#72 F is for Fugitive by Sue Grafton

My Rating: 7 out of 10 stars
Another intriguing read… not quite as good as E is for Evidence but still, in general I have to say this series is getting better as it goes along.

Throughout the story, you’re made to feel that any one of the characters could be the guilty party, responsible for all the murders and setups taking place in the small little beach-side community of Floral Beach, CA. So though not quite a slap-in-the-face surprise ending like E is for Evidence the way everything ties together in the end is surprising nonethelss.

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#71 American Gods by Neil Gaiman

My Rating: 8 out of 10 stars
This was a pretty thick book, 628 pages long, but it went by fairly quickly nonetheless and I greatly enjoyed it. While reading, I found myself trying to place which God or Goddess was represented by each character that Shadow met on his travels with Wednesday. (I was pretty good with all the Egyptian ones and Kali; the exact form of some of the Norse ones escaped me, though the names were familiar.)

I’m looking forward to reading Anansi Boys now, which is sort of a follow-up to this book.

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#70 Sex, Murder and a Double Latte by Kyra Davis

My Rating: 8 out of 10 stars
This was a quick read, but fun and action-packed, a great first novel from this author. Unlike some other readers, I had the true murderer figured out about half way through, but I enjoyed the red herrings nonetheless. And even though I knew “whodunit”, it was enjoyable to discover all the clues being left and how everything fit together. I’ll be on the lookout for future books from this author.

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#69 The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman

My Rating: 8 out of 10 stars
In many ways, I liked this book even better than the first one, Northern Lights (aka The Golden Compass). I liked how they moved between 3 different worlds, and how there were many different subplots going on. There was one thing I didn’t like however…

WARNING! SPOILER ALERT.
You must highlight the text below in order to read it.

...and that’s the cliffhanger ending. We’re left wondering whether Lyra is alive or dead. I can only imagine that being a child, she escaped the wrath of the Spectres, but since Mrs. Coulter could also command the Spectres, she could’ve very likely swooped in while the Spectres were attacking the witches.

But then again, we know Lyra must be alive since there’s still one more book in the trilogy and she figures so heavily into the story line. It’s just that, after finishing this, I was left with the feeling that I had to read the 3rd book immediately to know what happened to Lyra.

So as I’ll say again, I’m looking forward to the third and final book in this series, The Amber Spyglass.

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#68 Silk by Caitlin R. Kiernan

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars
I liked the tone of this book. The style was in the genre of gothic horror, aka Poppy Z. Brite. And the whole theme with spiders and creepy crawlies made my spine tingle and raised the hair on my arms. The author did a good job with the main characters, the descriptions vivid and allowing you to know and understand the characters well. I noticed a symmetry between some of the main characters and their past, particularly with Daria and Spyder. I’m looking forward to reading the followup to this, Murder of Angels.

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#67 Bridget Jones's Guide to Life by Helen Fielding

This was a cute and quirky, funny little read, just perfect after finishing The Edge of Reason as I just did. It's Bridget's form of a mini self help book, imparting all the wisdom she's gleaned in her adventures, such as cooking tips, dating advice, etc. Her methods, though delusional, are true-to-form Bridget. :) Thanks to sabeena29 for sharing this!

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#66 Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason by Helen Fielding

Date Started: Thursday, September 29, 2005
Date Finished: Monday, October 3, 2005
My Rating: 8 out of 10 stars
My Review:
I liked this book about as much as the first one, though this one was a lot more different from the movie than the first one was.

Like in the first one, I found myself constantly criticizing Bridget for everything I see wrong with her—her lack of self-esteem, her inablity to see the consequences of her actions, and her continual tardiness. I mean, I'm a continually tardy person myself, but I wouldn't do something stupid like go out shopping when my plane is due to leave in a few hours. That's just asking for trouble. Heck, I refrain from leaving the house the entire day I'm leaving to go anywhere till I have to leave to catch the plane.

In any case, though I found myself constantly scolding her in my head, her actions and those of her friends, are amusing indeed. The fact I'd find myself chuckling at Bridget's stupidity, despite the fact that I thought she was an idiot, allowed me to give this book a rating of 8 anyway. :)

Now that I've read both Bridget books, I've got a small 50 page copy of Bridget Jones's Guide to Life to read as part of a bookring. Looks like fun!

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