Dead Until Dark (Charlaine Harris)

I only read this because it was the first ebook I got on the waiting list for at the library, and I'm still into this new technology. I did actually finish it, but I never would have if it weren't such a cool techy thing. It's basically a romance novel with vampires. The heroine is pretty tough and smart - it's certainly 1000 times better than Twilight! - but it's all about trying to find true love, and sex scenes. The plot was short on logic, and there was no support for the various magical abilities people have. But Bubba was a nice touch.

The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag (Alan Bradley)

A sequel to The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, and equally charming. Eleven-year-old Flavia de Luce is fascinated by chemistry, poison, and death, and is an extremely astute observer of those around her in her little English town.these talents serve her well when a puppeteer is murdered in the midst of a performance, and allow her to solve not only this crime but an older one as well. Very enjoyable.

The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday (Alexander McCall Smith)

This quiet, charming book describes the inner life of a thoughtful, caring Scottish woman, a philosopher and new mother, in a loving relationship with the baby's father. There are a couple of minor mysteries, but no real detection as such. It was peacefully enjoyable. The big news about this is that it was the first book I checked out of the library electronically and read entirely on my iPod Touch. I always said I would get a book reader when I could get library books on it, and now I don't need to buy a reader - my existing device will do it. The technology certainly isn't fully mature yet (there aren't enough titles or copies, so there's a waiting list for almost everything, and no good way to search the list), but it's still quite a milestone.

Fantasy in Death (J. D. Robb)

This one popped up in a library scan for Computer Games (fiction), so I decided to givenit a try. The writing isn't bad, particularly the dialogue, but I figured out the big mystery within the first 10 pages. I enjoyed it, but it didn't really grab me.

My life in France (Julia Child & Alex Prud'homme

This memoire covers most of Julia Child's married life, in her own voice (she worked on the book with her grand-nephew, though it was finished after her death). It tells of her falling in love with France and French cooking, getting her diploma from the Cordon Bleu, starting a cooking school, writing Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and making her TV show, all interwoven with her relationships with family, friends, and great names in the world of food. It is a charming, optimistic book, with only occasional frustration when I couldn't puzzle out the untranslated French phrases. Though many of the classic French dishes she describes didn't sound appealing to me, her joy and enthusiasm are contagious.

Never Trust a Dead Man (Vivian Vande Velde)

I picked up this YA mystery on impulse, based on reviews in Amazon. In a medieval village, a teen is condemned to death for a murder he didn't commit. He runs into a witch who agrees to help him find the real murderer by bringing back the spirit of the dead man in the body of a bat, but he doesn't know who killed him. More bikinis ensue before all is resolved. It was pleasant snough, but nothing special.

Revelation Space (Alastair Reynolds)

This well-regarded SF novel didn't work for me. After 50 pages I had no idea what was going on, who these people were, what order events occurred in, or why I should care.
LATER: Inspired by the commentator, I returned and finished this book. It did get very much better after about 150 pages, when things started to make more sense. I began to figure out who was who and what was happening. I'm glad I finished, but have to say I didn't love it. It is really strong on the sense of awe and wonder, and the universe being a place much larger, stranger, and more dangerous than we can really comprehend. I prefer a little stronger characterization with my awe and wonder, though, giving me people I can identify with and really understand. So I give it thumbs up, but it's not my favorite.

Little, Big (John Crowley)

This deep, rich, comPlex fantasy novel is justly famous for the intelligence and imagination it brings to the relationship between the realms of Faerie and reality. It follows a vast cast of characters, linked by blood and by fate, to play out a Tale that will bring to a safe end this relationship, preserving the magical within the real. At the heart of the Tale is a house, Edgewood, which is really many houses, all overlapping, and also a door between realms. I was definitely caught up in the story, but ultimately it left me untouched - too opaque, too symbolic, with too many unanswered questions for my logical mind.