Exit Strategy - Kelley Armstrong

This is a new set of characters for Armstrong. I've been following her Women of Otherworld series. This book has nothing supernatural about it, but it's still fascinating. We have a new heroine in Nadia Stafford. She's a hitwoman with a conscience. You won't want to put this book down. It's another sleep killer. Highly recommended.

Mount Dragon - Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

Another excellent book by this writing duo. If you're ever worried about the direction genetic engineering is taking read this book. You'll lose sleep because you can't put it down, and later you'll lose sleep just thinking about the possibilities :)   Don't be fooled by the name. There are no dragons in this book. There's plenty of suspense, but nothing supernatural lurking in these pages. This is a high tech thriller that's highly recommended.

On the Prowl - Patricia Briggs, Eileen Wilks, Karen Chance & Sunny

This is a collection of four relatively short stories that all deal with the supernatural side of things. All four stories are great. Highly recommended.

Briggs is an accomplished author. Her contribution may have some familiar characters if you've followed her werewolves in the Mercedes Thompson Series. I plan to keep following :)

I think this is the first story by Wilks I've read. I'm very impressed. I'll be following up with some of her full length novels.

Chance has an amazing sense of humor. I really liked her story of the two-natured. I'll be reading more of her books too.

Sunny has provided another story in the Monere series. You have to have read the others in the series to really follow this story. Of course you could just read Sunny for the sex.

The woman is obsessed with sex. The other stories in this collection have some romance and sex in them, but Sunny is all about the sex. Monere heal with sex, share powers with sex, and even glow in the dark while having sex. I say -- what's wrong with that :)

Caught Up!

Finally! I cleared all the books off the chest in the living room and I can take a break. Now I can add books as I finish them, and have time to post some other musings besides.

If anyone's interested in these books let me know. Books should be given to readers who will treat them with respect and pass them along when they're done. I make a habit of gifting sales people that come to my door with books from time to time :)

I gave up saving books for my kids to read. Maybe it skips a generation, but my kids read the TV Guide and that's about it :) OK, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but not much. I have friends who keep telling me "I'll wait 'till it's made into a movie," and I keep telling them it's not the same. Their loss.

Jerry

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J. K. Rowling

This novel shouldn't need any additional hype. All seven Harry Potter books are outstanding. Knowing this was the final book in the series made me a little apprehensive, but Rowling really knows how to finish. This is an excellent final book in an amazing series. Very highly recommended.

Skin - Ted Dekker

This is a novel that has so many twists it's hard to keep up. It's difficult to untangle the story without giving away the plot so I won't try. Just get ready for a wild read that's hard to put down.

That said, this is the first Dekker book I've read and it will probably be the last. The plot was a little too twisty for my taste and when I was done I didn't feel particularly satisfied. I don't think this book is a waste of time but in my opinion there are better story tellers out there.

Break No Bones - Kathy Reichs

This is another book featuring Temperance Brennan. Temperance spends her time as a forensic anthropologist between her labs in Canada and North Carolina. In this novel she's teaching a new crop of archeology students for the summer when they find a body much too fresh for the Native American burial ground they're working in. This leads to the inevitable mystery and science that make Reichs' books so entertaining. Highly recommended.

If you're interested in the other Temperance Brennan books you can find a list on Reichs' web site.

No Humans Involved - Kelley Armstrong

This is book seven in the Women of the Otherworld series. These books could stand alone but I recommend reading them in order. Armstrong's web site has them listed.

No Humans Involved features Jaime Vegas. Jaime is trying to break into TV via a gig on a reality show. She's a spiritualist by trade. The difference is she's a real necromancer and can actually see ghosts. In this story she comes up against some formidable practitioners of black magic. She enlists the help of her friends from the Interracial Council to help in the struggle. This is a book you'll find hard to put down. Highly recommended.

Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports - James Patterson

This is number three in the Maximum Ride series. These are great novels. Check out Patterson's web site for the rest of the titles in the series.

This title just about says it all. You're in for more high flying adventure with Max and her gang. All the expected villains are present with some interesting twists. Highly recommended.

Exile - Richard North Patterson

As usual Patterson has produced an amazing book. Exile is the story of a man who's past is about to come back and haunt him big time. This book takes you from San Francisco to the Middle East and never lets up. Patterson provides a view of the Israeli/Palestinian situation that you won't get from the news media. This is a novel, but Patterson is a rigorous researcher and the maps and facts presented in this work of fiction can open your eyes to just how delicate the balance is in the Middle East. It doesn't answer the question of who's got the biggest grievances, but it does lay out both sides of complicated situation. Very highly recommended.

Undead and Uneasy - MaryJanice Davidson

This is Davidson's sixth novel featuring Betsy Taylor, queen of the vampires. This is a great series of books that don't take themselves too seriously. I've been known to laugh out loud reading Davidson's books, and I'm sure that's what she intended. You have to love a vampire who's more interested in shoes than blood. That said, Betsy has some amazing powers and she uses them for good, unlike some of the vampires she runs up against.

