Bringing back the lit

I've been reading quite a bit lately, which has been unusual for me this year. For whatever reason, the reading mojo has been lacking of late. Luckily, I have found it in a few new books.

The first one I finished, way back in September, was Size 12 is Not Fat by Meg Cabot. I really enjoy Meg Cabot's books - they are lighthearted and entertaining without pandering too much to our collective desire for happy endings. This one is the first in a new series, that are "mysteries." The heroine is a former teen pop star, now washed up and working in a NY dorm. The mystery is decent - I didn't figure it out ahead of time, as I often do, so I enjoyed that. Overall, a lovely piece of fluff.

Also in September, I finished Needled to Death by Maggie Sefton. Another in her knitting murder mystery series, set in the same yarn shop as the others. This time a friend and artist has been murdered. Eh. Pretty predicable, and I'm getting a little tired of her recycled descriptions of the knitting scenes and yarn shop imagery, but I keep reading. What can I say, I'm a sucker.

While we were on our trip to Austin I finished Two Little Girls in Blue by Mary Higgins Clark. I've been a Clark fan for years, and although the writing has gone downhill a bit, and the plotlines are very predictable, I often pick them up every now and again. Eh. I didn't like this one too much.

I also read Janet Evanovich's latest "romance" Smitten. Blech.

Last week I finished Scott Smith's The Ruins. Hailed as THE mystery of the summer, I was eager to read this. It sucked. SO not worth your time. I've read many more mystery novels that were FAR superior to this. Remind me next time to not listen to the hype.

I tried to read King Dork, as the hubbo loved it, but I couldn't get past 20 pages. Must be a guy book.

I'm in the middle of another Meg Cabot, and I started an older Linda Fairstein this weekend. Love me a good mystery, and Fairstein is a great writer. I'm hoping to get back into reading more this winter. Lord knows, I've got hundreds of books on the shelves waiting to be read!