February Reads.
Beyond Oil: The View from Hubbert's Peak by Kenneth S. Duffeyes
So we're going to run out of oil one of these days -- what can we do to end our crippling dependency on it? Switch over to other non-renewable energy sources like natural gas or coal? Go nuclear? Invest in "alternative" energies like solar, wind, and hydrogen? Duffeyes examines all the possibilities and weighs the pros and cons of each.
Two Little Lies by Liz Carlyle
Contessa Viviana Alessandri was, in her youth, an opera singer who got knocked up by the future Earl of Wynwood. Knowing he wouldn't marry her, she returned to her native Venice to marry her father's control freak of a patron. Now widowed, she has returned to England and, of course, runs into the new Earl of Wynwood. Sparks fly. Hearts break. Love conquers all. And so forth. I liked Viviana best when she wasn't with the Earl (who seemed like so much of a cad most of the time) and I really enjoyed her interaction with the secondary characters.
Money, A Memoir: Women, Emotions, and Cash by Liz Perle
I think this book was supposed to serve as some kind of wake-up call and empowerment tool, but all it did was depress me. Also annoyed me at points, because Perle was good at dropping one-line bombshells, but not footnoting them with the statistics or reports she drew that wisdom for. I mean, she sites a lot of different sources, but never on the bits that most interested me. And, damn, couldn't we have had more uplifting stories about women and their money to balance all the nightmare scenarios?
Double Identity by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Could we have a clone story in which the clone's problems don't have anything to do with her looking just like some dead girl? Clones are not copies. Granted, Haddix did cover the whole "clones don't behave identically" schtick, but still ... this book was than a little preposterous. Who thinks their twelve year old daughter is in danger and then hides her in the same tiny town where her identical dead sister/source lived and died? Hello? I know it's a YA novel, but must the parents be so stupid? And the ending? Must it be so tidy?
Dragon Keeper by Carole Wilkinson
What an enjoyable book! In China, many thousands of years ago, a slave girl rescues a dragon from certain death. They are now "free," but far from safety. They flee across China to the sea and have a whole series of adventures along the way. The witty dialogue, cryptic dragon wisdoms, and good use of historical detail make this book very hard to put down (I devoured it in less than two hours).
Syrup by Maxx Barry
Set in the wonderful world of Coca-Cola, marketing, and Hollywood, this is the first Maxx Barry book. While mostly funny and sharp, it sometimes falls flat. If you've never read any Barry novels, start with Jennifer Government and then try this one.
Bindi Babes by Narinder Dhami
The first book in the Bindi Babes series. Amber, Jazz, and Geena are three (seemingly) perfect British Indian girls living with their (frequently absent) widowed father. One day, their "perfect" lives are turned upside down when their very traditional Auntie comes to stay with them. She drives them mad and they want nothing more than to get rid of her. Madcap adventures ensue. Very amusing YA novel and I look forward to reading the sequel.
Bollywood Babes by Narinder Dhami
Bollywood Babes is the second book in the Bindi Babes series and, sadly, not as funny as the first. The sisters don't stand out from each other at all and the story seems rushed and superficial. Still, will probably read Bhangra Babes when it comes out.
Good Girls Do by Cathie Linz
I thought the librarian bits of the story where quite good, but the whole "good girl/bad boy" love story was a bit unbelievable. And her "zany" family? They were so over the top, they were unfunny. On the other hand, I can easily see this novel being used as the basis for a two hour pilot for some cutesy sitcom.