In Undead and Uneasy Betsy is about to get married. There are some things she's not willing to give up just because she's dead! But first she has that pesky problem of her missing fiancé to deal with.

Please read this series in order. You can find a list on Davidson's web site. All are highly recommended.

The Harlequin - Laurell K. Hamilton

This is another Anita Blake book. She's the necromancer turned vampire hunter and protector of just about everything were. This is book 15 in the series. If you've been reading them all you have to keep going. If not, Hamilton's web site lists them all in order and you should start at the beginning.

Frankly, I liked the first books in the series better. Anita spent more time raising zombies and killing vampires back then. Now she spends most of her time in bed with vampires and weres of every stripe. Anita is part tiger, leopard, wolf, lion, and beast yet to be determined herself, but she's avoided the actual change so far. If you like intense descriptive sex scenes you'll appreciate the later books in the series. In spite of that, this novel is highly recommended.

Step on a Crack - James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge

This is a book that involves assasination, big time hostages, and a police detective with 10 kids and a dying wife. The story is great and so is the hero. I hope Patterson decides to give Michael Bennett a return engagement. This detective would make a great series, like Alex Cross or Maximum Ride and her flying friends. Very highly recommended.

The 6th Target - James Patterson & Maxine Paetro

This is the 6th Women's Murder Club novel. They're the heroes in another of Patterson's continuing story lines, and an excellent one. This time around there are some real nasty bad guys and gals to deal with. You won't want to put it down. Highly recommended.

If you want to follow the Women's Murder Club there's a link on Patterson's web site that lists these novels in order.

Next - Michael Crichton

This is a great story. Crichton seems to have fun using popular fiction to poke at things like common knowledge and conventional wisdom. Just how weird will the future get? Crichton's is a very entertaining view. Very highly recommended.

Cross - James Patterson

If you like to read you have to have crossed paths with James Patterson. Alex Cross is his most famous protagonist. He's got a nose for the bad guys and almost always gets his man. Unfortunately the same can't be said for his woman :(

This is the twelfth book featuring Cross. It would help to read them in the correct order. Check out Patterson's web site and look for the Alex Cross section. He's got them listed in the right order. All of the Cross books are highly recommended.

The Cobra Trilogy - Timothy Zahn

This is great science fiction. This trilogy is composed of three stories: Cobra, Cobra Strike, and Cobra Bargain. I've read a lot of Zahn books and he always provides a good story.

The Cobra trilogy takes a young soldier in an alien war with the Trofts, who is turned into a stealth cyborg or Cobra, and follows him through a lifetime of conflict and peace to whole new worlds and future generations. It's a real treasure. Very highly recommended.

Lesson plans are getting crowded!

I'm going to school to be a teacher. I've been out of college for thirty years now, which some insensitive boob from the alumni associate reminded me of over the phone tonight, but now I've decided to go back and get a degree that will let me teach in secondary education. I've got a year's worth of classes under my belt and I've discovered lesson plan bloat.

I've had classes on lesson planning. I got that.

Then I had a class on Content Area Reading (CAR). In this class I learned that in addition to content area objectives, I should be spending a portion of each class working on reading, so I need some reading objectives in that lesson plan.

Nobody would admit it, but this is basically because elementary education has turned into a big day care center that doesn't teach kids to read because it could hurt their self-esteem. OK, that's a bit if a generalization, but when I was a kid, I learned to read starting in first grade with Dick and Jane, and by junior high I could handle it. Not anymore.

Now I have a class on English Language Learners (ELL). In this class, I'm learning that a significant percentage of my students won't speak English, in addition to not reading. I have to include language objectives in my lesson plans now. How I'm going to teach someone who can't speak English to read, write, and speak English, while I try to teach them science, will be interesting. I'm sure they'll teach me how to do that before I get my degree. OK, not really sure. More like hopeful.

So far, I have to include content area objectives, reading objectives, and language objectives in my lesson plans. I also have to list the state standards I'm meeting for content area, reading, and language. These lesson plans are getting crowded and I still have over a year of school to go. I can't wait to see what additional objectives and standards they'll be shoehorning in before that year's up :)

Jerry

Lean Mean Thirteen - Janet Evanovich

More Stephanie Plum. Still a bounty hunter and getting a little better all the time. The woman wrecks more cars than Carter has little pills, but that's part of her charm :) Highly recommended.

Twelve Sharp - Janet Evanovich

As you might guess, this is the twelfth Stephanie Plum novel. I love Stephanie books. They're laugh out loud fun to read and still provide a good dose of suspense. Evanovich is a terrific author and from her picture on the back cover a babe. Not a bad combination.

I recommend reading the Stephanie Plum novels in the right order. For a complete list check out Evanovich's web site. All her books are highly recommended.