21 Down 9 T Go

Odd Thomas

Dean Koontz

Recommended by: Brandon (my brother)
July 9-15 

"The dead don't talk. I don't know why."
But they do try to communicate, with a short-order cook in a small desert town serving as their reluctant confidant. Odd Thomas thinks of himself as an ordinary guy, if possessed of a certain measure of talent at the Pico Mundo Grill and rapturously in love with the most beautiful girl in the world, Stormy Llewellyn.

Maybe he has a gift, maybe it's a curse, Odd has never been sure, but he tries to do his best by the silent souls who seek him out. Sometimes they want justice, and Odd's otherworldly tips to Pico Mundo's sympathetic police chief, Wyatt Porter, can solve a crime. Occasionally they can prevent one. But this time it's different.

A Mysterious man comes to town with a voracious appetite, a filing cabinet stuffed with information on the world's worst killers, and a pack of hyena-like shades following him wherever he goes. Who the man is and what he wants, not even Odd's deceased informants can tell him. His most ominous clue is a page ripped from a day-by-day calender for August 15.

Today is August 14.

In less than twenty-four hours, Pico Mundo will awaken to a day of catastrophe. As evil coils under the searing desert sun, Odd travels through the shifting prisms of his world, struggling to avert a looming cataclysm with the aid of his soul mate and unlikely community of allies that includes the King of Rock 'n' Roll. His account of two shattering days when past and present, fate and destiny converge is the stuff of out worst nightmares--and a testament by which to live: sanely if not safely, with courage, humor, and a full heart that even in the darkness must persevere.

What I thought: I really liked it. I guess there are more Odd books but I don't think I'll be reading them. I've read Dean Koontz before and like some of his stuff. I found the ending to be sad and really did not know it was going to to turn out that way. Which is always nice in books.

20 Down 10 To Go

Sweet and Deadly

Charlaine Harris

Recommended by: Jen (a neighbor's daughter,

her kids play with my kids)

She really recommended the Sookie Stackhouse series

but I didn't want to start a series so I read this one instead
Dates: 7/5-9


Six months after the death of her parents in a car crash, Catherine Linton returns to her hometown of Lowfield, Mississippi, unconvinced that it was an accident and looking for answers. Her suspicions seem to be confirmed when she stumbles upon the dead and beaten body of her doctor father's long-time nurse.
Catherine is right: there are secrets being kept in Lowfield. But if she continues to investigate, the town where she grew up may be the same place where she is sent to her grave...

What I Thought: I liked it. It was a quick read. That's all I have to say. :)

19 Down 11 To Go

The Book Thief

Markus Zusak

Recommended by: Amy (I know alot of librarians,

 this one also a doll)

6/18-30


      It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding it's breath.    Death has never been busier, and will become busier still.

By her brother's graveside, Liesel Meminger's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Grave Digger's Handbook left there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery. So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordion-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever there are books to be found.
But these are dangerous times. When Liesel's foster family hides a Jew in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up and closed down.

What do I think: I loved it! I thought it would be a light read, but I was wrong. It has so much going on it in. I love Liesel and feel like I got to know her reading the book. What a sad time. I love that it's Death telling the story. Great book!