mercedes Lackey

 

You like how I read two books by the same author but am complaining about her writing style?  This one is a bit more interesting, it twists a Russian fairy tale into a novel.  But Orson Scott Card's "Enchanted" is like ten million times better written and more interesting.

 

5.  Bidding for Love by Katie Fforde

 

I'm not ashamned to admit that I read cheesy romance novels at times.  I'm actually searching for new authors, so I tried this one out from the library.  It was cute--not spectacular, but very British and fun.  It's about a young woman who inherits part of an auction business and of course ends up falling for the other part-owner.

6. Deep Dish by Mary Kay Andrews

 

 Again, looking for new romance authors.  Not a huge fan of this one--I liked it until the contrived ending where the main character freaked out for no reason just so the book wouldn't be over yet.  The premise is that two chefs are competing for a TV cooking show.

7.  Eragon by Christopher Paolini 

 

Or as Batman likes to call it, E-Ragon, the fifth of the Ragon series.  After A-Ragon, B-Ragon...okay, you get the joke.

So this was good...considering that a fifteen year old wrote it.  It was very Lord of the Rings meets Star Wars.  Simplistic, cheesy dialogue, a lot of that "I can't tell you what's going on because the time isn't right" crap.  But a decent story and very impressive considering the kid's age. 

8.  The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz

 

Awesome book.  I really enjoyed it and kind of hope that it gets turned into a movie, I think it would make an excellent one.  The story is told through flashback via the "files" that the main character keeps.  She's a private detective working with her family of private detectives, and their job has kind of made them dysfunctional.  She can't date someone without investigating him thoroughly first, her little sister practices "recreational surveillance" and the parents  plant bugs on their children if they feel they need to know something.

9. Truth by Terry Pratchett

 

Oh, Discworld novels.  These are a large series of novels about a made-up parody style sci-fi world.  While it's definitely not necessary to read these books in order, it is kind of nice to have read some of the early ones so you know the main (always reoccurring) characters.  This particular novel is about the invention of the printing press and newspaper.  These books are funny and a quick read.